Page 4-B - The Michigan Daily -Thursday, September 8, 1983
AnxietytrapQ
she says. It is important to know you r
By BARBARA MISLE are not alone, Gauthier says.-s
Walking home from the library, Lori ALMOST 2,000 students last year a
F. couldn't bear looking at the groups of used counseling services, on the third
laughing students heading for the bar. floor of the Michigan Union and the s
After two weeks of school, it seemed University's late-night crisis line, 76-
:she couldn't study enough to keep up GUIDE, received an average of 15 calls
with classes. each night, according to office records.-
Juggling a part-time job in the dor- Students don't realize they have lost ad
mitory cafeteria and 17 credit hours, lot of support when they come to the
Lori doesn't have time to party. She University, she says. Friends who were
also feels left out of dorm activities sin- only a phone call away at home mightt
ce her roommate and students on the now be at school on the West Coast,s
hall went to the same high school. which can cause students to feel aban-
PEOPLE SEEMED friendlier at donned, Gauthier says.
orientation - and the campus didn't "When I came to the University it
seem so big when she visited with her seemed like a big monster," said LSA
parents. Junior Chris Derrick. "1 thought the
"Is it me or the University?" Lori University was cold, uninviting and In-
x asks herself. timidating. There is no way you can feel
Probably both, says Evie Gauthier, like you're a part of the University, it is
psychologist at the University's Coun- so departmentalized."Ny
:seling services. "THERE IS NOTHING to keep you
w ALTHOUGH LORI'S situation is from falling into a rut of mechanically
hypothetical, students tackle difficult going to class," he says. "You can go to
changes during college which can class for an entire semester without
aggravate existing problems, said meeting anyone." Although Derrickf
Gauthier. Breaking away from home has not been to counseling he says that
and adjusting to more independent "at some point you feel alone in this bigr
living, can throw students - sometimes place and counseling is definitely
unexpectedly - into a mess of con- . something to be taken advantage of." f
fusing emotions, she says. Many students are uncertain if their
After hearing parents and friends problems are serious enough to seek
drill into your head that college will be counseling.
the "best years of your life," it can be a "If the question comes to mind won-t
shock to sometimes find yourself in the dering whether or not to seek help - t
pits of depression during the next four seek help," advises Dr. Bruce Greyson,
years. chief of psychiatric emergency ser-
But feeling alone, frightened or vices at the University Hospital.
depressed is part and parcel of adap- ALTHOUGH suicide attempts ha-
ting to the University, Gauthier says. ve dropped sharply since 1981, from 13
Some students, however, are to only two last year, there are many t
devastated by these feelings and con- which go unreported, Greyson says.1
sider themselves "crazy" or "weird," Last year a student in Stockwell dor-
'U,
mitory killed herself and an E
tudent jumped out of a
although he didn't die.
But problems don't have t
erious to bring students in
seling, says Gauthier. For
many students get into a de
cycle of pulling "all nighter
drink coffee to stay awake a
cram for tests, skip class the
and then must have a couple
to wind down enough to sleep
sleep at all, she says.
The cycle can be part of ti
students
:ast Quad miserable," game often played in
window, group living situations.
ONE STUDENT COMPLAINS he has
o be that three papers and an exam only to be
nto coun- outdone by a roommate who has four
example, papers, two exams and an oral presen-
estructive tation. The competition to stay up the
s." They latest or do the most work can throw a
t night to student's sleep schedule "completely
next day off whack," says Gauthier adding that
of drinks "it takes autonomy to buck the peer
- if they pressure system."
Another problem is students who "go
he "most- wild" enjoying the freedom of not being
See 'U', Page 12
EING
'IES
Bulimia is campus
epidemic, doctor says
Y . ;, :
By BARBARA MISLE
Vomiting - a despised occurrence
for most people - has become a daily
ritual for more than a quarter of the
women on campus, according to a
campus-wide study by hospital of-
ficials.
In a viscious struggle to be thin,
many women have developed an eating
disorder called bulimia in which vic-
tims binge on large quantities of food
and then force themselves to throw up
or take laxatives.
ABOUT ONE IN 200 women nation-
wide is estimated to have bulimia or
anorexia nervosa, a related illness in
which a person loses 25 percent of their
body weight through self-starvation,
according to a study by a national
eating disorders group in Highland
Park, Ill.
A special clinic to treat people with
eating disorders opened last year near
campus on Broadway and Wall Streets
- and the majority of patients have
been University students, said Kenneth
Castagna, director of the clinic.
It is unclear why so many more
women at the University suffer from
bulimia or anorexia, but Castagna said
one factor should be the competitive
atmosphere at the school.
BULIMIA CENTERS on a fear of
being fat, but unlike anorexics, whose
emaciated bodies stand out, many
bulimics maintain a normal weight and
are harder to spot said Castagna, a
social worker.
See BULIMIA, Page 7
Daily Photo by ELIZABETH SCTT
The University offers free counseling for students. The counseling staff;
housed in the Union, are trained to handle the problems that the pressure of
school can create.
'U' clinic
fights old
reputation
By GEORGEA KOVANIS
University Health Service, traditionally one of
students' favorite places to complain about, is attem-
pting to change its poor reputation, clinic doctors
said.
Over the last several years Health Service has
replaced its hard tile floors, long lines, and confusing
fee system with bright carpet, a new computer, and a
more efficient billing system.
HEALTH SERVICES has long been the butt of
many campus jokes. Every student has heard
exaggerated stories about recommended am-
putations for paper cuts,and mandatory Venereal
disease tests to diagnose every common cold.
One student interviewed voiced a typical complaint
about Health Services.
After taking an eye test, the student who wished to
remain anonymous called the exam "the most ab-
surd thing I've ever been through." He labeled the
facilities at health service "antiquated" because the
examinar tested his eyes by moving a stick with a
clown at the end of it.
"I'M SURE there were some students who came
through here who weren't pleased," said Elenore
Puff, a public relations representative for the clinic,.
adding that many of the students who criticize the
service have never used it.
She also said many students expect too much from
the clinic's 11 staff doctors.
"A lot of these people come in and want an instant
cure to the common cold and hope some how we are
going to fix them instantly," she said.
THE CLINIC'S billing system also drew many
complaints. Before 1976, students were charged each
time they used Health Services. The system created
huge lines and multiple hassles, said Robert Winfield,
a doctor in the clinic.
Now, students are assessed a fixed Health Service
fee as part of their tuition. This year the fee is $109.50,
up from $98 the year before.
Although the new billing system has solved most of
the clinic's bureaucratic problems, Health Service
still suffers from the reputation it gained before 1976,
Winfield said.
BUT NEW ADMINISTRATORS at Health Services
are battling that reputation. Over the last two years
the clinic has been completely renovated.
The office appointment desks, and cashier's booth
have been moved to more efficiently accommodate
students. A new computer filing system has made
records much easier to obtain. And carpeting and
new paint have been added to make the clinic more
visually appealing.
The "new" Health Service operates just as efficien-
tly 'as any comparable private clinic, said Ceasar
Briefer, the clinic's director.
- Daily editor Bill Spindle filed a report for this
story
r .n s
. .... .
JY-- f b- I. -
Oyez, Oyez!
Ulrich's
now stocks
law texts.
- I
I.
EVERYTHING IN THE LIVELY ARTS
WeeKCenD
A Publication of The Michigan Dail%
GET ACQUAINTED
FUN-FOOD-FELLOWSHIP . . . FREE
Sunday, Sept. 1
Noon-3:00 pm
WESLEY FOUNDATION
(United Methodist Campus Ministry)
602 E. Huron
Corner of Huron & State
Across from the Frieze Bldg.
All U-M students welcome
For more info-Coll 668-6881
Free attorneys fight
student legal battles
By CHERYL BAACKE
Entering college means a lot more
freedom for most students. Freedom to
set their own study schedules, to live
where they please, and to skip classes
when they want.
But along with the freedoms come
the responsibilities. And most students
discover that sometime during their
college years one of those respon-
sibilities is dealing with legal problems.
Students, however, don't have to tackle
most legal hassles alone - Student
Legal Services is there to help.
STUDENT LEGAL Services provides
free legal counseling and represen-
tation to students for almost any
problem.
Supported by $2.90 of the fee students
pay to the Michigan Student Assembly,
Student Legal Services' biggest advan-
tage is the money it saves students.
"The $2.90 per term (last year) that
students contribute doesn't pay for ten
minutes of an attorney's time," says
Margaret Nichols, director of the of-
fice. Legal advice on the free market
can cost $50 to $60 an hour, she says. .
ALTHOUGH THE OFFICE handles
everything from underage drinking
violations to parking violations, staff
attorneys spend most of their time on
housing disputes.
"We have a thriving civil practice
chiefly composed of landlord-tenant
cases," says Nichols. "there are
plethora of ways people can run intl
problems with rental housing."
"As far as the general student body is
concerned, this is our most important
function," says staff attorney Eric Lip-
son. "Just the existance of a law office
where students can go keeps a lot of
landlords from violating student
rights."
"JUST OUR BEING there is the midst
important thing we can do for studen-
ts," says Libson. "Every students i
benefitting from us, especially it
tenant-landlord laws."
The office serves about 2000 students
a year, but most of the cases never gb to
court, Nicholas says.L
And our
commitment
to service
will stand up
under the
toughest
scrutiny.
I -
IN
University Health Service
207 Fletcher St.
Ann Arbor, Mi 48109
"Health Care for the Campus Community"
Stop in
and begin
your own
discovery.
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