Kelly Gehlhoff, founder and CEO of Perpetual Harvest LLC, a wellness advocacy and sustainability consulting company, and Iginia Boccalandro, hemp farmer, discuss the benefits of and facts about hemp. | Photo by Ashleigh Hollowell

From lighting up and getting high to learning about earth’s resources and getting healthy, an April 20 campus hemp panel featuring experts and researchers aimed to educate students about the beneficial parts of the cannabis plant, as opposed to the drug properties of the plant.

April 20, “Weed Day,” is a holiday unmarked on calendars, but significantly celebrated by many who consider themselves marijuana-friendly. It is a day celebrated even more so throughout the state of Colorado now that marijuana is legal on both recreational and medical levels.

At Colorado State Univesity-Pueblo this year, April 20 was promoted to students across campus as “Hemp Day” sponsored by the Leaders in Ethical Action for the Future as part of their earth week event lineup.

The panel experts included Iginia Boccalandro, a hemp farmer and owner of Fat Pig Society, a workers’ cooperative, Kelly Gehlhoff, an adjunct professor at CSU-Pueblo and both founder and CEO of Perpetual Harvest, a wellness advocacy and sustainability consulting company, and Meral Sarper, a graduate student in the industrial and systems engineering program at CSU-Pueblo researching vitalization and phytoremediation solutions for the Environmental Protection Agency superfund site in Pueblo.

Sarper’s current research has determined that hemp, a phytoaccumulator, is capable of cleaning up toxins like the lead and arsenic left behind from the old metal smeltering site now deemed an EPA superfund area, in addition to other plants like sunflowers and certain grasses.

“Although there may have been another definition of hemp for some time now the federal government is saying that anything that has less than 0.3 percent THC, which is the mind-altering component of the cannabis plant, is considered hemp,” Boccalandro said, “and anything that’s above it is considered marijuana.”

Hemp has over 5,000 uses, ranging from medicinal to textile. Local stores, such as Natural Grocers, sell hemp-based products like foods and lotions.

“There’s so much that needs to be done strategically for us to reclaim the power of this plant and stop buying into the stigma about ‘all those people are stoners we don’t need to pay attention to them,’” Gehlhoff said. “It isn’t about that. It’s about us understanding the many uses, whether it’s medicinal or not and then being responsible to reclaim that.”

Hemp use in the United States dates back to the beginning of the country. Both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were hemp supporters and grew it themselves. The Declaration of Independence was even written on hemp paper.

“It’s interesting, they basically consider marijuana and hemp the same even though we have been trying for years to say ‘no they’re not the same’ now under the law, for now until we make more changes … to maybe change that law to make it a little bit more sensible to the actual stipulation that hemp is different than marijuana, but for now they basically consider anything in the Cannabis sativa family marijuana,” Sarper said.

Audience member Judy Romero-Saldana recalled a comical story of when she was younger and her and her friends did not know the difference between hemp and marijuana.

“I remember back in the ‘60s there was a store on Main Street here in town that used to sell hemp cookies and clothing and shoes and all of us would hang out there and eat the cookies thinking we were going to get high. Really, were just eating healthy I guess,” she said.

Romero-Saldana is now a hemp advocate and supporter herself.

Regarding the panel overall, Boccalandro hopes that the students who attended are able to “speak intelligently to other people about it and that we can stand together to fully benefit from this very divine plant.”

In addition to the panel, Hemp Day featured an information session with the Planet of Awe nonprofit, an environmental stewardship organization and two screenings of the documentary “Bringing it Home” both before and after the hemp panel.

The Industrial Hemp Research Foundation was also invited to speak at the panel, but could not make it.

For most students, time management is key to working with an overloaded schedule. | Photo courtesy of Laura Timoney/ Flickr

Alarm clocks and cups of coffee are essential to the life of almost any college student, but especially to those who are not enrolled full time, but have a full-time schedule outside of classes.

At Colorado State University-Pueblo, 12 credit hours declare a full-time student and, in general, 40 hours declare a full-time job. Between practices, trainings, games and travel time athletic schedules vary, but they take a lot of time commitment.

Abigail Holak, a junior social work major, is enrolled in six more than that. She is currently taking 18 credit hours and is a member of the Pack women’s lacrosse team. Between weekly practices and trainings alone, the athletics part of her schedule totals to over 17 hours. This does not include games or travel time to away games.

The most difficult part, Holak said, is “just being really exhausted from my sport and it takes a lot mentally and physically and I would like to devote some of that time to school but I can’t usually.”

Finding time for homework, rest and socializing can be challenging. Holak is typically awake around 19 hours on a typical weekday.

“I don’t really have a lot of free time so most of my free time is spent doing homework,” she said. “Well my family is far away so I don’t get to talk to them very much, but … it’s good living with my friend because she is always by me so I can talk to her anytime I want … and some of my friends are on the team so I see them every day.”

Mass communications major Zach Hillstrom works between 35 and 40 hours per week and is currently enrolled in 12 credit hours at CSU-Pueblo. On a typical weekday, he is awake for around 18 hours. He commutes to campus from Colorado Springs, a drive that takes away additional time from his schedule.

“A typical weekday for me consists of school in the morning and afternoon, and then work in the evening. I am usually down in Pueblo on campus … on Monday and Tuesday from 10 (a.m.) to 4 (p.m.), and then at work from 5 (p.m.) to around midnight,” he said.

Juggling a full-time schedule both academically and otherwise presents obvious challenges of exhaustion, stress and hectic time management.

“Planning ahead I guess is the most critical element in balancing all of those aspects of my life. I do so poorly sometimes but when I am able to successfully plan ahead it always helps,” Hillstrom said.

According to CSU-Pueblo career services and employee relations specialist, Megan Gregorich, other challenges can include “being overwhelmed, not having enough time to complete homework and keep good grades, not being able to participate in campus organizations and activities, not getting the full college experience.”

Despite the stress in an overloaded schedule, Holak finds the good within the busiest parts.

“The best part of being a full time athlete being a part of the team and setting goals because it makes me feel a sense of accomplishment,” she said, “and the best part about being a student is the social work program is amazing here and just thinking of the future and all those that I’ll get to help in the future.”

Hillstrom relies on caffeine to get him through the hectic days.

“Luckily we have plenty of readily available coffee on campus and the restaurant I work in has an espresso machine so a combination of caffeine and the drive to finish school and make money are what keep me going,” he said.

Through learning time management skills between full-time course loads and full-time schedules, Gregorich said it is important that these students remember “to not stretch yourself too thin. You need to find a good balance.”

CSU-Pueblo offers a few resources for students during tax season. | Photo courtesy of 401(K)2012/ Flickr

Tax season and college tend to have three things in common: crowded desks filled with papers, sleepless nights and stress.

For a college student, filing taxes the first time is often very stressful.

“I had no idea how to do it. During the summer after I graduated for college, I went through a seminar at CSU-P. I can’t exactly remember what the seminar was for, but there was a workshop that focused on how to file your taxes,” said Ariel Payne, a junior mathematics major at CSU-Pueblo.

Payne has been filing her taxes without being claimed by parents or guardians for three years now.

David Giordano, a freshman computer information systems major at the university is still claimed by his mother on her taxes, but files them himself.

“The hardest part of filing my own taxes when I started was knowing how to look up all the directions for different forms,” he said.

Both Payne and Giordano explained that filing taxes was a “learn as you go” process.

Although the CSU-Pueblo financial aid office does not offer tax filing assistance, the TRiO department on campus does.

TRiO is a program that is federally funded and provides assistance to low-income families or to those who are first generation college students. There is a process to determine if a student qualifies for TRiO services, but according to Veronica Chavez, assistant director of TRiO, a majority of CSU-Pueblo students do qualify.

“We highly recommend that all students make an appointment to meet with us,” she said. “If the student does not qualify for our program, we will not turn them away. We will still guide them and refer them to the appropriate office or agency for assistance.”

TRiO offers both federal and Colorado state tax preparation services for free to those who qualify for TRiO services.

“We’ve assisted 45 students and parents this year. We’re the best kept secret. We would like to expand our program next year to serve more students,” Chavez said.

The most common challenge in assisting students with tax returns is finding the required paperwork needed to complete it, Chavez explained.

“As a student, they should be keeping all receipts when they purchase required textbooks and supplies throughout the year. Most students don’t have this information and they could be missing out on tax credits,” she said.

Students who are not members of the TRiO program, like Payne and Giordano, wish the university provided more resources to them for assistance with taxes.

“I think they should offer discounts on commercial filing systems or refer students to reliable tax professionals. They should also have a mini seminar like the one I attended to help students with any tax questions they have,” Payne said.

Giordano said that a benefit of filing his own taxes is that there are no additional expenses, but “it would be nice if the university would provide help for students filing your own taxes.”

Chavez explained there are services to help students outside of the university like the free E-file service the Internal Revenue Service provides in addition to the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance that will complete tax returns for free if an individual meets the income guidelines.

“The most rewarding part of assisting students with their tax returns is seeing that huge smile on their face when they receive a tax refund,” Chavez said.

The TRiO center will be offering assistance with tax returns until October 2016 for those who do not owe taxes and are eligible for a refund that do not have to file by the deadline date.

“If a student does not know whether or not they should file, we would be glad to help them determine if they should,” she said.

Caixia Gao, one of the newest additions to the math and physics department at CSU-Pueblo, may prefer a small town atmosphere for living, but her personal scholarly research involves something much larger: the expansion of the universe.

Gao has been teaching physics labs at the undergraduate level since 2007.

“I want to be a professor who can teach physics courses in such a way that all my students fall in love with physics,” she said.

Currently, Gao is instructing two courses: conceptual physics, which involves aspects such as light, energy and atoms, and a general physics II course for science and engineering majors.

One of the goals she has as a professor is “being able to inspire students,” she said.

In addition to teaching physics, Gao has conducted and made significant strides in her own research on the topic of gravity waves.

“Part of my research is to test the possibility of graviton having a nonzero mass. Graviton is the particle of gravitational waves, like photon is the particle of light waves,” Gao explained.  “I studied effects of nonzero graviton mass on blackholes and the expansion of our universe.”

One of the biggest challenges Gao faced during her research is the sensitivity of graviton.

“If the graviton do have a nonzero mass, it will be very, very, very tiny.  Detecting gravitational waves is already a challenge for experimental scientists, to find the mass of graviton is even much harder. It requires even greater sensitivity,” she said.

On March 17, Gao gave a talk regarding her research to the CSU-Pueblo astronomy club titled “From Graviton to the Big Bang.”

Gao received her Ph.D. from the University of Mississippi in General Relativity and Cosmology. Her family currently lives in Denver.

“I like Colorado, both the view and weather are very similar to my hometown,” she said. “I personally grew up and enjoy the atmosphere of a small town therefore I am looking forward to a career in Colorado State University-Pueblo.”

Pre-professional studies offer more experience. | File photo

CSU-Pueblo offers 31 undergraduate majors, but the opportunities within these undergraduate degree program opportunities can exceed more than any requirements listed on paper.

Pre-professional studies give students the chance to pursue more a more specialized category of study within their major and prepares them for post baccalaureate education.

Currently, 13 areas of pre-professional study are listed on the CSU-Pueblo website. But even if a category of study is not listed students are encouraged to talk to their advisor because often a program track can be designed for a pre-professional track even if it is not already in place.

“Research up front in career planning is really important. They have to hit the ground running,” said John Sandoval, associate director for the Center for Academic Enrichment.

Sandoval explained that having extensive knowledge of specific requirements when applying to post baccalaureate programs is key because different school and regions require different pre-requisites for entry into various professional programs.

The most sought after pre-professional programs include CSU-Pueblo are pre-med, pre-pharmacy, pre-vet and pre-nursing according to Sandoval.

Students enrolled in pre-professional study tracks still earn a bachelor’s degree in a field of study, but take the courses and electives specifically needed and directed toward a professional field path like dental, forestry, optometry or medical. Upon graduation, they continue their studies in these specific areas to earn certification to work in their specific fields.

“The difference really for those pre-professional programs is:  one, they need to maintain a higher GPA and two, they need to be ready for a post baccalaureate degree,” Sandoval explained. “They need to have the idea in their mind that this is going to be a longer road to get to where they want to be.”

Depending on the pre-professional program and the institution a student plans to apply to post baccalaureate, in many cases they might stay at CSU-Pueblo an extra semester or year to finish pre-requisite requirements for the professional program they are applying to.

“We are a competitive school even though some people don’t look at us that way, but we have good faculty and very good leadership in a lot of areas to be able to guide these students to where they need to be,” Sandoval said. “We’ve had success stories from here. Students go off and do great things for half the cost.”

In addition to saving money by attending CSU-Pueblo for a pre-professional program, Sandoval explained that often times the jobs pursued by students on pre-professional tracks pay more in the long run after all schooling and certifications are completed and have more job security once obtained since these are not the jobs just anyone is going out to get.

“They know what they want and go out and get it and they’re willing to put in the time,” he said. “They know what they want from the time they get here to the time they finish. They are on a mission.”

For more information on pre-professional studies at CSU-Pueblo, visit: www.gocsupueblo.com/PROSPECTIVESTUDENTS/UNDERGRADUATE/DEGREEPROGRAMS/Pages/Pre-Professional.aspx

Students went on a spring break trip to Nicaragua last year. | Photo courtesy of csupueblo.edu

A spring break student service trip to Nicaragua was canceled due to concerns from students who had signed up regarding the recent Zika virus concerns internationally.

On Jan. 27 the first two scientifically confirmed cases of the Zika virus obtained on a local level were reported in Nicaragua according to the World Health Organization.

The Center for Disease Control states that Zika virus “is spread to people, primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito,” and symptoms such as a rash, fever, joint pain and red eyes usually occur, but most that are infected seldom die from the virus.

“I had a couple of those female students express their concern. I believe their concern was more from the possibility of carrying the virus into a later pregnancy,” said Jack Krider, Director of Student Recreation and sponsor of the spring break trip to Nicaragua.

However, the CDC website refutes this concern and states “based on the available evidence, we think that Zika virus infection in a woman who is not pregnant would not pose a risk for birth defects in future pregnancies after the virus has cleared from her blood. From what we know about similar infections, once a person has been infected with Zika virus, he or she is likely to be protected from a future Zika infection.”

There was an initial lack of interest in the trip as well which factored into the decision to cancel it.

“I had six students signed up and we needed 10,” Krider said. “It just so happens that just after notifying American Airlines we were cancelling the trip that I had a surge in interest from students so I believe there is a need and interest in trying this again next year.”

The service projects planned for the Nicaragua trip before it was canceled were to build a home for a family in need, paint a school, do a food outreach and purchase 100 pairs of shoes to donate to local children at the school they would have painted and to children from a local orphanage.

Krider explained that another issue in finding more students who were interested in attending the trip was likely the high cost.

“I think that if we could get some university money set aside to help make this trip more affordable we would fill the trip within a few weeks of announcing the opportunity,” he said.

Had it not been canceled, this spring break service trip would have been Krider’s sixth to Nicaragua.

The 2015 Clery report showed decreases in crime in several categories, and a few with room for improvement. | Image courtesy of csupueblo.edu

One major selling point of Colorado State University-Pueblo in the past few years has been its safety, and this year, crimes have reduced in several categories.

Four years ago, CSU-Pueblo ranked as one of the safest Colorado university campuses in six of seven categories in a study done by the Durango Herald newspaper that used research compiled from the previous 10 years to compare the safety and crime rates of universities statewide.

Craig Cason, associate vice president of Facilities Management for CSU-Pueblo, explained that the six categories the campus scored safest in were drug arrests per 1,000 students, forced sexual assault, burglary, weapons possession, aggravated assaults and arson.

CSU-Pueblo ranked second in the seventh category, liquor violations. According to statistics from the 2015 Clery Report, the liquor violation category still holds the largest number of crimes on campus.

CSU-Pueblo is not aware of any other studies regarding overall campus safety in comparison with other campuses that have been done in the years since the 2012 Durango Herald study. But the overall safety and crime levels can still be determined since crime statistics are compiled yearly and must be reported and made available as part of the federal Clery Act of 1990.

“Our office and safety team looks at current events, trends and incidents on campus to determine what area we need to focus on,” said Lt. David Clements of the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office on campus. “Our deputies are seasoned officers who have dealt with a wide variety of issues while on patrol that gives them the experience and expertise to handle any problem that may arise.”

Since that 2012 study, crime statistics on the CSU-Pueblo campus have improved in multiple categories. According to the 2015 Clery Report, from 2012 to 2014, crime statistics on campus went down in arrests for violation of liquor laws, arrests for violation of drug laws, burglary and domestic violence.

“I am proud to say that campus safety improves all the time. Our safety team works hard on addressing issues when they happen and before others occur,” Clements said.

However, the 2015 Clery Report also shows that from 2012 to 2014, crime statistics on campus went up slightly in forcible sex offenses, dating violence and the referrals for disciplinary action for liquor and drug violations.

“Irresponsible alcohol consumption plays a major obstacle to safety on most college campuses. Alcohol consumption reduces an individual’s ability to make sound decisions. The greater the consumption, the greater the risk of making a bad decision,” Cason said.

There are multiple campus health and safety resources offered to students like the Health Education and Prevention Program and counseling services to help any students navigate substance abuse issues.

Educational programs regarding campus safety and issues are also available to students, such as programs including alcohol and drug awareness, DUI awareness, sexual assault awareness, bystander intervention training, domestic violence and dating violence awareness, parent orientation safety sessions and elements of the new student orientation.

“The Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office at CSU-Pueblo participates in programs aimed at crime prevention and the community philosophy to educate the campus community regarding crime prevention, alcohol use and illegal drugs,” Cason said.

In addition to keeping track of and prevent crime on campus, the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office also tries to avert events and crime outside of the campus from having impact and influence on the campus through effective communication.

“The Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office at CSU-Pueblo has created a strong ‘social network’ across the campus community. With improved communication, both with members on campus and with the community, potential negative activity can be addressed before it occurs,” Cason explained.

The students and other faculty members can play a role in this effort as well.

“Creating a positive, safe environment at Colorado State University-Pueblo is not the responsibility of the sheriff’s office, but takes the involvement of all across campus. A joint effort from everyone on campus can greatly reduce any negative influences from having an impact on campus,” he said.

James Todd, a senior double major in physics and mathematics at CSU-Pueblo, presents his project “On Stable Orbits of Circumbinary Planets.” | Photo by Ashleigh Hollowell

For some people, Saturday mornings consist of small talk, breakfast, news reading and strong cups of coffee. But on Feb. 27, some people at Colorado State University-Pueblo were having conversations regarding graph theory, abstract algebra, calculus, geophysics and the history of mathematics.

Almost 150 students from around the state and 12 different institutions, gathered in the CSU-Pueblo General Classroom Building for the thirteenth annual Pikes Peak Regional Undergraduate Mathematics Conference.

According to its organizers, this is a conference that would not be here and these are conversations that would not be had if it weren’t for hard work and fighting for opportunities.

“It’s really important for us to have this in Southern Colorado. I’ve been on the steering committee since we started this conference and we fight hard to keep it in Southern Colorado,” said Janet Barnett, professor of mathematics at CSU-Pueblo.

Barnett is avid to jump and say no when someone in Denver wants to hold a math conference or seminar.

“Up north, there’s tons … (of) people interested in math, they’ve got lots of places they can go. There’s conferences, there’s other schools, there’s seminars and we get nothing,” she said. “Southern Colorado doesn’t have a lot in terms of state resources and this is something we can offer these students.”

A challenge that the conference faced this year as opposed to other years was the source of funding. The grant it was funded by for many years through the Mathematical Association of America ended.

“That (the conference) is not an expensive thing to run. Math is cheap. You just give us a chalkboard and we’re happy,” said Jonathan Poritz, associate professor of mathematics at CSU-Pueblo.

Funding for the 2016 conference came from the Rocky Mountain Section of the Mathematical Association of America, private donations, as well as both CSU-Pueblo and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, two of the four institutions that regularly host the conference.

The two other host institutions are the United States Air Force Academy and Colorado College.

Barnett said CSU-Pueblo is always the host school that has the largest attendance. In 2003, when the first conference was held, CSU-Pueblo was the host.

The majority of attendees are undergraduate students, but there are a few graduate attendees as well, since the conference is geared toward teaching students about opportunities beyond college in the mathematics realm.

After some introductory remarks, mathematician and CSU-Pueblo Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Rick Kreminski, kicked off the day by saying, “let the math begin.”

The focus of the conference each year is to provide undergraduate mathematics students with research, networking and learning opportunities as well as to connect with other similarly minded students from around the state. Multiple scholars give presentations about their work and findings related to group or independent, in-depth mathematics projects.

“I think for the student presenters it’s really important to have a professional setting where they can present their work and share what they’ve been thinking of in mathematics and this is a really friendly venue for them to do that in,” Barnett said.

This year, five CSU-Pueblo students presented at the conference out of the 22 total that attended from the university.

James Todd, a senior and double major in physics and mathematics, presented in the group talk and as an individual as well.

The group talk was titled “Group Learning Program at CSU-Pueblo” and discussed how the program has been beneficial to students and has helped many achieve success in college algebra. It was given by Zach Bridwell, Haven Hall, Angie Justus, Derek Moore and James Todd.

“Mathematics is a marvel in its own right and it’s really great to see passionate math students studying it in every aspect imaginable. It’s a privilege to be a part of a conference with so many students taking their studies to the next level. Quite inspiring, really,” said Haven Hall, a CSU-Pueblo mathematics graduate of 2015, who is currently studying a mathematics graduate program at the university.

Todd’s individual presentation was one he had begun working on about a year ago. He was asked to update and present it at the conference.

Titled ‘On Stable Orbits of Circumbinary Planets,’ the project delved into the topic of attempting “to find structure of stability of possible exoplanets orbiting the common center of mass outside of the binary in binary star systems,” according to the conference abstracts booklet.

“The most rewarding part is honestly the presentations and hearing from my research advisor that I would give a really good presentation,” he said.

Todd said he will be continuing work on this project and further developing it as the semester goes on.

The majority of attendees do not present, but are there for the learning experience, like CSU-Pueblo engineering junior, Dominic Schmitt.

Schmitt described the most beneficial part of the conference as “just learning about what is going on and what other professors are doing and the students.”

“I think a lot of people who are interested in math… aren’t aware that this is a community of like-minded people. There is a thriving scientific community in mathematics. We get along, we support each other,” Poritz said. “It’s a nice environment and it’s nice to have a chance to do this. We’re an even more supportive version of what is already very supportive.”

National Eating Disorders Awareness Week is this week. Image courtesy of nedawarness.org

Of all mental illnesses, eating disorders have the highest death rate. By age 20, the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders says that 86 percent of people will report the onset of an eating disorder. Additionally, on a college campus that was surveyed, 91 percent of women admitted to trying to control their weight by dieting.

Feb. 21-27 is National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, but despite these statistics related to college age students, no events will be held by any department for CSU-Pueblo students.

“As much as our department would like to provide programming for all of the health and social issue awareness weeks, we don’t have the resources to do so,” explained Gena Alfonso, Director of Student Engagement and Leadership.  “The SEAL office does make our best effort to support and collaborate on events that revolve around health and social issues awareness, but we are usually not the ones leading the charge because it does not fall within our mission to provide health education.”

The Health Education and Prevention program is also not hosting any particular events for the week this year, but some event might be in the works for the awareness week next year.

“I didn’t know it was National Eating Disorder Awareness Week,” said Quatisha Franklin, coordinator for HEP. “It’s good to know that. I could probably do something next year around this time.”

The campus Counseling Center and Student Health Services will not be hosting any special events for the week, either.

The Counseling Center reported having such a large amount of cases which prevents them from really getting involved with the campus outside of the individuals who come into their offices.

However, the center and Student Health Services provide education and resources related to eating disorders for students year-round.

The Counseling Center has brochures and informational pamphlets available on eating disorders obtainable for anyone to pick up.

Student Health Services often has offered information about eating disorders at the October Wellness Fair on campus and has trained individuals in recognizing key signs and symptoms of eating disorders, but they are not doing anything for the week outside of the services they already offer.

Cordelia Cameron, an interim counselor for the campus said she estimates that each of the four counselors see on average about one or two students a semester regarding eating disorders.

“Many individuals aren’t even aware they have an eating disorder,” she said. “In its more basic reasoning, it is a need to have control in their lives.”

In Student Health Services, students do generally not come in for the specific reason of getting help with an eating disorder.

Carolyn Daugherty, director of Student Health and Counseling, said she has only referred two students for eating disorder treatment in the past 12 months.

“Both were determined by history, signed and symptoms of presenting complaint. Both denied when initially asked that they had an eating disorder. Both were seen in counseling and are making progress,” she explained.

According to Daugherty, the National Institute of Mental Health recognizes three eating disorders: anorexia nervosa, bulimia and binge eating disorder.

There are many varying health costs associated with each, from brittle hair and nails to electrolyte imbalance, which can eventually cause heart attack or stroke. Behavioral symptoms of an individual with an eating disorder vary as well, but common signs are suicidal thoughts, laxative use, excessive thinness, obesity and an unusual obsession with weight or food.

“There is no effective way to determine the most common eating disorder on (the) CSU-Pueblo campus as it is rarely reported and most students do not seek help for this disorder,” Daugherty said. “The most common way it is found is when students have symptoms and during the history and or exam signs of eating disorder rediscovered and questioning reveals the issue.”

Cameron recommends that when approaching a person about an eating disorder they may have to encourage getting help and “to not see it in a shameful manner, but as a proactive step towards a healthy lifestyle, a positive choice.”

In addition to campus resources, there are two specific eating disorder clinics in Colorado. One in Colorado Springs and one in Denver. More information as well as a free three-minute screening is also available at nedawareness.org.

The library has the second largest work-study population on campus. | Photo courtesy of the csupueblo.edu

For decades, work-study programs nationwide have assisted students in paying for their education and expenses while giving them an opportunity to develop professional skills.

But not just anyone can qualify for work-study. Filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, and being enrolled in a minimum of six credit hours is just part of the process in determining eligibility for the employment program.

“The majority of our work-study students are need based eligible work-study students,” said Gregory Thorsten, Assistant Director of Financial Aid.

Need and no need work-study qualifications are funded differently. Need based is federally funded and no need is state funded. Qualification for one or the other is determined by the FAFSA, the individual’s expected family contribution and cost of attendance.

“For example, the formula is the cost of attendance minus the EFC which is a number derived at from doing the FAFSA. So, let’s say cost of attendance is $20,000 and let’s say my EFC is $1,000. Then I subtract that $1,000 from the 20 (thousand) and the $19,000 then represents need that I could receive aid for,” Thorsten said.

Although the funding sources are separate, the general function for both need and no need work-study is the same. If after the above formula a student qualifies as no need and is not a Colorado resident, they will not be able to receive funding.

“So no need, while it exists isn’t for everyone, it’s only for the Colorado residents. Federal is specifically just for need based students,” Thorsten explained.

Need based eligible students come from various places, but the majority of CSU-Pueblo’s student population is from Pueblo County. According to statistics provided by Shirley Lobato, Program Assistant for the CSU-Pueblo Institutional Research and Analysis department, 1,950 students are from Pueblo County out of the fall 2014 Resident Instruction Headcount total of 4,535, which evens out to about 43 percent.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2014, Pueblo County had a median household income of $41,974 which was 29.4 percent lower than the Colorado average and 21.5 percent lower than the U.S. average. In 2014 Pueblo County also had a poverty percentage of 19, which was 7 percent higher than the Colorado average and 4.2 percent higher than the U.S. average.

The surrounding region, where the majority of students are from, being poorer than average according to statistics, could possibly explain the reason there are more need based work study students on the CSU-Pueblo campus.

According to Thorsten, each semester approximately 470 students take part in CSU-Pueblo’s work-study program and the total amount designated for work-study out of the university budget is around $118,000.

Work-study students average 10 to 15 hours of work each week and cannot exceed 20 hours, according to the student employment section of the university website. Students can work until they reach their allotted award, which here at CSU-Pueblo is $3,000 for the year, $1,500 a semester, for both no need and need based work-study students. Students cannot exceed their awarded amount.

“There’s amounts of money that we get based on our student population and the number of work-study allocations. We are able to say with a degree of comfort and accuracy based on historical earnings what a student might be able to earn during that term,” Thorsten said.

The Library and Academic Resource Center houses the second largest work-study program on campus with 40 positions, just behind the first largest which is Student Services and Enrollment Management that includes positions in various departments such as admissions, records, financial aid, external affairs and more.

“We have a very small staff for such a big operation. We have only 12 to 13 full time employees I think, and we have 40 part-time work-study students. So we could not operate the library without them. We really appreciate them,” said Rhonda Gonzales, the dean of the library.

In addition to the financial award, students have the opportunity to gain work experience and develop personal and professional skills.

“I know a lot of people have made life-long friends that they still keep in touch with and they meet students that have the same majors as them and then they start forming little study groups … the thing is you kind of want to see all the students excel,” said Kim Hunter, administrative assistant to the library dean.

In addition, Gonzales feels that from work-study, students gain abilities like working in customer service, promptness, answering phones courteously, wearing proper professional attire, and many others that can be easily applied in careers further down the road that students may eventually have.

Work-study is not just for traditional students either. There is no age limit or specific personal qualification for it, which allows for diversity.

“We’ve had everything from traditional 18-year-old freshmen to older non-traditional, married students with families,” Gonzales said.

CSU-Pueblo is a campus with many commuter students and when a student is involved in work-study more time is taken up on or near the campus.

“If you have classes scheduled throughout the day, but you have breaks in between, instead of driving off campus and going home or back to your apartment it’s nice to be able to go to the biology department and work an hour or two in your work-study job and then go to your next class. You’re saving time and wear and tear on your car, and gasoline,” Thorsten said.

If a student is interested in applying for a work-study position, Gonzales and Hunter advise to appear enthusiastic for the job, dress professionally and to have a résumé even if it a single page and the individual has not had much work experience in the past.

For a list of currently available work-study positions, visit www.secure.csupueblo.edu/sfs/studentemployment/jobsearch.asp.