The independent newspaper of Washington University in St. Louis since 1878 THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2023
VOLUME 145, NO. 2
THYRSUS
WWW.STUDLIFE.COM
FOOTBALL WINS ON THE ROAD
WashU’s oldest theatre student group kicks off the year with 24 hours of shame. (Scene, pg 7)
The Bears win their first game 44-27 after being tied at the half. (Sports, pg 3)
AI ENTERS THE CHAT
University offers guidance but no policy on ChatGPT. (News, pg 2)
Habif Mental Health to become Center for Counseling and Psychological Services VIA POOLOS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF This year, Washington University’s student medical center Habif Health and Wellness has split its mental and physical health services into administratively distinct centers. The mental health side is now the newly-named Center for Counseling and Psychological Services (CCPS), while Habif will refer only to the University’s physical-health services. Dr. Kirk Dougher, Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Support and Wellness, said that the split is largely internal, and that students can expect the same services and level of care as when both mental and physical medical services were under one Habif umbrella. The shift into separate entities, however, allows for CCPS to apply for various accreditations. One, Dougher said, is from a national group — the American Psychological Association — and two others will allow for CCPS to host training for graduate students.
Dougher said that the biggest change coming out of the split will be two novel training programs: one for practicum students before they pursue a doctoral degree in clinical psychology, and a doctoral internship for students in their last year of a psychology degree. Dr. Cristie Cunningham, Associate Director of Counseling and Psychological Services, started at WashU two years ago. One of the goals of hiring her, she said, was to help develop the training services. Already, four practicum students — one from the Brown School, and three from local Ponce Health Sciences University — have started at CCPS. New students at the center are oriented in risk assessment, HIPAA, diversity and equity, and managing the electronic medical-records system before beginning to manage a caseload. Over the next year, CCPS will be applying for another accreditation to accept up to four doctoral interns alongside a new class of practicum students. Cunningham said that ideally, a group of up
to four interns would start at the beginning of the 2024-2025 academic year. Habif has historically faced criticism from students about difficulties in accessing timely mental health care. Dougher said the training program will ideally help address some of those concerns by adding to the pool of counselors that can accept clients. Both practicum students and interns will see patients, though Cunningham said that practicum students will have a higher level of supervision from a more senior staff member. “In my mind, it’s almost like two therapists in one. They’re doing the work, and they’re also talking with their supervisor and have a lot of oversight and a lot of feedback,” she said. Cunningham, who is closely involved with the recruitment and training process, said that CCPS will be looking to accept people with some involvement in counseling already under their belt. “[We want to] make sure that our WashU students are still
getting high-quality care when they’re at our center,” she said. Additionally, a screening process will help determine whether a case is appropriate for a student with less professional experience, and undergraduates can always opt to see a full-time staff member instead. Another advantage of the training programs, Dougher said, is that CCPS will have a close proximity to multiple highly trained new counselors after they finish their residency — historically difficult people to hire, given the high demand for psychologists across the country. “This would be that upper echelon of training that we would have, potentially, first dibs [on] recruiting out of,” he said. CCPS will be recruiting for interns and practicum students nationally and locally beginning in October, with up to eight combined slots for the following August. Cunningham said that there’s no preference for WashUaffiliated kids, though Dougher said CCPS may reach out to the
Psychological and Brain Studies department to advertise the program to their students. “I wouldn’t say that there’s an advantage. I think that we’re really looking at each person individually,” Cunningham said. “But, we do love having the WashU students.” Aside from the new accreditations, Dougher said that not much will change for patients at the new center. CCPS will offer the same services as before, and will continue to connect patients to Habif doctors when needed. “I don’t anticipate any new additions because of the split or any new reductions because of the split; however, we are continuing to collaborate with each other,” Dougher said. And while there are not yet publicized plans to create a separate physical space for CCPS, both Cunningham and Dougher are crossing their fingers for their own building. “We are maxed out on space,” Cunningham said.
Volleyball continues its winning ways ARYAN KUMAR STAFF WRITER
GINGER SCHULTE | STUDENT LIFE
WashU women’s volleyball celebrates after scoring a point during the Bear Invite.
Following a season where it finished with a record of 30-6 and reached the second round of the NCAA tournament, expectations continued to be high for the #14 Washington University volleyball team to start the season. The team played out-of-conference foes North Central College and #23 Otterbein University to kick off the Bear Invite — a tournament that was hosted at WashU this past weekend — Friday night. It won both games with a scoreline of 3-1 against North Central and swept #23 Otterbein. They continued their amazing
start to the season the following day by sweeping Hendrix College in three sets, but fell short to #6 Hope College with a scoreline of 3-1 in their final game. The Bears ended the weekend with a record of 3-1 to kick off the season. Many key players returned, including reigning All-UAA First Teamers sophomore Sam Buckley and junior Jasmine Sells. Although the team is quite talented, it faces a tough schedule for the year ahead. Coach Vanessa Walby — who enters her 10th season with the Bears — spoke on this topic.
SEE VOLLEYBALL PAGE 4
First SU Treasury meeting of the semester revisits funding guidelines ALIANA MEDIRATTA JUNIOR NEWS EDITOR The Treasury branch of Student Union (SU) had their first meeting of the semester this Tuesday, where they welcomed new Treasury representatives, discussed goals for the year, and heard appeals from clubs, Sept. 5. During the meeting, representatives allocated $15,819.50 to seven different clubs, ranging from cultural affinity groups to club sports to competitive academic clubs. Before hearing appeals, senior Mishka Narasimhan, Vice President of Finance, gave a presentation with some larger goals for the organization, as well as the principles that representatives ought to follow when hearing appeals from eligible student groups. “As a general overview, we want to be prioritizing needs versus wants,” Narasimhan said. “We also want to prioritize missionrelated events versus social events.”
Narasimhan, who served as the Speaker of the Treasury last year, also emphasized the importance of determining whether a group has done their due diligence in finding the most cost-effective options possible. Additionally, as of this year, money for travel will be allocated differently depending on whether the student group asking for the funds submitted their appeal at least four weeks before the event in question. Appeals that are submitted less than four weeks in advance will be subsidized at a maximum of $120 per room per night for hotels and $300 for flights, whereas appeals that are submitted before that deadline are only subject to the maximum of $850 per traveling member per year. “This is to incentivize groups to submit their appeals earlier on,” Narasimhan said. “If a group has done their due diligence and submitted their appeal early on, you should fund it.”
Senior Justin Kouch, Treasury representative, asked Narasimhan whether there was flexibility in the policy for clubs that are only made aware of an event last-minute, such as a club sports team getting assigned to a certain tournament by a larger governing body. In response, Narasimhan said that there will be no exceptions to the new policy. “If you just found out, and your prices are higher than [the maximum], then I’m sorry,” Narasimhan said. “We’re happy to subsidize and give you $120 per room per night and $300 per flight, which is still a good amount, but you might still have to pay out-of-pocket.” After the presentation, Treasury representatives moved to hear appeals from seven different clubs, all of which received funding, at least in part, for the events that they needed funding for. WashU’s Association of Black Students was funded for $2,162 in order to send roughly 100 Black
students to have a sanctuary experience where they can connect with nature while forming and strengthening their relationships with one another. Hillel was funded $2,500 for refreshments and to secure the services of a rabbi in order to host events on the Jewish holidays Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, in addition to previous funds from the general budget. The Men’s club ice hockey team appealed for $5,212.50 in order to lengthen their biweekly practices by a half hour, for a total of 90 minutes, to get more time on the ice. Representatives for the club, which finished one win away from qualifying for Nationals last year, explained that some members have academic conflicts that make it difficult to attend practice. “The program is really on the rise,” a representative said. “Last year, we were ranked second in the nation by midseason rankings. Having these extra 30 minutes is
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really huge for us — it allows us to be more competitive, and bonds us together as a team.” While some Treasury representatives empathized with the logistical difficulties, others pointed out that the high cost was coming in addition to the roughly $19,000 that had been previously budgeted for time on the ice. “If we add their request to what they have already been allocated, then it’s about $1,000 per member,” junior and Treasury representative Saish Satyal said. “That’s just for practice alone — not even including travel.”
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