You Think They’d Do More
Host
Mike McGowan
Guest
Panel of College Junior Women
A returning panel of college women, Grace, Aiden, Viv, Jackie, and Haley, discuss navigating through their first two years of college with a mix of pandemic, alcohol, other drug use, and mental health issues, on top of the academic expectations. As mental health concerns and drug use have risen across the country with young people, getting help for those issues is more challenging, they believe, than it needs to be. Every college has a student health center and access to counseling, and if the assistance you receive is not adequate, please keep asking and looking. In Kenosha, if you or a loved one needs help, it is available. To contact the Hope Council on Alcohol & Other Drug Abuse, call 262-658-8166, or explore their website at https://www.hopecouncil.org. You can also find AA meetings here: https://mtg.area75.org/meetings.html?dist=7 and NA meetings here: https://sefa-na.org/meetings
[00:00:00] [Jaunty Guitar Music]
[00:00:12] Mike: Welcome everyone to Avoiding the Addiction Affliction a series brought to you by the Kenosha County Substance Abuse Coalition. I'm Mike McGowan. Two years ago, we spoke with a group of college freshman women, just as a pandemic hit. We followed up with them last year, and today I'm pleased to have them back as guests for a third time. By popular demand ladies, I might add. As a way of introductions, Grace, Jackie and Aiden are all at different colleges in Wisconsin. Viv is in Michigan and Haley is in Iowa. Welcome back ladies.
[00:00:47] Guest: Thank you. Hello. Thank you.
[00:00:49] Mike: So I guess the first, seriously, I have had so many people say, are you gonna have the young women on again?
[00:00:55] How are they doing? [laugh] It's like, all right, I'll have 'em on again. So first question are y'all still in college?
[00:01:03] Guest: Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
[00:01:06] Mike: Well, that's good. Nobody dropped out yet?
[00:01:09] Guest: I transferred.
[00:01:10] Mike: Well, if that's all right. That's that's part of college. Isn't it? That's all right. You didn't transfer cuz they threw you outta your old college did you Aiden?
[00:01:18] Guest: I cut it pretty close.
[00:01:21] Mike: [laugh] Oh man. Well, alright, let's get this off just, just as, is this now because you guys started with the pandemic and then last year was still some bizarre rules all over the place. I think Haley had the least restrictions of anybody, right?
[00:01:40] Guest: Yeah.
[00:01:40] Mike: But does this year seem more like college that you expected so far?
[00:01:46] Guest: I think, yeah, this year has been the most like college to me because, last year, I don't know COVID was still pretty on people's minds. The only times I feel like COVID is still a factor is like in classes, most of my professors were masks and they like, kind of encourage us to, even though most people don't, but that's also the career path I'm in, is like nursing.
[00:02:08] So I think that makes more sense.
[00:02:11] Mike: Is that the same way it is for you, Jackie or you're at Madison, right? So are, are people wearing masks in class?
[00:02:19] Guest: Yeah. A lot of professors do well, it's like 50/50 for mine. And then there's definitely, like, I would say there's always at least a few students wearing masks.
[00:02:31] Mike: Really?
[00:02:33] Guest: Yeah.
[00:02:33] Mike: How about Aiden, Grace? You're at the same college. Is that the way it.
[00:02:38] Guest: I've seen like two people.
[00:02:39] I was gonna say, not at Whitewater. I've seen maybe one guy that wears one in all my classes. Otherwise. No one does.
[00:02:46] Mike: It's so local. Isn't it? Vivian? What's it like in Michigan?
[00:02:49] Guest: I don't think one in my classes wears masks and my professors don't either.
[00:02:54] Mike: Huh?
[00:02:54] Jackie, you wanted to say something?
[00:02:56] Guest: I was just gonna say, it's a lot of the international students.
[00:03:00] Mike: Mm-hmm.
[00:03:00] Guest: That wear masks.
[00:03:01] Mike: You know, I even, I, I see that everywhere I go, too, that it seems like specific populations are much more likely to wear it. Although I have to tell you we're in a, I'm surprised Haley. Well, I shouldn't say that actually you're. Haley, would you say Iowa is a little bit more rural than say Madison?
[00:03:18] Guest: Yeah, I would say a little bit like Iowa City's still like a city, but definitely not as big as like Madison.
[00:03:25] Mike: Yeah.
[00:03:25] Guest: Definitely. A lot of kids from like really small towns and stuff.
[00:03:29] Mike: Yeah. That's why your answers surprise me. Cuz when I go into rural areas, man, nobody seems concerned.
[00:03:36] Guest: Mm-hmm. And it's like, like I said, it's like my nursing specific classes.
[00:03:41] The professors like ask us to wear masks. Cause the nursing school of Iowa actually like the actual building, they have like a mask mandate. And it's like the only part of the school where you have to wear a mask.
[00:03:53] Mike: Huh.
[00:03:54] Guest: So yeah.
[00:03:54] Mike: You know, two years ago we, we talked a lot about drinking because it was, it was crazy just as, as the pandemic was starting.
[00:04:03] The drinking was still way outta control. I think Aiden, didn't you weren't you in like the COVID dorm or something like that. And
[00:04:10] Guest: I was in the COVID dorm. Yes.
[00:04:13] Mike: And did I didn't I hear that. Did we talk about this? That they were actually delivering liquor to the COVID dorm?
[00:04:20] Guest: That is true. Yes.
[00:04:23] Mike: So you, you guys had come outta quarantine to grab bags of liquor that people were leaving you? Oh my God.
[00:04:29] Guest: Yes.
[00:04:30] Mike: Okay. Alright. So, alright. So all of the drinking that we talked about last year and, and the year before would've theoretically been illegal, cuz none of you are 21 or were at that time, but now, well we're getting closer to adulthood and several of you are, has that, has the drinking culture changed now that you're college juniors?
[00:04:53] Guest: I, so I turned 21 last week. And I'm not necessarily a huge bar person. And I feel like there was a lot of pressure with turning 21 and then going out to the bars on your 21st birthday. But this past weekend, I had no desire to go out to the bars. It feels like there's like a lot of pressure, mostly with going to Whitewater, cuz.
[00:05:19] Not much else to do except for drink on the weekends. So I definitely felt like a lot of pressure with turning 21 and going out to the bars.
[00:05:29] Mike: Yeah. And this, this doesn't mean that any of you didn't drink before that we'll get to that, but Haley has it changed at Iowa for you?
[00:05:36] Guest: Not for me personally, because I still have a long time until I'm 21.
[00:05:40] I think I talked about this last year, but Iowa, the bars are very lenient. So could literally get in no matter what with like pretty much no problem. As long as you have like a fake ID. So once you turn 21, it just like gets rid of the risk of getting like busted by the cops, obviously, which is like the only thing people worry about here pretty much
[00:06:00] Mike: Would that even happen?
[00:06:01] Guest: I think it's like getting more and more common, especially at the beginning of the year. The cops are out like a lot on like game days too. It's like pretty common. And during the summers, it's like very common to get caught by the cops.
[00:06:14] Mike: Jackie, since I went to Madison, I, I can't wait to hear your answer.
[00:06:20] Guest: Like, what was the overall question again?
[00:06:22] Mike: Well, like, cuz now that you're a junior, is the, is the place where the juniors congregate to drink different than it was in the first two years?
[00:06:33] Guest: I wouldn't say so, because the bars, like there's like the freshman bars, there's like sophomore bars and then there's 21, like you're 21. So you go to these bars. So I would say like, me and my friends have talked about, we kind of feel cuz none of my friends are 21 yet at school. It's like we're at this awkward point where we don't wanna go to the bars that we've been going to since freshman year. But like you literally can get in to like W or KK, like the most famous bars.
[00:07:09] So it's like, where do we go? And we. None of my friends have been going out that much because it's just like. There's such specific bars that have like such specific reputation.
[00:07:22] Mike: Well, I'll tell, I gotta tell you, I'm obviously a lot older than you. That hasn't changed one bit. I could still name you the freshman, sophomore bars when I was there, as well as the rest of it.
[00:07:33] Viv is there there's no restriction or is there if you're an athlete we talked about last year, you're an athlete. Is there a restriction on what you're supposed to do? Cause if you're legal, you're legal, right?
[00:07:44] Guest: Yes. I just turned 21.
[00:07:46] Mike: What can, so what are, what are, what are the rules as far as the athletic program go when you're 21 you can legally drink, right?
[00:07:54] Guest: Yeah, so it, it depends mostly on the coach. And my old coach was very, very strict about no drinking. But then we have a new coach now, and she's a lot, she hasn't said anything about drinking. Like she hasn't said one, there hasn't been any issues. I think that if like any issues were to arise, then probably she would say something to our team.
[00:08:16] But as of right now, I don't even really know what her rules are and we're in preseason. So, so . I think like that it's allowed for everyone. Like she knows that everyone's gonna drink as long as just like nothing bad happens and no one gets in serious trouble.
[00:08:35] Mike: As, as long as you're answering. I wanted to ask you another question too.
[00:08:38] Cuz every time I do a presentation at a school there's a lot of times there's teachers who used to be college athletes and they always tell stories about somebody who threw away their chance because they made bad decisions. I'm not asking you to name names. But have you experienced that same thing as well?
[00:08:56] Where somebody just said, yeah, I'd rather party than participate.
[00:09:01] Guest: I mean, I, I wouldn't say like threw away their chance because the girls on my team who have decided to quit the team, it it's, it hasn't been. Oh, I'd rather party. Like, they definitely say that they're like, well, it's nice that I can like go out more now, but it wasn't ever for those reasons.
[00:09:20] And a lot of those girls, like aren't getting scholarships anyways. And so it's like makes the choice easier for them to quit. Like it's not like financially gonna change anything. So not, I haven't ever experienced that, but I know there was a girl before I came here that was on the basketball team and she got pregnant.
[00:09:40] And that, and she, that whole situation was like really interesting. So she got like kicked off the team obviously, and she wasn't able to play. So that's like probably the only person that I've heard of though.
[00:09:53] Mike: Wow, Grace I [laugh] was gonna go a different direction, but I'll go in that direction. Grace, a lot of times what they say on college campuses is that so much of things like sexual assault or things like sexual activity, unintended pregnancy, et cetera, has to do with drinking or drug usage. Do your friends ever talk about that? Does the university make you aware of that? That it's like half of the date rapes take place when alcohol's involved?
[00:10:24] Guest: Well, I think that when we came in as freshmen, I believe we had to take a course for that. But ever since like it hasn't been brought up.
[00:10:35] And when you mention that, it reminds me too, like that's very common, like at Whitewater and stuff, people call it like hookup culture. Especially for guys, like, that's what goes on. But one time, this was last year. So one of my friends was walking home from the bar and a guy lived like in the same area.
[00:10:54] So she was like, oh, can we walk together? Like, can you walk me back? And he did which like, I mean, that should be a normal thing. And then apparently the next day, like he was telling like these guys, like I walked her home and then she didn't even like, sleep with me, like invite me in whatever. Like expecting that, like, just because he walked her home, like it's crazy.
[00:11:14] And like, and it just makes you think like guys in college can't even do nice things like that. And obviously they were at the bar, so I'm sure he was drunk, which is how they, why was thinking that too?
[00:11:25] Mike: Well. Yeah, the expectation of drinking is to drink. It's not that if you drink that, you're gonna do other things too right?
[00:11:32] Guest: Yeah.
[00:11:34] Mike: Jackie, when I was at Madison, that what Grace just described happened with the house that I lived in, or one night we had a party and people were drinking and several of the women passed out. And one of the males there tried to take advantage and we had to basically literally toss him out on his, on his head.
[00:11:53] Do you see that at Madison as well?
[00:11:55] Guest: Yeah, you do, unfortunately, though, it feels like it all gets swept under the rug. Like, I don't know if your guys' schools have this, but we get like text messages from like, UW about like if it's like crime or like sexual assault or like anything we'll get texts, so we'll get texts about it, but then it's like, once the day's over. It's like you just move on from it. Like not there's no like classes or anything.
[00:12:24] Mike: What, what, what, what does the text say? Like what do you, what do you mean?
[00:12:28] Guest: It'll be like alert of like sexual assault, something near, like, I remember there was one last year, literally just said like alert of like this happening in this area.
[00:12:40] And then you can like click on a link and it'll give you like a description of. What's going on, but it's very broad and it's like, there's no substance to it.
[00:12:50] Mike: Wow. Haley, do you have an alert system that tells you that?
[00:12:54] Guest: Yeah, ours are called, like Hawk Alerts, and we get a text and email and like my parents get an email about it when it happens.
[00:13:01] And it's just like a lot of like suspicious package or like sexual assault or like a break-in stuff like that.
[00:13:10] Mike: And your parents get an email?
[00:13:12] Guest: Mm-hmm yeah. When I first moved in, my mom got really freaked out, cuz we got like literally like five in a row and she was like, I don't even know if I wanna leave you here.
[00:13:21] Mike: [laugh] Oh, I don't. I never gotten one of those. Viv, what about, what, what about there?
[00:13:26] Guest: There there's like no alert system for us, but I'm pretty sure that where I go to school is. Nationally ranked for like safest college campuses. Like, nothing happens here. Like it's so it's so rare for something to like something really bad happen.
[00:13:43] Like I've heard stories of it. And there was a guy on the men's basketball team that like had like trouble around him, but it's like, it's not at a large scale thing where it's like, people get alerts about it. Like if something happens, it's more of like, like, people are just talking about it and it like gets around almost like gossipy, you know?
[00:14:02] Mike: Huh.
[00:14:03] Guest: Rather than like on a larger scale, you know, as, as long as you're talking again Viv, sorry, but I, I don't think weed's not legal in Iowa yet is it Haley? Oh, I have no idea.
[00:14:15] Mike: Oh, what an answer.
[00:14:16] Guest: I have no idea.
[00:14:17] Mike: Oh, what a nice answer.
[00:14:19] Guest: [laugh]
[00:14:20] Mike: But Viv I know that it is in Michigan. I know it is.
[00:14:24] Guest: Yes, it is.
[00:14:25] Mike: So, okay. I, I, you're gonna have to listen to me for a second ladies.
[00:14:29] I was just in a town in Michigan where it was economically depressed except for the marijuana dispensary, which had a Disney like line snaking through the parking lot at seven o'clock in the morning. It's doing $22 million of business. This one dispensary per year. There's so much cash. They have a vault in the basement. And the gas station across the street.
[00:14:54] I, I should opened up a table to do interventions. It was crazy. And of course it's right on the border. So tons of Minnesota people and Wisconsin people were just you can't find a hotel room on the weekends. They all come in load up. So do you see it? Is it prevalent? Is it, is it just like accepted? Where's marijuana in Michigan?
[00:15:15] Guest: There are two dispensaries like three minutes away from me. And yeah, it's like very normal. For athletes it's like illegal through the NCAA and through our school and we do drug testing. So. I do know of like situations, like I live in a really small town.
[00:15:32] So like there was one guy that played a sport and he like went to the dispensary and his coach found out. And like, just because people in the town will like, say things too. So like with athletes, it's people don't really use it, but a lot of like non-athletes will just go there and get whatever and you just need to be 21 and they're very strict about like making sure that you're 21.
[00:15:57] Mike: Well, the, the law there says you can buy, what was it? Two and a half ounces per day. [laugh]
[00:16:06] Guest: I don't even know.
[00:16:08] Mike: Right. [laugh] I know. I know. Which is so nice for me to hear, but that's a lot, I mean, anybody listening to this is you two and a half ounces today would be, it's not just personal use anymore.
[00:16:20] Guest: Yeah.
[00:16:21] Mike: Aiden, do you, do you, do you find that there's other drugs besides alcohol that's readily used?
[00:16:29] Guest: Well, personally for me, I didn't think so because I don't, I mean, the people that we hang out with don't do them, but I was just talking to Colin the other day. And I brought up something about about frats and he said like all the frats do all these drugs and stuff.
[00:16:48] But I, I mean, I just wouldn't know. It's not like I hang out with them, but I guess Whitewater has a slight cocaine problem.
[00:16:54] I feel like I've heard that about like mostly any college. Like I obviously going to La Crosse, I heard that about people there, not necessarily who I hung out with, but like friends of friends.
[00:17:07] But I kind of like going towards Jackie, like I hear it more popular, like the sororities in Madison and that being a bigger school, like a lot more drug use there than maybe a smaller town college.
[00:17:20] Mike: What do you think, Jackie, do you think that's true? You're in Madison.
[00:17:24] Guest: Yeah. I think drugs are very common. Like a lot of people have weed on them. And like, even if you walk down the streets, like you get whiffs of weed, like everywhere. And it's like, people will smoke. Like people will be smoking weed, like right out in public. And like, there is a reputation that Madison police are not very strict.
[00:17:53] Mike: Yeah. I could smell, I can smell it when I go.
[00:17:56] Guest: Yeah. Like it's very common.
[00:17:58] Mike: You're nodding your head Vivian. Can you smell it just walking outside?
[00:18:03] Guest: Mm. Sometimes. Yeah. Like if you're just walking from like, well, actually on the beach a lot, like if I go to the beach, like, I'll get a lot, like, there's a lot of people smoking there or just like going from bar to bar or people will be like smoking outside, but I don't even really think about it anymore.
[00:18:25] It just, it does seem like very common. Whereas like when I was younger, obviously like a lot more, I guess, like innocent too with like knowing things like that. But like, if I did smell like weed, when I was younger, I was like, oh my gosh. Like, it was so weird. And now it just seems so like common.
[00:18:41] Mike: Yeah, well, that's part of the 21 adultifying right? As you go. Hailey, I also wanted to ask this, you all know, I did a podcast with Logan's mom, Erin, and I know you all know him, right. And his passing. And she was trying to get Narcan into colleges. And I think she has gotten Narcan into her son's college UWM. Hailey, do they talk about that at all at Iowa?
[00:19:10] That we still, and I'm gonna ask all of you this, we still have this incredible ongoing opiate problem. Does it ever mention, is there, is there Narcan available on campus to that you're aware of?
[00:19:23] Guest: Can you explain what Narcan is?
[00:19:25] Mike: Yeah. It's a drug that you normally puff up your nose, like the nose sprayer, or you can do it via shot, but most of the EMTs use the nose, and if you have like, if you're overdosing on fentanyl, which is still around huge or heroin, It knocks those molecules off the place where they gather and brings you back to life.
[00:19:49] I mean, I've been around three people when they gave them Narcan and I thought they were gonna die in my arms and they, they literally were talking to you a minute later. It's weird as all get out. So it's, it would, it'd be really essential that that stuff is available and that people know how to use it in areas where the drugs are common. Haley. Do you, have you had any education or awareness on that at all?
[00:20:13] Guest: Like Grace said before, I think we took like some sort of course, like freshman year about that kind of stuff, but like nothing this year or last year that I've heard about. And if they had that anywhere around campus, I wouldn't know about it.
[00:20:25] So it wouldn't even be helpful. I feel like that would be something that would be helpful to like have in the dorms or something because everyone's in like one space, but. No, I haven't honestly heard much about that considering how big of a problem it is.
[00:20:39] Mike: How about you Viv?
[00:20:40] Guest: I don't think that there's anything like that at my school.
[00:20:44] And again, like Haley said, if there was, I would have no idea.
[00:20:48] Mike: Do you have a, do you have a defibrillator in the, in the locker room or in the gym where you guys practice? Do you know?
[00:20:54] Guest: Well, I don't know. I think we do. I'm sure. I, I bet we do.
[00:20:59] Mike: That's what they're trying to do is that there's mostly defibrillators in every dorm in the country now and on colleges, they're trying to just get the Narcan in there just as well.
[00:21:07] How about Madison, Jackie?
[00:21:09] Guest: No, there's nothing.
[00:21:11] Mike: Mm-hmm.
[00:21:12] Guest: Like, I only knew about Narcan because of my own research.
[00:21:16] Mike: Yeah.
[00:21:16] Guest: They don't talk on anything.
[00:21:18] Mike: Grace, Aidan?
[00:21:20] Guest: Well, Grace and I were kind of just looking at each other, like what is Narcan? I didn't have much previous knowledge. Like, even if we did take that freshman year course, it's just one of those things that you kind of tap to get through.
[00:21:37] Like, I don't think many students pay attention. So I don't think there's like proper education that's like being drilled into people's brains about it. Mostly when its so prevalent on college campuses.
[00:21:51] Mike: I, I think it's like Haley said before and I'm smiling as I'm talking to you because there's probably a reason why you all grin at me when I said "Y'all still in college?"
[00:22:00] Right. I guess if you were making really bad decisions, the answer would be different, right?
[00:22:06] Guest: Well, it's crazy when you explained what that is. Cuz after you're explaining it, like, I can't believe they don't have that in college dorms and stuff. Like, it seems like it would be easy enough to set up and it would save a lot of lives.
[00:22:19] Mike: Well, I'm hoping to talk to your friend Maya, who's trying to get it on her college campus. And is being met with a bit of a backlash and it's always legal stuff, right? It's always, well, if we do this, then there's a liability, but it's a club on her campus. That's trying to get it going. So let's switch gears for a minute and we'll end it kind of with this it in relationships and mental health, I mean, you, young women went through a lot.
[00:22:45] I mean, you were that group that graduated what virtually or. From high school, your senior year was bizarre, right? Your freshman year was bizarre. And what we knew was anxiety and depression went through the roof. So where, where are we at with you and your friends with mental health issues and people seeking help, et cetera, Grace won't you start.
[00:23:10] Guest: I definitely think overall, I would say people are doing a lot better now, like out of the pandemic, like I would say like, especially at a campus, like Whitewater, like I wouldn't say like, COVID's like not even relevant, like if someone's sick, like I don't even think they like take a test. But I, I think everyone's doing better mentally.
[00:23:33] What do you think?
[00:23:34] So I definitely did not have the best mental health my freshman and sophomore year. And I could kind of see that more, just like finding myself very emotional when I drank. And that kind of just led me to seek out. Like, it was kind of hard, like seeking out friends, like confiding in friends, more, just seeking out like a trusted adult. That I felt comfortable with and I have definitely improved my mental health since freshman and sophomore year. Just taking some different medications and knowing kind of finding those trusted relationships that definitely transferring to Whitewater helped a lot with my mental health, cuz I just knew I wasn't as happy as I could be at La Crosse.
[00:24:21] Mike: Jackie. You there's three resources on every college campus, right. Including Madison what's the mental health that you observed situation like?
[00:24:31] Guest: Um, actually it's something at Madison that a lot of people aren't happy with the resources cuz there's like way too many students versus staff.
[00:24:41] And that has been like a big issue since freshman year is people trying to get help and therapy and not being able to get any sort of help. But yeah, I think like with, COVID not being, having the same reputation as it did. And like now kind of like what Aiden talked about. Like we're at a point in college where we get to make decisions that reflect like what we want and what we think will make us happy. That we're at a point where it's, I think a lot easier to regulate mental health.
[00:25:17] Mike: Viv. You have the, not that the others don't with their studies, but you have the additional burden of needing to perform, right. So that adds stress.
[00:25:26] Guest: Yeah. I was gonna say that, I think with athletes specifically, like.
[00:25:34] Dealing with COVID was really hard. And that was like one whole task that everyone was like trying to get through. But I would say like, even with COVID being gone, like the mental health of a lot of people that I know it has stayed the same and I don't know if it will ever change until you're done playing a college sport.
[00:25:54] Like I'm me included. because it is so stressful all the time. And like then trying to balance school and our basketball season is basically goes the entire school year. We start a week after school starts and we end a week before school ends. So and then also, like there was a lot of talk about like athletes and suicide.
[00:26:16] And there was a girl at our, at my school last year who committed suicide on the track team. Which was a huge thing. And everyone was like really on the, like the school administration about that. And they haven't done anything really. And they have like free therapy here, which I actually did last year, just because I had a therapist at home that I really liked.
[00:26:39] And I tried doing that here, and it was not a good experience. Like they have free therapy resources, but not great by any means. So definitely something that could be improved upon.
[00:26:54] Mike: You had that same situation happen in the last year at Madison, too. Jackie, you had an, an athlete who committed suicide. Did you even hear about it?
[00:27:03] Guest: It was a girl on the track team, right? Right. Yeah. Like everybody talked about it.
[00:27:08] But it was another thing where once it happened, it was. People moved on pretty fast and.
[00:27:15] Mike: Well, and those are the ones we hear about. Haley. How about Iowa?
[00:27:19] Guest: Well, I was just gonna say, I know last year there was a freshman that actually, I think she was, she was taking some sort of like hard drug.
[00:27:27] I can't remember what it was. And she actually like jumped out of her window, like from really high up. And I heard about it from, she was like in one of my friends' like big lectures and their professor said something about it. But after that, I didn't hear anything about it. So it's like almost like going to a big school, like nobody cares really.
[00:27:45] And it just like makes me feel so sad because it's like, you would think they would do something about it. And it's like, maybe if she was like an athlete or something, they would've said something, but because I feel like they just like wanna cover it up.
[00:27:58] At lacrosse, there were a few suicides, unfortunately, freshman and sophomore year where the school did send out those mass emails.
[00:28:10] And I think in response to the suicide, they gave like students one extra day off. It was like a wellness weekend, which. I don't know, it just seems like it's, I don't know what the solution would be for colleges, but it just seems like there's not that great of a support system. Like backing off the therapy, like yeah, there's free therapy, but you can like meet with someone once every three weeks or something.
[00:28:36] Like, it just is not effective with how many students there are on college campuses.
[00:28:42] Well, that too also just seems like a very temporary solution. Like we'll give you a day off after someone commits suicide, but what are you gonna do to prevent it in the future? Like, it, it didn't seem like they made any moves towards that, which is the whole problem.
[00:28:57] Mike: You know, I think that's a, a whole nother conversation that we, we need to have, was including folks like you in the discussion, I think is one of the critical pieces that is oftentimes missing. Like the first question I would ask is what would help, what would you need, what would be effective? Instead of responding after the fact to be proactive, I think is.
[00:29:20] Being proactive is more than just putting up a poster [laugh]. Right? That's part of that. Well, girls, you, you, you willing to do this women, women, sorry, sorry, somebody just flinched. Who's listening to this. You, you willing to do this before your senior year?
[00:29:37] Guest: Yeah.
[00:29:39] Mike: Yeah, it was great. Well, now hopefully this satisfies everyone who is asking me how you're all doing.
[00:29:44] Sounds like you're all well into adulthood. You all look terrific. And I'm, I'm pleased that you're all doing so well. And I gotta tell you, I'm also really pleased that some of the questions I asked you can't answer. Cuz that's a good. I there's, there's a whole bunch of things I don't know much about cuz I'm not around it.
[00:30:03] So it's a good thing. Thanks ladies, for being a part of this and for those of you listening, please listen in next week. When we talk about more issues that are relevant, until then stay safe, talk to your children.
[00:30:17] [END AUDIO]
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