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‘Rocky Horror’ tradition celebrates 23 years at SIUE page 4
thursday, 09.01.16
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Cougar volleyball sets sights on aggressive play
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vol. LXIX no. VIII
Inside the chancellor’s office:
Pembrook gets candid about new position KYLE STEPP Alestle Sports Editor
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National initiative for suicide awareness comes to campus
KIAH EARL Alestle Reporter
Beginning next week, SIUE will take part in the national initiative among college campuses to raise awareness about suicide among students, faculty and staff. The International Suicide Awareness week will begin on Monday, Sept. 5 with multiple events ongoing around campus. Suicide prevention project coordinator and counselor Lisa Thompson-Gibson said she is ready to highlight the conversation of suicide awareness not only during Suicide Awareness Week, but ongoing throughout the entire year. “One of our goals is simply to bring the conversation to campus,” Thompson-Gibson said. “Part of the dialogue we’re looking for is to ask ourselves, ‘do we know what to do if someone we know or even ourselves is in distress?’” Thompson-Gibson said that suicide awareness is a community issue and should be viewed as such by all students and staff on campus. Working directly with Student Government, Thompson-Gibson plans to continue pushing for the normalization of conversations surrounding student mental health at SIUE.
“We need to be able to normalize that people have stress and not knowing what to do when we’re hurting is normal,” Thompson-Gibson said. “We are trying to get people the support they need so that suicide isn’t an option.” The two main events taking place during Suicide Awareness week this year will be the screening of “The S Word” Documentary on Sept. 8 and Send Silence Packing on Sept. 12, according to Thompson-Gibson. “The S Word” screening will take place at 5:30 p.m. in the Meridian Ballroom and is being shown in its rough-cut stages, which enables ongoing conversation about the film and its goals. Film director Lisa Klein will also be at the screening and available to address the audience to answer any questions, as well as recieve audience feedback on the film’s progress thus far. Send Silence Packing is a display of 1,100 backpacks that represent the loss of college students annually to suicide, provided and placed by the on-campus organization, Active Minds. This display will be shown in the Stratton Quadrangle, weather permitting. In the event of rain, the display will be shown in the Goshen Lounge.
“Throughout the week we want to educate and teach what the different roles are as members of our community,” Thompson-Gibson said. “With the idea that the people that we are closest to us know our rhythm, we have to be there as observers of the people we are with and we need to know the warning signs and what to do.” Volunteer opportunities are available at some of the events listed. Contact the office of Counseling and Health Services to find out more information. If someone you know is dealing with a crisis, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24/7. Call 1(800)273TALK(8255) to be connected with a trained counselor in your area. For on-campus emergencies dial 911. For non-emergencies on campus contact the university Police Department at 650-3324. To schedule an appointment or speak with a professional on campus, contact the office of Counseling and Health Services at 650-5839 or visit the office in the lower level of the Student Success Center.
Contact KIAH EARL Call 650-3527 Tweet @kearl_alestle Email kearl@alestlelive.com
Tuesday, Sept. 6: Student Government Association & Student Art Therapy Association 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. and 12 p.m. - 2 p.m. in the Goshen Lounge Wednesday, Sept. 7: Student Government Association information table 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. in the Goshen Lounge Thursday, Sept. 8: “The S Word” Documentary Rough Cut Screening 5:30 p.m. in the Meridian Ballroom
Saturday, Sept. 10: World Suicide Day & Booth 8 a.m - 12 p.m. at Edwardsville Goshen Market in Downtown Edwardsville
Monday, Sept. 12: Send Silence Packing 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. in Stratton Quad and West Lawn of Morris University Center Tuesday, Oct. 4: Free Depression Screenings 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. in the Goshen Lounge connect with us anytime online
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Randy Pembrook is nearly a month into his term as the new chancellor for SIUE. The ninemonth search ended June 6, when SIU President Randy Dunn announced Pembrook was the final candidate out of 65 considered. The new chancellor returns to SIUE, having earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education and piano performance in 1980.
Q: What are your thoughts after spending a month as SIUE’s new chancellor? “The two things I got to do that I really enjoyed was [Interim Vice Chancellor for Administration] Rich Walker and I have been going out for an hour a half or two hours a day to get to know the campus again. I was here from 1976-1980 as a student, and I counted six buildings that were here when I was. Everything else is new. The other thing is I’ve been having one-on-one meetings with those I will work closely with while serving as chancellor. It was good to get their perspective.”
Q: What do you like to do in your spare time? “I like to golf, although I’m not very good at it. When I’m playing well, it’s a good stress reliever. I also like to fish and hunt. I grew up on a farm up in Green County, north of Alton. I’ve been gone 36 years — I moved to Florida after I left here, then to Missouri, then to Kansas — and even during that period of time I would come back and hunt with my family. I’ve got three brothers, and my dad loves to hunt.”
Q: What did you do as Washburn University’s vice president of academic affairs, your job prior to the chancellor of SIUE? “The vice president for academic affairs tries to maintain or raise the quality of the academic process. One thing I did was create a center for teaching excellence and learning so that faculty, if they were struggling, could get help. For example, if teachers were struggling with online classes, they would be able to get the proper help so they, and the students, would benefit fully. I also worked with deans on accreditation for the university as a whole, but also the individual units within the university — you have to make sure you have the right number of faculty, the proper library resources, you have to make sure you have the right kind of research environment for faculty.”
Q: The SIUE congress was made to lay a framework for the chancellor to follow, mainly in regards to the budget crisis between the state and higher education. What are your thoughts on the congress, and SIUE’s budgetary situation? “The good thing about the congress is that it tried to address the priorities of the institution. There were conversations, when I studied the university for the interview — it’s clear that a lot of people were involved in [the SIUE congress] — I think that’s a great thing for the university. The budget issue is a difficult situation. When I was going through the hiring process, the budget was all anyone was talking about. Since then we’ve had stopgap one and stopgap two. There will be certain budgetary issues that will require direct attention. For example, as part of stopgap two, [legislation] released some funds, so we’ll probably get started working on Science East soon and get that finished up. So there are some good things happening at the moment. However, I think the upcoming election has stopped the discussion on our budget. Once the election in November [is over], then I expect everybody is going to come back to the budget conversation.” CHANCELLOR | pg. 2
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