When students leave the comfort of their parents’ houses for a university campus, they are immediately exposed to an entirely different world: no more curfews, no more mandatory class attendance and no more high-school social bubble. You can eat what you want when you want, and stay out all night ‘mdash; every night ‘mdash; if you choose. While liberating, this newfound freedom comes at a price for many students, and statistics speak for themselves: undergraduates face one of the highest suicide rates of any group, sexually transmitted infections become more than just a textbook chapter, drug and alcohol use spikes and the ‘freshman 15’ comes knocking.
Knowing very well how quickly chaotic college life can turn into an unstoppable downward spiral for many students, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Penny Rue has made student health a top priority since her arrival at UCSD last academic year. She has led plans to develop an on-campus Student Wellness Center that will use interdisciplinary collaboration among several existing campus resources to develop a holistic approach to student well-being.
Slated to open during the 2011-12 academic year, the center will house resources including Counseling and Psychological Services, Center for Ethics and Spirituality, Student Health Services, Sexual Assault Resource Center and the recently created Campus Recreation Center. However, funding for the center is nowhere near complete, and although housing all of these critical services under one roof is a good step toward ensuring student wellness, actually implementing a successful holistic approach will be a challenge.
Enter Dr. Karen Calfas, the newly appointed assistant vice chancellor for student wellness (which is itself a new position). Calfas will be tasked with developing strategies to further integrate campus wellness initiatives and facilitate a culture of healthiness at UCSD where students can learn to develop lifelong self-management skills.
Calfas has an admittedly big job to do ‘mdash; one that will require creating immediate and serious dialogue between the A.S. Council, student organizations and the administration. She must work diligently to analyze each office’s participation and satisfaction rates and if necessary conduct her own surveys, focus groups and empirical research to determine what areas are in the most immediate need of support. Of primary concern is C.A.P.S., where many times students in immediate need of mental-health services find themselves waiting extended periods to attain the professional counseling help they need. Simultaneously, Calfas will inherit the huge task of attaining the funds necessary to complete the center’s construction, so while she acquaints herself with UCSD and the needs of its student population she cannot afford to delay courting private donors.
Coming from San Diego State, where she pioneered an eating-disorder treatment program with psychological, psychiatric, medical and nutritional aspects as well as the creation of a Web-based nutrition and physical activity program for freshmen, Calfas has the necessary background to develop an effective holistic wellness initiative for UCSD students.
If she can succeed in creating unity among existing campus programs, especially focusing on stress management through the use of integrated recreational and health education before problems become more serious, UCSD will be a healthier, happier place for all students. This board looks forward to her arrival.