4 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, June 1, 1999 Edited and managed by EmILy ACHENBAUNI NICK WOOMER students at the Editor in Chief Editorial Page Editor University of Michigan W~p U 111 nless ofther-wise noted. unsigned editorials reflect the op>inion o~f . g 420 Maynard Street majority of the Daih's editorial board. A11 other articles. lettersrand Ann Arbor, M I48109 cartoonsdo not tecessarill reflect the opinion of Theic 1hogan Dail: I n the wake of the school shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo. and Heritage High School in Conyers Ga., the nation's collective introspection over the last few weeks has yielded plenty of theories about who or what is to blame for the startling rise in the deadliness of modern youth vio- lence. Earlier this month Congress proved that the federal government can take effective measures against youth violence - first by passing tough new gun control legislation, and then by reviving a program to expand mental health services in the nation's public ele- mentary schools. The idea is hardly rev- olutionary -- several area school dis- tricts have already implemented sucess- ful programs placing social workers and psychologists with young children. It should not be startling news that great benefits can be gained from such programs. Last October, at a White House conference on school safety, one of the Elementary answer Social workers can prevent friture violence biggest complaints by educators from school districts where shootings had occurred was the lack of psychological services for students. Last Monday, many of the pediatricians, psychologists and human development experts on a.youth violence panel sponsored by the National Research Council concluded that psycho- logical services in elementary schools could prove to be the most effective solu- tion to curb violence by youngsters. Local school districts like West Bloomfield have long understood the necessity of having a social worker oper- ating in every elementary school. The district has focused the efforts of its social workers on activities that involve the entire school, but not at the expense of giving special attention to the children who need it'- both bullies and the bul- lied receive counseling in the district. - Some social workers in Clinton Township have found that children feel more at ease discussing certain issues with district psychologists rather than their own parents. While some parents might be inclined to be wary of having their children confide in government employees, they ought to realize that it makes sense to give children as many outlets as possible to express their feel- ings. Outside observers may be able to spot troubled children before their parents can - parents may not be able to spot the symptoms of a troubled child or, even if it is obvious the child needs help, parents may delude themselves into thinking that their child is perfectly happy and well adjusted. The unwillingness of many insurance companies to cover the cost of mental health services only adds to t* inclination in many parents to dismiss signs of possible future delinquency as the results of "the blues"or a "phase." The combination of troubled children and firearms has proven to result in tragedy. Stricter restrictions on firearms can take guns out of the disastrous equa- tion, but ultimately such restrictions will merely render many delinquents less deadly. School districts across the nation would do well to follow the example the Detroit-area school districts thW have already committed themselves to the early observation and counseling of troubled youngsters. The best way to address the problem of youth violence is to attack the root of the problem - delinquency itself. Well covered Mental health services should be insured Staying on top Life Sciences Institute aids'U' reputation T his week, Tipper Gore, who is head- ing a White House conference on mental health next month, announced that the Clinton administration intends to require that health insurance plans for federal employees offer coverage for severe mental illnesses in addition to the coverage already in place for workers' physical ailments. Gore hopes that health insurance providers covering the private sector will eventually implement this new plan as well, improving the mental health of all Americans and reducing the stigma associated with mental illness. Gore's efforts to bring health cover- age for mental illnesses to the majority of Americans is laudable. Currently, most insurance plans do not cover men- tal health services such as therapy, med- ication, or hospital visits, forcing indi- viduals to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars of their own money to treat ill- nesses that can be just as debilitating, both professionally and personally, as any long-term physical ailment. Oftentimes, those plans that do offer coverage for psychological services set stringent limits on the number of visits that people can have with their mental health care providers. Those who have any mental health care insurance are also usually charged significant deductibles and co-pays, making it diffi- cult, if not impossible, for the majority of Americans to get treated for mental ailments. Under Gore's plan, the annual cost of the improved coverage would only rise 3 percent more a year - a negligible increase considering the positive bene- fits the additional coverage will have on employees' lives, as well as their jobs. Hopefully, the new plan will set a stan- dard that will be met by privately insured customers, eventually leading to better mental health care coverage for all Americans. The potential influence Gore's pro- posal could have on the private sector's health care coverage is perhaps the greatest benefit of the plan. Medical science has proven that sim- ple chemical imbalances in the brain can play a significant role in mental illness, but there is a pervasive disdain for the mentally ill in the United States. In the same way that a broken arm needs to be reset, these imbalances must be addressed by the medical establishment through therapy, drugs and often a com- bination of both. Americans do not ridicule people who need surgery to repair organs, but people who need treatment for mental illnesses are often stigmatized. Gore recently revealed that she once needed therapy to deal with depression after her son was seriously injured in a car accident in 1989. Perhaps her revela- tion will give Americans an appreciation for the pervasiveness of mental illness. Any attempt by the federal govern- ment to promote a shift in the attitudes of Americans, and especially insurance companies, should be applauded. The nation's insurance companies can no longer ignore the necessity of covering mental health services. Individuals' mental well being is just as important as their physical well being. Gore's propos- al has the potential to reverse the stigma against the mentally ill as well. The commonly held attitudes towards the mentally ill have caused far too many Americans to suffer needlessly. The opportunity to improve the University's standing in the field of life science - a long-neglected field at the University - has finally arrived after the Board of Regents approved ini- tial proposals for the construction of the Life Science Institute. The institute is projected to cost about $200 million and was proposed when University President Lee Bollinger took office. The University should be praised for its efforts to quickly turn this initiative into reality. The University must ensure that the institute is constructed as soon as possible in order to provide greater ben- efits for students and faculty. Under the initial designs presented by Philadelphia-based firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates to the Board of Regents, the LSI will be located at the Palmer Drive site across from Palmer Field. The location will fill an area between the Central and Medical Campuses that currently is not in use, and transform it into one that will great- ly benefit the University. In doing so, it will bridge the long-standing gap within the central campus and create a connec- tion with the medical campus. Currently, many universities are focusing their attention on the field of life science - a trend that can not be ignored. Among one of the key issues in the field of life science are such vital projects such as the mapping of human genes to complete the picture of the human body. The LSI will enable the University to be at the forefront of cut- ting-edge research projects with other institutions. When the LSI opens, it will allow for interdisciplinary studies combining the fields of humanities, sciences, social sciences and the arts together, crossing traditional boundaries between college disciplines. With the LSI, undergraduate students will not be limited to a single field, but will have the opportunity to explore multiple disciplines. One of the goals of the LSI is to bridge the gap between undergraduate and gradu students. This will allow undergraduate to gain an understanding of different disciplines before committing to the field that they wish to concentrate in. As part of the LSI, there will also be the addition of a new living learning pro- gram located at the Couzens Residence Hall. The LSI will provide the opportunity for the collaboration of efforts with d' ferent departments into various researc, fields such as neuroscience, genomics and structural and chemical biology. This will allow research to go even fur- ther and be more efficient beyond the efforts a single department. The LSI could also help the University attract top researchers in their respective fields - an important gain since the University lost many high level geneticists in the early '90s to rival research centers. As a result, the University will increase.1 depth in the field of life science throug the institute and will open opportunities for research partnerships with other uni- versities such as Wayne State and Michigan State University. Connections with related industries are also a likely possibility. The University is one of the top research institutions in the nation. With the LSI it will further enhance its repo tation and put the University into the forefront in a field that the traditionally has been overlooked.