A Student Publication of Lorain County Community College

Prof. Karshner publishes book on healing through creative writing

Sharayah Goodwin Staff Writer After spending 15 years researching how literature can help people to better understand and empathize with others, Professor Kimberly Karshner was excited when a publisher solicited her after a conference, asking if she’d ever considered working…

Prof.  Ko publishes a scholarly philosophical book

Sharayah Goodwin Staff Writer Young Woon Ko, a professor of World Religion, has recently published a new book titled “The Non-Hierarchical Way from Yijing to Jeongyeok: A New Paradigm for East Meeting West.” Published in January 2023, it is the…

Journalism alumnus wins three local Emmys

Mark Poalson JRNM 151 About 10 years ago, then-LCCC student Drew Scofield was captivated by photography. One day he decided to venture down to The Collegian and asked Professor Cliff Anthony, adviser to the student newspaper, if his pictures could…

Minority entrepreneurs showcase their ventures

Mark Poalson JRNM 151 Known as the month of love, February boasts popular holidays such as Groundhogs Day and Super Bowl Sunday. February also kicks off Black History Month, a time to celebrate Black Culture, heritage, and African American history….

LCCC strives to recruit athletes, expand programs

Mark Poalson JRNM 151 LCCC’s Athletic Department strives to excel in recruiting and expanding it programs. For the past 35 years, Jim Powers has made it his mission to keep this tradition alive. Powers wears many hats. He is the…

Electric charging stations planned as part of sustainability plan

Sharayah Goodwin Staff Writer           Tucked away on the eastern end of the North Parking Lot-6, the unimposing Plant Services building could be easily overlooked. Inside the building, Leo Mahoney, director of Physical Plant and Construction Management, has been hard…

Grappling with school post Columbine

Destiny Torres Executive Director  Generation Z have never known a world without the fear and anxieties of a shooting happening at their school. They were born into an era shaped by Columbine and Sandy Hook, and have grown up wincing…

Dreaming Big post college: college students talk about their ambitions

The Collegian Staff

Ambition. The word strikes up images of runners, teachers, soldiers and politicians, but one of the most ambitious groups on the planet is a culmination of all: students. Students, especially college and above, continuously push themselves in their everyday lives to be better, achieve their goals and ultimately cross that finish line of graduation.

None is more true than for the students of Lorain County Community College who continue to bring new insights and opportunities to the community and beyond. From the nursing program to the Star police academy, LCCC students have continued to push barriers and make history.

According to data collected by the college, nearly 52% of all students at LCCC enroll in the University Partnership program adding to the college’s goal of reaching 10,000 degrees by 2025. This push for graduation and degrees shows the ambition that many students have. But those are just the numbers, what about the students?

Mary Abfall, a first-year nursing student in LCCC’s program, had always dreamed of becoming a nurse. “I knew when I was little that I wanted to be a nurse, but life had other plans for me first.” Choosing what she deems, a “fun career” first, Abfall went into the airline industry traveling the world, but still something felt like it was missing.

“While in the career, I started a family and that kind of pushed the dream a bit farther away, but I knew I would eventually need to be making more money so I didn’t let go of it,” she says.

During the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Abfall saw firsthand the need for nurses. Working as an aide in the hospitals she recalls not being able to do much, despite seeing the desperate help they needed. “I didn’t like just sitting around, I knew I needed to do much more and so I kind of just jumped right in,” she says.

Now in her first round of clinicals this year, Abfall says the experience has been very rewarding. “I found that window of opportunity with my two daughters in high school and son in middle and knew I was ready,” she says. “It was just perfect timing.”

Abfall admits that while she has younger students in her class, she is admired for their persistence. “I don’t think I could have done this when I was 18,” she laughs. “The program is rigorous and I’m not stopping but to see these younger adults also pushing through right by me, it’s amazing.”

Abfall isn’t the only student with high ambitions at LCCC, or the country. On average 1/4 of all college students who begin at a community college go on to a four year institution with 60% of those graduating with their bachelor’s degree or higher.

Ambitious people are always striving to be more and more successful which often pushes them to work harder and be better. “On average, ambitious people attain higher levels of education and income, build more prestigious careers, and report higher overall levels of life satisfaction,” says Neel Burton, psychiatrist and author of “Heaven and Hell: The Psychology of the Emotions.” “Many of man’s greatest achievements are the products, or accidents, of their ambition.”

But what drives ambition? Well according to Burton, it tends to run in the family. “My parents were very ambitious at my age and so I knew I had to be as well and it all fell into place,” says Nasahlie Nieves, a member of the student senate.

Other factors that push ambition include birth order, ego driven, insecurity, self confidence, desire to be worthy and prove others wrong. And the hard work, even at community colleges, pays off. According to Ramseysolutions.com, “85% of millionaires in the United States graduated from college with 62% of that attending public schools including community colleges.”

“I want to prove myself and never give up,” says Alexander Ramirez, a hopeful fashion designer. “ I want to achieve my goal to be successful.”

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How Covid-19 has changed Thanksgiving

Hayden Lowstetter
Staff Writer

Ever since Covid-19 left its impact on the world there has been a disconnect on the connection between families. The pandemic has uniquely affected children and families by disrupting daily routines.

These routines can be anything from school, being at work and even just everyday life. The changes have been so severe because the isolation period called for an absence from these routines.

The isolation period meant for school and work to be immediately postponed, but at the same time and most importantly among all other things the relationships you held were postponed as well. Just as the things people were doing on a daily basis were changing, naturally people and yearly routines did too.

One of the biggest holidays to have changed this due to the pandemic is that of Thanksgiving. The holiday, which is centered on coming together, took a massive hit for many from isolation to rising prices.

“Everyone was put inside and couldn’t interact which made holidays much harder for us,” says Lorain County Community College student Abe Elkammaty. “I mean we normally had small get-togethers, but it was still a struggle.”

Now in 2022, Halloween is in the past and the holidays are right around the corner once more. Though Covid-19 is mostly behind us it still has left its presence known going into these holidays. The holidays are a time viewed as spending with your loved ones, but for some those times just aren’t what they used to be.

According to Cathy Shaw from LCCC’s Advocacy Resource Center or ARC, “Despite the pandemic being over, many still struggle to come back together. Thankfully we weren’t affected too much.”

What made a difference for Shaw that led to Thanksgiving being able to still happen, is the idea of social bubbles. During the pandemic, many people started to band together in small groups. “My bubble was a few family members and then some neighbors, we did social distance, but I still got to see them which was really nice,” Shaw says.

Still while coming together wasn’t an issue for Shaw, isolation for many others added to the stress and depression. According to the World Health Organization, the world saw a 25% increase in depression cases during the first year of the pandemic, a number that has continued to grow since then.

“A lot of people lost their jobs or cut hours which led to many having to simplify Thanksgiving or cancel all together,” says Shaw. “That’s why LCCC decided to partner with Second Harvest for the mobile Thanksgiving Pantry.”

Though times have changed, they can certainly be changed again.

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Meet the women athletes of LCCC

Jaidan Comer
JRNM 151

Women’s opportunities in predominantly men’s activities have always been a heated topic, especially among citizens in America. These wide arrays of topics can include having a job or the right to vote, or it can even be as simple as wanting to play a sport.

It was just 50 years ago, in 1972 the government passed the Civil Rights law “Title IX,” which granted access for women across the country to play sports or pursue education without sexual discrimination.

This law opened up opportunities for women to make their sports activity into a career, no matter if they wanted to play the sport like Serena Williams or coach the sport like Cheryl Reeves.

Jim Powers, who coaches Cross Country at Lorain County Community College, was instrumental in creating a few female stars himself. He started coaching for LCCC in 2009. Since then, he has helped train two all-American runners, Hannah Cook and Gabrielle Post, and has led multiple successful cross country teams.

When asked if it’s harder to recruit women in sports, he said “it’s more difficult because we weren’t sure how many were coming out compared to the men’s.” This in turn would make it more of a challenge to pick up female athletes to fill an entire team at LCCC.

According to Women Sports Foundation in America, “before Title IX one in 27 women played sports.” Today that number is two in five.

Powers said that LCCC’s numbers for female athletes haven’t struggled, but have stayed the same. “We been able to maintain our sports room that we normally offer but we haven’t been able to bring in any new ones, so it’s pretty much the same.”

But if there is one sport that has had a yearly steady increase for women’s participation in high school, it’s volleyball. According to (NFHS), “In 1971 there was 17,952 participants, a number that’s grown to 452,808 in 2018.”

Powers agreed. “I would say volleyball definitely sees the most because the pipeline is so structured.” When asked about being a coach for women’s cross country, he explained, “It is fun developing the chemistry with each player and it’s essential because you’re traveling, eating and going on overnight trips together.”

He also reiterated that developing chemistry with players on the college level is different because of the work that needs to be done in a short period of time compared to high school.

Powers also said that he’s happy that in the major leagues there’s “more women assistant coaches and officials, but it needs to be normalized.” Still, as Powers and his staff continue to help female students become more prominent in sports, He is hoping that as times change more “options and avenues for women to continue participation in athletics.”

As more women are participating in sports at LCCC, Powers said there are a few challenges they face compared to men. This involves a certain attitude from society toward women that pressures females to stop playing sports at an older age for family, compared to the men where it’s encouraged by society.

“That’s the biggest hurdle,” said Powers, “If a woman really wants to keep playing a sport, she should have the same opportunities as the boys have.”

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Ringing in the holidays, even overseas

Destiny Torres
Executive Editor

A table for collection of the Christmas cards sits at the bottom of the spiral stairs in the College Center. (Destiny Torres|The Collegian)

Every year, people all over the world celebrate the spirit of the season by sending holiday cards to family and friends alike.

But at Lorain County Community College, students and staff spread the cheer a little further to those stationed overseas and those who served America in the past.

“I began this collection of cards in 2009,” says Learning Specialist, Kelly McLaughlin. “That was the year that nine marines were killed in Iraq who were from a battalion in Ohio.”

From there, McLaughlin knew something more needed to be done, especially with many not being able to see their loved ones during the holiday season.

According to McLaughlin, holiday cards make more of a difference than some may think. “They need to know that we haven’t forgotten about them. Whether they’re overseas, away from friends and family or veterans. We’re thinking about them and we appreciate their sacrifice,” she says.

For McLaughlin, sending these holiday cards has meant more to her and those around her, even going farther than she could imagine.

“In 2009, I was sending lots of Christmas cards and letters,” says McLaughlin. “There was this soldier that received my letter and he had plans of ending his life. He was having a tough time overseas alone and he wasn’t planning on coming back home. That card meant more to him than anyone could have ever imagined.”

This soldier made it home and has now made McLaughlin his children’s godmother.

“This is so important,” Said McLaughlin. “We never know what someone is going through and we have to try our hardest to reach out and be kind to those around us.”

McLaughlin soon after brought the idea to Lorain County Community College as part of the main campus’ Veteran’s services center. While taking a brief hiatus for Covid-19, the Christmas card collection hasn’t come to a full stop and returned in early November.

Throughout the course of the event, McLaughlin was able to collect 292 Christmas cards to send overseas. “They need to know that they are not forgotten, it’s really important to give our ongoing support,” she says.

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The financial stresses of college

Destiny Torres
Executive Editor

Attending college can be a stressful time for anyone, but the stress doesn’t stop at academics for students who are financially independent.

“Not only do I go to school full time, but I work two part time jobs just to pay my rent,” says Lorain County Community College Student, Kathryn Carver. “I’ve had times that I had to choose between getting a big assignment done or going into work.”

Many independent students at LCCC like Carver have found these struggles implemented into their daily lives. The Covid-19 pandemic back at its start in 2020, triggered an economic breakdown in the United States, causing many to lose their jobs, friends, houses and more.

Soon independent students were left struggling to pick up the pieces of paying for college, rent and food while also risking their lives going to their “essential” jobs in grocery work or fast food.

According to Carver who works at a fast food restaurant and a diner, she stresses about her academics and financial situation daily.

“I used to be a straight A student, but now I have to pay almost eight hundred dollars a month in rent; my job has become more important to me than my academics,” she says. “I have to make sure I have enough money to feed myself, keep the heat on and somehow still find time to get homework done for my five classes.”

Carver is not the only one struggling to pay rent as it has skyrocketed in the past year.

According to Rent.com, rent has increased nearly nine percent nationwide in the past year alone, forcing many to have to downsize or move back home if possible.

“I actually had to drop out of school,” says former student Margo Solace. “I was working 25 hours a week, so I could focus on school and still wasn’t making enough money to pay my rent.”

Solace went on to add that it wasn’t just the rent that caused her financial stress.

“I was deciding whether I should put gas in my car to get to and from work and school, or buy groceries. I never realized how much food cost till I was on my own.”

The inflation of food cost has increased 11.2% since September of 2021 according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, causing independent students to have to decide whether to eat or pay their rent.

“I just wish I was able to stay in school,” says Solace. “I plan on going back at some point, but it just pushed my life plans way off track.”

Fortunately for those that are struggling, LCCC has an answer. Resources like Commodore Cupboard or the Advocacy Resource Center exist on main campus to help students in need.

“We had a lot more students coming in during the past two years more than ever before, so we knew we needed to expand our resources,” says Cathy Shaw from the ARC. “A lot of times, these students don’t know where to start, and that’s why we’re here.”

For more information regarding the ARC and commodore Cupboard, visit https:// www.lorainccc.edu/support-services or stop by the ARC in the Bass Library.

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How technology helped a blind person “see”

Lauren Hoffman
Editor-In-Chief

For many of us, watching the birth of technology has been exciting, scary, and everything in between, but for some it’s also been a necessity.

Meet Shane

“I started using technology at the age of five and I have certainly seen a lot of it change throughout the years.” Meet Shane Popplestone. A Lorain County Community college student who, like many others has grown up around technology in his day to day life.

The only difference? Popplestone is completely blind. “Many people when they see me think I can’t use a lot of technology because I can’t see, but trust me that is completely not the case.”

Popplestone has spent his life traversing the growing age of technology from screen readers to accessibility programs to help better his life, but it hasn’t always been smooth sailing. “In 1991, I started out with the Apple 2E using the echo speech synthesizer while at school when I was five. They had us using 5 ¼ inch floppy discs that have braille edited express on it,” he says.

“Basically one side had the braille and the other was full of data, and floppy discs are weird on their own, so for someone who couldn’t really see them, it was super strange.”

Still despite the troubles, Popplestone preserved and as he grew so did technology.

Back to the 90s

By the time we entered eighth grade, the troubles of screen reading and writing seemed to be drifting off. “Windows 95 came out when I was in 8th grade and that would run Job Access with Speech or JAWs for short on an upgraded version,” he says. “This was a major upgrade for everyone, students and staff included at my school.”

Popplestone attended the Ohio State School for the Blind in Columbus, OH by this point.

“This technology gave us access to the internet in ways we never could have imagined and worked on all the computers at our school,” says Popplestone. “It felt like I could start being like the other kids, you know going on the internet and clicking on things I wasn’t supposed to and laughing.”

But as technology is always growing and changing, it can come with some less than favorable experiences as well. “Screenwriter manufacturers had to figure out the changing technology even faster than most could to make sure that the internet was still accessible to us which was fine, until Java came along,” he says.

Java Monster

Java, a now mainly defunct programming language system first developed in 1995 by James Gosling. At the time, the program was the leading platform for all things technology, powering everything from video chat sites to virtual shopping centers.

While the program seemed great for many, for the blind it was a nightmare.

“It was so hard to get things to work with the program and overall caused so many problems,” says Popplestone. “The technology we used didn’t want to work with Java but since it was everywhere, we couldn’t do anything about it. It was like we took a step back in time.”

To the future

But, like always, Popplestone persevered and soon life was back on track, especially when he got his first iPhone. “The iPhone was my first experience with explore based touch and it was interesting to say the least. I didn’t realize I could click on things and open them just by using my fingers on the screen and it was all crazy.”

According to a study done by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, there could be as many as 100,000 blind and visually impaired iPhone users in the United States, a number that could possibly be even bigger.

Now with apps like “Be My Eyes” that allows blind users to connect with sighted users to help with tasks like picking out clothes or reading expiry dates on products, the iPhone has continued to become more accessible than ever.

Today, Popplestone views technology as he always has, a marvel of life that has continued to help him throughout his own.

“A lot of technology helps with even the most basic things like shopping or scanning a package to make sure I have the correct one.,” says Popplestone. “A lot of stuff most sighted people don’t even think about, but it helps me because I don’t have to wait for people to help me, I can do it myself.”

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Greetings from South Asia

Corentin Aboulin 
JRNM 151

On Nov. 16, the Program Director of LCCC’s International Initiatives, Dr. Shaun Marsh invited students to join him at his presentation “Being Globally Engaged: The Critical Components of Global Mindedness and Citizenship Education”.

A panoramic view of the South Asia studies exhibit located on the second floor of the Bass Library at LCCC. The exhibit looks at artifacts both ancient and modern from Japan, China and South Korea. (Lauren Hoffman|The Collegian)

As a university student, Marsh had the opportunity to work in international dormitories and meet a lot of students from all over the world. He was able to learn about different cultures from his friends, which led to him gaining an interest in discovering other countries on his own.

Subsequently, Marsh related his studies in his doctoral and master’s program to understanding International Education as a subject.

A type of fan that can be found in Japanese culture. (Destiny Torres|The Collegian)

He explains that this desire to make such a presentation comes from “being around other people, being exposed to other cultures and trying to understand your own place in a global world as opposed to just your local community or your own self or just your friends groups.”

According to him, Global citizenship is more about awareness and the development of a perspective right, it’s an experience with other cultures. But it doesn’t have to be in their countries.

Ideally, he explains that it would be great to be able to go to other countries to see how cultures are, but in reality, he says you can also learn them at home. “It really just comes down to who do you surround yourself with,” he said. “If you only hang out with people of the same culture, if you eat the food you know all the time, if you don’t try other things, you’re not going to develop that global citizen mindset right.”

A tea set from South Korea features a side handled teapot made for easier pouring. (Lauren Hoffman|The Collegian)

What’s important to him is not where you learn, but rather what. According to Marsh, you have to tell yourself “I’m here, I have a place in the world but there’s a whole world out there, and things that I do here in my own community can affect people anywhere around the world. We’re a very interconnected World whether we like it or not or whether we think we are or not. It’s building that awareness of what I do, that is impacted by things outside and also what I do impacts other people outside”.

Marsh further explained that the best way to integrate a new community is to have an open mind. When he went to South Korea for the first time, he just expected that many unexpected things could happen because he didn’t know how people there lived and didn’t even know their language.  He wanted to try to get as much knowledge as he could.

At the same time, he explains that he is surprised to know that a lot of people will travel without learning anything about the culture of the foreign country before going there or that they expect life to be the same as in their country of origin.

He specifies that “it’s important to kind of understand the history of the country but also how it relates with your own country right”.

It is because of all of this that Marsh has set up the visiting East Asia project in the second floor of the Bass Library at Lorain County Community College.

Some examples of different post cards from Japan. (Destiny Torres|The Collegian)

The exhibit which will run until the end of the semester features artifacts from across Japan, China and South Korea for students to enjoy. “These cultures aren’t much different from our own, it’s approaching people first as humans that is the one way that we can really come together and integrate respect for one another,” says Marsh.

Lauren Hoffman, Editor-In-Chief, contributed to this story. 

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National Recycle Day reaches college

Lauren Hoffman
Editor-In-Chief

On Nov. 15, Lorain County Community College got an insight into the world of recycling thanks to the Lorain County Collection Center. Nov. 15, which has been denoted America Recycles Day once again by the National program commissioners, has long had its roots in Lorain County.

Coming to LCCC

This year the program spread to LCCC once more as a way to continue the important message of recycling, especially now.

According to Brandi Schnell from the Lorain County Solid Waste Management District, “we want people to be aware of what recycling is and how it prevents items from going into the landfill as well as its importance.”

This year the collection center branched out to the college through an America Recycles booth filled with information on the importance of recycling as well as how to do it right in your own community.

Not so hard

“Many people think that recycling is hard and so they tend not to do it,” says Schnell. “They used to teach about the numbers of what plastics you could and couldn’t recycle and it just got all confusing.”

Remember the list

To combat this, Schnell provided college students with a “Recycle Right in Lorain County” poster designating the five types of recyclables along with directions.

“You can recycle cans, cartons, glass, paper and plastic which many people don’t know, but one thing you should never put in your recycling is plastic bags and wrap because it will get caught in the machines.”

Schnell reminded students and guests to take these fliers with them and “plaster them everywhere” as a way to continue to spread efforts.

What about the larger stuff

As for the larger recyclable items or others that shouldn’t go into the landfill, Schnell introduced the college to the collection center’s material list. Products like old light bulbs, tires, gasoline, paint thinner, road flares and more can all go to the sight to be repurposed instead of making its way into the landfill.

“We ask that these be separated because if there’s too much of bad things in one batch, it has to all go into the landfill and curbs our efforts,” says Schnell. “This way these items can get another use and keep our efforts moving at the same time.”

Taking the pledge

Finally, Schnell asked visitors to take the America Recycles Day pledge in order to continue the recycling efforts. “By signing this pledge, you agree to remember to recycle and help the environment, plus as an incentive you will get entered to win either a rain barrel or $25 Amazon gift card,” says Schnell.

The barrel, which is useful in rural areas, is gifted from the collection center to promote recycling of a different kind, water usage. “We as humans go through so much water on a daily basis and don’t tend to take advantage of the water falling around us,” Schnell says.

“This barrel not only collects the water but filtrates it as well to better shape the future.”

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Student Senate tackles Planned Parenthood during Real Talk

Lauren Hoffman
Editor-In-Chief

Lorain County Community College prides itself on firsts and diversity and that includes tackling all sorts of different difficult and oftentimes sensitive topics. Introduced this fall semester, the Student Senate team has conducted meetings to discuss these topics, deemed “real talks”.

From gay rights to religion to domestic violence, the group has continued to lead students in conversations in a safe, civilized space. After working up towards it, the senate introduced the topic of abortion, a long time headed debate since its inception into politics in 1973.

The history

“Before we start the meeting, please keep in mind that people have different opinions for various reasons,” said Student senate vice president Brenda Hitchens. The senate was originally unsure of introducing the topic because of its disastrous discussions in the past, but ultimately decided the student body was mature enough to handle it.

Opening with a video on the timeline of Roe v. Wade, a historic landmark Supreme Court Case that was introduced in 1970, passed in 1973 and overturned just earlier this May, the senate team then opened the floor for students to voice their opinions on the matter.

“It seems like abortion has had a tumultuous history since its beginning with different restrictions, overrulings and more,” said student Abe Elkammaty. “If it has been this way, what’s stopping it from being overturned once more?”

Restrictions

Other students agreed with Elkammaty, but did point out that severe restrictions that now exist. “In many states in the U.S. including Ohio, there have been total abortion bans put in place. This means that if a woman is seeking an abortion for whatever reason including rape and incest, she could be arrested as well as anyone who helps her,” said one student who preferred to remain anonymous.

The terrifying reality is that now in some states, miscarriages which can be mistaken for abortions are also under fire. “There was a woman in Ohio that was at the risk of having a spontaneous abortion or miscarriage,” said Harry Kestler, M.D., a professor at LCCC and a leading scientist on HIV research. “This woman was turned away from hospitals who refused to help her because they weren’t sure if her miscarriage was due to natural causes or because of an abortion pill.”

Against code

Not only do the doctors actions go against the Hippocratic Oath of do not harm, it also defies the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act or EMTALA introduced in 1986. “EMTALA is a law that states if a woman is in active labor, she cannot be turned away from a hospital or help, no matter the situation,” said Kestler.

High risk and disease

Kestler also discussed different types of diseases that can affect a mother or child during pregnancy that can often lead to the need of a medical abortion. “Any type of STD the mother has while pregnant has the capability of being transferred to the child, especially HIV,” he said. “Now there are ways to prevent this, namely by having the mother take medicine that fights the disease, but there’s always still the chance that it can be passed on.”

Kestler then told the story of a student he once had who wanted to have a child despite having HIV. “Pregnancy in and of itself is a very risky business for both the parent and child. There are so many things that can go wrong,” Kestler said.

High risk pregnancies are also a common cause of many to seek abortions. A high risk pregnancy is when there is danger to either the child, mother or both during the pregnancy that can result in death. One of the leading causes is Polycystic Ovary syndrome.

“This is when there are cysts that form on the ovaries that can make pregnancy extremely difficult and also incredibly painful,” said Nashalie Nieves. “Anything from irregular hormones to searing pain can cause the loss of a child or death of the mother.”

For the future

Ultimately after looking at all of the information the group agreed that no matter their stance on abortion, there are many ways in which they can be avoided. “We need to have better sex ed in school as well as correct the foster care system,” said Dannelle Johnson.

“There are so many children in this world who are suffering and so many more young adults who don’t understand the weight of pregnancy, without these changes, nothing will get better.”

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Stressed? You are not alone

Destiny Torres
Executive Editor 

Stress, a photo illustration by Lauren Hoffman|The Collegian

For most students, college is viewed as a time of liberation, a time to find themselves and learn what they want to do with the rest of their lives. But for others, college is filled with the existential fear of how they’ll get through the semester in one piece.

The mounting stress

Being a college student can be stressful, which is a fact that most students can attest to.

Between having to go to classes, doing homework and juggling a job; most students face some sort of emotional turmoil in one way or another.

“I don’t have time for myself,” Isabelle Roach, an early education major, said. “I go to classes, spend hours doing homework and then immediately have to leave to go to my full-time job waitressing.”

According to Roach, she typically spends anywhere between three to four hours a night on some sort of assignment for class.

Exhausting and annoying

“It’s exhausting,” Roach said. “I can’t remember the last time I had a day off for just me. I recently went on a trip with a friend and had to ignore her to do my assignments, which didn’t make the trip enjoyable for either of us.”

A recent study done by the Mayo Clinic revealed that one out of three college students deal with significant depression or anxiety.

Crushing dreams

“I had to drop out of my dream college and come home,” A student who wanted to stay anonymous

said.

“On top of the stress of classes, leaving home made my already bad anxiety grow tenfold. I wasn’t leaving my dorm to go to classes, didn’t make any friends and ended up in a really dark place mentally.”

Loss of Function

In the same study done by Mayo Clinic, it revealed that 73% of students report feeling so hopeless that they are unable to function.

“I realized that it wasn’t healthy,” The anonymous student said. “Especially when I attempted to take my own life because suddenly the way I imagined the rest of my life wasn’t happening and I was stuck going to the same community college as most of my high school friends.”

The student says they felt like they were going backwards in life.

Hope in the future

But there is hope for a better future and resources for students who are struggling with their mental well being while at college.

Many colleges have started to offer on site counseling following the Covid-19 Pandemic. At Lorain County Community College, students, staff and faculty have access to the Advocacy Resource Center.

The ARC, as its more commonly called offers 24/7 assistance with emotional stress management through their on call mental health hot lines, as well as on site help.

According to ARC representative and information support specialist Cathy Shaw, “the arc first began in 1988 with the belief of helping people in all sorts of situations, something that is still going on today.”

Their hours are Monday to Fridays 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. located in the first floor of the Bass Library. For more information about counseling and other resources visit https://www.lorainccc.edu/support-services/arc/.

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