The Need for Mental Health Awareness in Police Training

By Caleigh Montoya, Staff Writer 

Recently in California, a 15-year-old autistic boy was shot and killed by police. Police responded to a call about the boy, and when they arrived the boy charged them with a gardening tool. The officer did not attempt to use any other technique to destress the situation, and instead shot and killed the boy. Incidents like this are not scarce and they are exactly why officers need to be trained on neurotypical behavior, mental illness, and disabilities. Our officers also need to be taught not to reach for their guns unless absolutely necessary. Despite years of discussion, we still see police killing innocent people instead of using other techniques to better the situation. As in this case, a 15-year-old boy should not have lost his life, but who should’ve been cared for and potentially brought to the ground if deemed dangerous.

When law enforcement comes into contact with neurotypical people, they should listen to them, stay calm, use clear speech, avoid touching, and find other ways of communication. We need training like this for all of our officers as it is highly important that police better understand Autism and other forms of neurodiversity, so that we don’t have our neurotypical kids dying at the hands of law enforcement. Institutions also need to continue pushing the usage of different techniques of neutralization. Killing people is the most extreme way of controlling a situation and should not be the default. Law enforcement needs to realize that there are a plethora of other ways to control a situation. We have to keep advocating for more training about neurotypical people and their behaviors as well as alternatives for law enforcement using their weapons and engaging in deadly force.

Spring Burnout: the lack of spring break and motivation at Regis

By: Alaina Valdespino, Staff Writer

Spring break, much like any other holiday, serves different people in different ways. While many choose to use spring break as a time to travel, go to the beach, and party; others use it to relax and forget about the stresses of college classes and their course loads. This class-free time is a god send to students who are tired and losing motivation because it gives them time to recharge in order to power through the semester with strong grades and a good mentality. In general, spring break serves as a strong benefit to the mental health of students nationwide. 

Having said that, from an administrative standpoint, canceling spring break was one of the single and most effective ways of regulating travel and mitigating the spread of COVID on campus. But, in doing so, many students were left without a break from classes, without an extra week to relax and unwind, and without that extra time to get caught up on class work, which for many students, is vital in maintaining a strong GPA. Between navigating online classes and the uncertainty of what lies ahead, students are already faced with more pressure than ever before and in turn, are highly deserving of a break.

Due to the concerns surrounding COVID and the overall pandemic, students have been missing out on social experiences that are supposed to make up some of the best memories of their lives. Students have been left to learn online, isolated from their social lives until it is safe to resume them. And sure, that’s what's best for their health physically. Avoiding COVID so not as to get COVID, but when it comes to mental health, this isolation can be crippling. These feelings are even more prominent now that Regis students have powered through nearly three fourths of their semester without the luxury of spring break.

Because of this, an overall lack of motivation has been plaguing students of all years on college campuses nationwide due to the longevity of this pandemic and the lack of breaks students are faced with because of it. And while canceling spring break may have been beneficial in preventing COVID spread here on Regis’ campus, it had another lasting impact that is affecting students mentally, that being burn out and zoom fatigue.

When asked to comment about this semester and about how not having spring break has impacted their studies and overall motivation levels, Regis students had a lot to say. One 3rd year Regis student stated, “I know I’m beyond burnt out. I was burnt out last fall so I’m trudging through this one. Everyday feels the same.”

Another Regis student, a second year who studies neuroscience, said that the lack of spring break “is seriously contributing to burn out and lack of motivation.”

Overall, the consensus came to be that students feel exhausted. Zoom fatigue is alive and well, and many students mentioned that the quick transition from midterms to new content without a week-long spring break is in part, contributing to the some worst burn out symptoms of their lives. And while COVID may not be a raging issue on campus, thanks to the many guidelines enforced by Regis’ administration, the mental health impacts that the lack of spring break and the overall pandemic have caused are prominent; and most students will admit that this entire situation isn’t ideal. However, as Regis students we strive to look for the good in every situation. With the semester near a close, and an end in sight to this pandemic, students have a long and well-deserved summer break to look forward to.

Of Mountains and Mental Health with Dr. Aaron Conley

Photo source: alpineascents.com

By: Allison Upchurch, Staff Reporter

On Thursday Nov. 8, Dr. Aaron Conley, a professor in the Philosophy Department at Regis College, gave a presentation in Claver Lecture Hall about his experience climbing  Mount Baker in the North Cascades of Washington last September. Conley reflected on his experience climbing, and how climbing is a coping mechanism for mental health.

During this presentation, Conley spoke about his personal life experience of depression and suicidal thoughts. He reflected on his mental health as a culmination of misfortunes entered into his life, starting with trying to attain a tenure teaching position in 2016. After his spouses’ unexpected diagnosis of a rare autoimmune disease and an unplanned pregnancy, Conley went for a solo climb on the Kiener’s Route on Longs Peak in August of 2016. It was there in a moment of hesitation that he found strength within him to reach the top and take in the view around him.

“And it felt sublime” Conley said of that moment, “I was enraptured in the beauty of the space, in how insignificant my actuality was and how insignificant my problems were in light of this huge, beautiful mountain.”

From that moment, he took on his hobby of climbing as a mechanism for support, he has launched himself on a number of escapades including climbs up the Black Velvet Canyon in Red Rocks, Nevada, part of the Liberty Ridge on Mount Rainier in Washington, and Mount Auburn in Indian Peaks, Colorado.

His bid to attempt to summit Mount Baker started when he applied for a grant called the “Live Your Dreams” Grant by the American Alpine Club and The North Face. He submitted a proposal entitled “Why I Climb” and was awarded a share of the grant money and an additional sponsorship from Fjällräven to supply him with gear for the climb.

Last September, Conley and his climbing partner made their way out to Washington over Labor Day weekend to climb the North West Ridge of Mount Baker, which is one of the most perpetually snowcapped mountains in the United States. They started out at four in the morning and made their way up to the summit of the mountain at an elevation of 10,749 feet. Their trek up the mountain and back down took 11 ½ hours and included narrow ascents on and around crevasse 40 to 50 feet high, patches of heavy glaciers, and overhangs of ice for a total of about 1500 feet of ice climbing.

“To be out there, I felt light,” Conley said of his alpine climbing experience. “I felt like that’s how it’s supposed to be on these rocks.”

A connection between nature and breathtaking beauty of the world, coupled with self-determination and personal endurance transformed the life of Conley at a time when he needed it the most. From the most intimate details of our life to the grand endeavors we embark on, the key to unlocking our personal happiness comes in many shapes and sizes and for Aaron, it came in the shape of snow capped peaks.