2008 Woodie Awards
Letter: Campus' safe haven in Merion Gardens
Issue date: 11/3/06 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
To the editor:
We all know life here at St. Joe's isn't all crimson and gray with glorious Hawks flying over the rolling hills of campus. As much as we all pretend it is at times, regardless, it isn't. With stress over getting acclimated to life on campus, trying to comprehend how one will get a 4.0 with five or more insanely demanding classes, roommate/friend drama, keeping in touch with people from home, and the fear for those seniors out there to all of sudden get thrown out into the horrific real world after four years in a bubble of fun and games. So where do you go? Sure you can talk to your friends at school, your advisor, your friends from home, your family, your journal or whatever your venting technique of choice may be. But doesn't it seem like these people always have a biased, sugarcoated opinion that kind of makes you think to yourself, "Are they just telling me this to make me shut up and leave them alone already?"
The Counseling Center here at St. Joe's is one of the most under used places, and a place with a very negative reputation. If you hear someone is going to counseling, people automatically think they've tried to kill themselves, they got written up and need to go to alcohol counseling, or that they are completely and utterly insane. It is a reflex, when you go to counseling, and you tell someone, that someone gets this signature look of remorse, shock and pain on their face. Honestly…for what reason?
This center, located at Merion Gardens on the fifth floor, is a safe haven. It does not have a sign on the door that says if you aren't suicidal, have an eating disorder, have a drug or alcohol problem, or clinically insane please leave the premises. I personally think of it as the sanest spot on a campus of chaos and anarchy.
This safe haven, as I like to call it, is waiting there with open arms for everyone who is a Saint Joseph's student. You walk in, and no, there is not people running around in straight jackets, there is a serene setting, calming water trickling down rocks and trained people there ready to listen to your issues, no matter how inane or irrelevant you may think they are. I mean how many times have you gotten into timeless fights with people you lived with and just wanted someone to vent to who was an outsider that was not going to say anything? This is the perfect domain for that.
It honestly boggles my mind that more people do not take advantage of this place where trained professionals are literally waiting there to listen to you FOR FREE mind you and confidentially. I personally feel like just talking always refreshes me and makes me feel better about life. So next time you have anything on your mind, I would look into this. Everyone is welcome and I feel like, just for the sanity of the student body, it would not hurt for every single one of us Hawks to take our jumbled, confused, stressed out, of our over dramatic minds and release some tension in our lives.
Kate Concannon '09
We all know life here at St. Joe's isn't all crimson and gray with glorious Hawks flying over the rolling hills of campus. As much as we all pretend it is at times, regardless, it isn't. With stress over getting acclimated to life on campus, trying to comprehend how one will get a 4.0 with five or more insanely demanding classes, roommate/friend drama, keeping in touch with people from home, and the fear for those seniors out there to all of sudden get thrown out into the horrific real world after four years in a bubble of fun and games. So where do you go? Sure you can talk to your friends at school, your advisor, your friends from home, your family, your journal or whatever your venting technique of choice may be. But doesn't it seem like these people always have a biased, sugarcoated opinion that kind of makes you think to yourself, "Are they just telling me this to make me shut up and leave them alone already?"
The Counseling Center here at St. Joe's is one of the most under used places, and a place with a very negative reputation. If you hear someone is going to counseling, people automatically think they've tried to kill themselves, they got written up and need to go to alcohol counseling, or that they are completely and utterly insane. It is a reflex, when you go to counseling, and you tell someone, that someone gets this signature look of remorse, shock and pain on their face. Honestly…for what reason?
This center, located at Merion Gardens on the fifth floor, is a safe haven. It does not have a sign on the door that says if you aren't suicidal, have an eating disorder, have a drug or alcohol problem, or clinically insane please leave the premises. I personally think of it as the sanest spot on a campus of chaos and anarchy.
This safe haven, as I like to call it, is waiting there with open arms for everyone who is a Saint Joseph's student. You walk in, and no, there is not people running around in straight jackets, there is a serene setting, calming water trickling down rocks and trained people there ready to listen to your issues, no matter how inane or irrelevant you may think they are. I mean how many times have you gotten into timeless fights with people you lived with and just wanted someone to vent to who was an outsider that was not going to say anything? This is the perfect domain for that.
It honestly boggles my mind that more people do not take advantage of this place where trained professionals are literally waiting there to listen to you FOR FREE mind you and confidentially. I personally feel like just talking always refreshes me and makes me feel better about life. So next time you have anything on your mind, I would look into this. Everyone is welcome and I feel like, just for the sanity of the student body, it would not hurt for every single one of us Hawks to take our jumbled, confused, stressed out, of our over dramatic minds and release some tension in our lives.
Kate Concannon '09
Be the first to comment on this story