Brown and White Vol. 135 no. 11

              The Brown and White Vol. 135 No. 11
Friday, October 12, 2018 ‘All the Lehigh News First’
Lehigh students manage their mental health
Jordan Wolman/B&W Staff
Ian Birky is the director of counseling and psychological services at Lehigh
University. Birky admits that the size of his staff does not match the student demand,
and is concerned that with plans to grow the student body by 1,500 students, this
issue may become more pressing.
By JORDAN WOLMAN
Deputy News Editor
Lehigh students, and college
students nationwide, are experi-encing
higher levels of anxiety,
depression and feelings of loneli-ness.
Ian Birky, the director of coun-seling
and psychological services
at Lehigh, said the main cause for
poor mental health in students is
loneliness.
“Too many feel alone, whether
it’s walking into a cafeteria or into
a party or a library or the fitness
center,” Birky said.
Nova Stoller, ‘21, the safety and
wellness chair of Student Senate
and, full disclosure, a photogra-pher
for The Brown and White,
said Lehigh is a high-stress envi-ronment
where students are under
a tremendous amount of pressure.
“All this work that hits you
in waves, where you don’t have
anything for weeks and then you
can’t breathe,” Stoller said. “I see
personalities flip.”
The statistics on Lehigh stu-dents’
mental health speak for
themselves.
Birky said his data show 31
students reported they were “in
crisis” between January and April
2017. But for those same months
in 2018, 53 students reported they
were “in crisis.”.
Reports of suicide consider-ations
rose from 64 in January-
April 2017 to 73 in January-April
2018.
Though the size of Birky’s
staff has remained constant, the
Counseling Center saw 537 clients
between January and April 2017
and 630 between January and
April 2018.
Despite the circumstances,
Birky has managed to find a sense
of relief.
He said it has been 20 years
since a Lehigh student committed
suicide while enrolled in classes
and living on campus. Based on
national averages and the uni-versity
population, he said a sui-cide
“should” statistically happen
every two to three years.
“We’ve had some major attempts
and only by the grace of God did
they not die,” Birky said. “The
biggest fear is suicide. It’s so dev-astating
when that happens, it
just tears campuses apart.”
With the current student popu-lation,
Birky believes there should
be three more therapists on staff to
avoid burnout and meet demand.
He said there are not enough ther-apists
to see all students who seek
help within a week.
“We are pushed to the limit,”
Birky said. “I’ve messaged that
to the administration. There are
plans to increase the student body
by 1,500, we definitely need more
therapists. There’s no doubt. They
know that.”
A recent study conducted by
Cigna, a health insurance com-pany,
found that 48 percent of
college-aged U.S. adults reported
feelings of loneliness. Birky said
the increase in connectivity via
social media doesn’t necessarily
come with deeper intimate con-nections
and might be a factor
contributing to loneliness.
This loneliness reaches a swath
of the student population — Birky
See HEALTH Page 3
Halsey to take stage at Capital Campaign Launch
By JESSICA HICKS
Editor in Chief
Grammy-nominated pop sing-er
Halsey will perform at Lehigh’s
Campaign Launch on Oct. 25 on the
UC Front Lawn.
Gates will open at 4:30 p.m. and
the event will begin shortly after
with performances from Paint House,
Burn it Down and Rhythm Method —
the top three winners of the Lehigh
Idol competition.
According to the event registra-tion
site, there will be a brief pro-gram
highlighting the Campaign for
Lehigh followed by more student per-formances
before Halsey takes the
stage.
Leslie Gonnella, an associate
vice president of Development and
Alumni Relations, said in an email
that all students inside the entrance
gates by 6:15 p.m. will automatically
be entered to win a meet and greet
with Halsey.
The efforts to bring Halsey to cam-pus
began in May, when the Office of
Alumni Relations met with Student
Senate to discuss interest in hosting
an on-campus musical performance.
Gonnella said in an email that
the office reached out to University
Courtesy of Paradigm Talent Agency
Halsey will perform at Lehigh’s Campaign Launch, which will be held on Thursday,
Oct. 25, 2018, on the UC Front Lawn. Efforts to bring Halsey to campus began in May.
Productions and the Office of Student
Affairs for a list of music artists pre-ferred
by students.
“The caliber of an artist like Halsey
reflects the aspirations that we have
for Lehigh,” said Joe Buck, the
vice president of Development and
Alumni Relations. “Lehigh students
gave us the names of performers they
wanted to bring to campus and their
aspirations were high — we want
all of Lehigh’s aspirations to be big
because when big goals are set, we
know that Lehigh people will achieve
them.”
Sarah Federman, ‘19, the direc-tor
of social media for University
Productions, said UP is hoping to get
students excited about the campaign
launch and concert.
“I think this is a great way to
unite the campus in a really cele-bratory
fashion, showcasing both a
special artist and student groups,”
Federman said.
Federman said a big-name art-ist
like Halsey will help legitimize
Lehigh’s efforts to raise money for the
campaign.
According to the event invitation
email, the campaign’s fundraising
efforts are focused on providing schol-arships
and building new facilities
for students, as well as enhancing
academic programs and experiential
learning opportunities.
“In addition to the fundraising
goals, this campaign is about creating
a culture of philanthropy and engage-ment,”
Buck said in an email.
Federman said members of UP will
be backstage during the event to help
with scheduling and coordination.
Gonnella said in an email that
food trucks and food stations will be
available to all event guests. Guests
will also be able to vote for their
favorite Lehigh Idol performance.
The winning band will be given the
opportunity to meet Halsey later in
the evening.