Located on the second floor of Student Service Center 1, Counseling and Psychological Services works hard to reach out to the tens of thousands of students on campus. Despite a tiny staff and sometimes slow waiting times, students have given CAPS rave reviews. | File photo/The Cougar

Counseling and Psychological Services has been a part of the UH community since 1985 and is dedicated to helping students in need from all walks of life.

According to CAPS Associate and Clinical Director Christopher Scott, the number of students seeking services at CAPS has increased dramatically since 2010. Enrollment has reached a high point on campus, and as a result, more students are seeking help at CAPS than ever before.

“We are seeing a substantial increase in crisis (and) after-hours contacts,” Scott said. “What has not kept pace with increasing enrollment and on-campus residency is the size of the CAPS staff.”

According to feedback CAPS has received from The International Association of Counseling Centers, the current staff at CAPS is roughly half the size it should be for “a university with an enrollment of over 40,000 students.”

Despite this ratio, Scott said CAPS is dedicated to providing the best services for students. According to Scott, the wait times for counseling at UH are significantly better than most Texas universities.

“I would encourage anyone to poll any Tier 1 university counseling center in Texas and ask them about their wait time for first appointments,” Scott said. “I think they would find that we what we offer (is comparable), even though we have a fraction of the staff of many of these other university counseling centers.”

Typical counseling centers at large universities have a wait period for a first appointment of about two weeks. Scott said CAPS accommodates first-time students as quickly as possible and also works to make a number of same-day 8 a.m. appointments available each day. CAPS also has a consultant on duty 24/7 to help with crises. Last week, CAPS saw 10 walk-in crisis appointments.

“Whether students want to drop in for a Let’s Talk Consultation, seek routine services or are experiencing a crisis, we do our best to be there,” Scott said. “We pride ourselves on providing quality treatment to students rather than just crisis services and referrals.”

Every semester CAPS surveys students and asks them, “What would you like to tell other UH students about CAPS?” Students who agreed to anonymously submit their responses are quoted below.

• “CAPS is very helpful with meeting our needs. It is one of the most important services I’ve used as an effort to improve myself.”
• “I didn’t know all that I could learn at CAPS but it has exceeded my expectations. I’m very grateful!”
• “I encourage my friends to seek out services at CAPS.  I’ve felt very welcome, supported and genuinely cared for by all CAPS staff I’ve encountered.”
• “(Do not) wait. You know where you need to go; just take the first step and go.”

If you are struggling with schoolwork, anxiety or anything at all, call CAPS at 713-743-5454 to arrange a free initial consultation (ICON) appointment. CAPS is open Mondays and Tuesdays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Wednesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. In the event of an after-hours crisis, call the UH Department Of Public Safety at 713-743-3333 and ask to be transferred to the CAPS “Clinician on Call.”

news@thedailycougar.com

—
“Despite small staff, CAPS makes student impact” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar

Sexual education in Texas fails to represent a population that’s growing — the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. | Cara Smith/The Cougar

When looking at sex ed exercises that compare sexually active students to chewed-up pieces of gum and widely ignore LGBT sex,  media and national organizations alike have pointed out the disconnect between the perception of sex in the classroom and the perception of sex in the dorm room.

Most authorities on the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies agree that the key to sustainable prevention is education. But judging by the United States’ international standings in these areas, something’s been lost in translation.

“State Policies in Brief: Sex and HIV Education” takes a look at high schools’ current sex ed policies. It was published by the Guttmacher Institute, a think tank that focuses on sexual and reproductive health. Twenty-two states in the U.S. and the District of Columbia mandate sex education for public school students; Texas is one of 28 states where such education isn’t required.

Texas is also one of three states that requires only “negative information” rather than “inclusive information” in the curriculum about same-sex sexual encounters.

Negative information includes only a part of the picture, while inclusive information gives facts on both sides of an issue. For example, negative information might provide students with information about the higher rate of HIV within the gay community, while inclusive information would include the low incidence of HIV transferred through oral sex in comparison to anal sex.

“Admit it: people have same-sex sex. We’re not going to have that go away just by not mentioning it. The problem is, (Texas high schools) aren’t representing sex accurately anyways.” -LGBT Resource Center Lorraine Schroeder

Stigmas fuel the cycle
Anti-LGBT stigmas fostered in non-inclusive environments help contribute to high rates of depression and anxiety in the LGBT community, according to LGBT Resource Center Director Lorraine Schroeder.

“The LGBT community has higher rates of anxiety and depression, not because they’re LGBT, but because of society’s reaction to that,” Schroeder said. “Young people will be depressed and go and hook up with somebody and not care.”

Schroeder explained that sexual encounters within the LGBT community are often high-risk, as condom use decreases when feelings of anxiety and depression increase. Sex without condom use inevitably leads to a higher rate of sexually-transmitted infections within the community and perpetuates the cycle of stigmatized LGBT sex and subsequent anxiety and depression.

Silence does more harm than good
Non-heterosexual sex goes largely unmentioned in high school sex-ed courses, but not because there is no need for it. The latest census data, taken in 2010, showed a three percent increase in the LGBT community population, but only a one percent growth in the national population.

“Admit it: people have same-sex sex. We’re not going to have that go away just by not mentioning it,” Schroder said. “The problem is, (Texas high schools) aren’t representing sex accurately anyways.”

Associate Director of the UH Health Center Lindsay Barber said that ignorance of basic sexual health is seen all the time at the Health Center.

“All the (clinics’) doctors’ stories boiled down to students being aware of the resources, (like sex-change surgery, hormones), but had no idea the process that was involved in these options,” Barber said. “(Students) hear about options… but are not educated about what these decisions mean.”

A talk worth having
As of 2013, nearly 88 percent of UH students were admitted to the University as residents of Texas**. By comparison, 79 percent of University of Texas at Austin and 86 percent of Texas A&M University students originated in Texas, in the Fall 2013 and Spring 2014 semesters, respectively. Given the higher proportion of Texas students that UH admits, UH Wellness Center Director Patrick Lukingbeal is aware of the misconceptions that the University has a responsibility to address.

“Not only do (we need to) be talking about safe sex, but we need to make a point to make sure that we’re being inclusive with same-sex partnerships,” Lukingbeal said. “That’s something that people, especially if they’re not a part of the LGBTQ community, or if they’re not involved in a same-sex relationship, won’t really think about.”

Lukingbeal, who’s researching the LGBT community and its mental health for his doctoral program, stressed that it’s not inherently bad that heterosexuals don’t think about same-sex sex, and vise versa. However, unintended negligence combined with social taboo is leaving many LGBT students in the dark.

Work to be done
“There’s not going to be much known about safe-sex practices in those communities if we’re not talking about it,” Lukingbeal said.

That’s one of Lukingbeal’s major goals — to increase open communication about sex. UH Wellness has already taken strides in fostering a public dialogue about sexual health. “The Naked Truth” is a workshop series held on select dates of the center’s Wellness Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. in Rm. 1038 of the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center, where students can address any questions or misconceptions they have about sexual health. The next meeting in the series will be held on Oct. 15.

UH Wellness will also coordinate with the American College Health Association to administer the National College Health Assessment, a national benchmarking survey that’s been taken by over 800,000 college students. UH has never before administered the survey, which will allow students to anonymously share their sexual habits and their perceptions of healthy sexual practices. Students can expect the survey in their inboxes sometime in January or February.

It’s an initiative Lukingbeal has been looking forward to — he isn’t disillusioned about the amount of work that needs to be done by universities to combat sexual ignorance.

“There’s more that we can do about basic sex-education, contraceptives, STI testing, those sorts of things,” Lukingbeal said.

Openness about sex ‘a good thing’
Young people are having sex, and the LGBT community makes up a growing proportion of today’s sexually active youth. Schroeder said that failure to address the entire population isn’t going to make their sexual needs “go away,” but will leave the issues unaddressed and will be increasingly harmful to the entire community.

“We tell kids that sex is bad and sex is wrong, and it’s not,” Schroeder said. “We just need to be honest (and talk about the fact that) people have sexual drives, and that’s a natural thing. It’s a good thing.”

**It’s not clear whether all of those students attended high school and received sex ed classes in Texas.

news@thedailycougar.com

—
“Texas sex education leaves LGBT students in the dark” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar

Arianne Goddard, senior print journalism major, has her reflexes checked by Dr. Vanessa Tiney, staff physician in internal medicine with the UH Health Center in a staged photo. The Health Center, located next to Student Service Service Center 1 is available to students during regular business hours. | Justin Tijerina /The Cougar

With UH in the midst of its highest enrollment to date — nearly 41,000 students — on-campus facilities have had to step up their game to ensure students receive quality and timely service. The Health Center strives to remain competitive in the day and age of the Affordable Health Care Act while also providing for the tens of thousands of students that may walk through its doors.

“A lot more students are covered under their parents’ insurance than this time last year, so with that, we try to keep our prices low with knowing that you could go off campus with your insurance,” said Lindsay Barber, associate director of the Health Center. “We try our best to make it a one-stop shop for students, and you don’t really have to go anywhere else for your healthcare.”

Changes have been put into place to streamline the process of getting students and faculty in and out of the Health Center as quickly and efficiently possible.

Electronic medical records have replaced paper charts so that doctors can spend more time concentrating on patients rather than taking notes.  A new portal, Open Communicator, will let students make their own appointments online and talk to their doctor or their doctor’s nurse about lab results and follow-up appointments.

“(Open Communicator is) going to help assist the students in getting seen between classes when they know it’s a convenient time for them,” Barber said.

Once only accepting walk-ins, the Health Center now allows students to schedule appointments. Walk-in patients are still accepted, and the appointment system helps the Center to have time to treat walk in patients.

“It’s based on medical necessity,” Barber said. “If you come in here and say you’ve had back or neck pain for three months and you’re just getting around to coming in now, you may not be as high on the priority list as someone who comes in bleeding or something like that. We tried to provide those spaces so that we’re not turning anybody away.”

While the Health Center is doing what it can with more students, some students are still wary of the benefits of going to the on-campus center. Freshmen health major Brittany Lawson thinks the Center will be too full with all the students on campus.

“I think the staff’s going to be overrun and a lot of kids aren’t going to go because they don’t want to wait,” Lawson said. “They could possibly self-diagnose and potentially cause other problems.”

The Health Center has its own pharmacy, along with a lab and various clinics including a Women’s Clinic, Men’s Clinic, Orthopedic Clinic and Psychiatry Clinic. And while the Health Center only takes the UH endorsed health insurance, a general appointment only has a $20 co-pay.

“The main thing in healthcare is that you want to offer access, quality care, and you want to do it at a low price, which is exactly what we have accomplished here,” Barber said.

news@thedailycougar.com

—
“Health Center adjusts to booming student population” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar

“The Cancer Prevention Handbook” collects interviews from experts across the county, including from several UH professors. | Courtesy of Steve Riczo

In a new book about cancer risk factors and prevention, four UH professors contributed knowledge and background information about research and lifestyle.

Containing commentary from over 100 experts, “The Cancer Prevention Handbook” offers insight into numerous health topics. The contributors gave advice on known cancer risk factors and explained how to avoid them.

Author Steve Riczo was eager to draw information from UH professors.

“The University of Houston has an excellent reputation for research and academic excellence, so it was on the top of my list of top-tier U.S. universities to tap for this important subject,” Riczo said in a UH press release.

The book addresses the potential cancer risk factors and seeks background knowledge from researchers about how to manage and change lifestyle habits that may affect those factors. Assistant Professor of Biotechnology Cecilia Williams discussed how certain hormones may increase risk.

“(We) discuss(ed) endocrine disrupters, which are hormone-like compounds that are common in our environment,” Williams said. “BPA is the most well-known one, which is used in the manufacturing of plastics. In fact, nearly all Americans have measurable levels in their blood. The research of how this affects us is not conclusive. The levels may be low enough to not cause significant adverse effects in adults, but developing fetuses and children appear to be at higher risk.”

Williams also gives advice on how to avoid dangerous environmental chemicals.

“In the case of endocrine disrupters, it is good to reduce your use of plastic bags and bottles,” Williams said. “Also reduce use of canned food … and avoid microwaving plastic containers with food or drinks in them.”

Assistant professor of nutrition Tracey Ledoux, Graduate College of Social Work Associate Dean of Research and associate professor Patrick Bordnick also contributed to the book. Ledoux is featured in the section on obesity and nutrition, while Bordnick appears in the behavior and lifestyle chapter.

More than 70 institutions were interviewed for “The Cancer Prevention Book,” which is now available online.

news@thedailycougar.com

—
“UH professors list cancer risk factors in new book” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar

In 2004, secular artist Kanye West made waves in the music world with “Jesus Walks,” a hip-hop banger where he raps his longing for Jesus’ guidance in his life.

In the song, West brings up an interesting point: rappers can rap (successfully) about anything but religion.

Kanye West performs “Jesus Walks.” | Photo courtesy of Merva Man

“That means sex, guns, lies, video tapes, but if I talk about God my record won’t get played,” West says in his single.

Ironically, Kanye’s song was a hit, peaking on Billboard’s Hot 100 at No. 11 for two weeks. It was played on every radio station, even in clubs.

Kanye isn’t the only secular hip-hop artist to reference religion in his music. Artists like Macklemore, Kendrick Lamar and Nas are not the typical religious figures preaching through their music. However, they use their music as a channel to express their spiritual and religious experiences.

“I think it is awesome that secular artists are expressing their spirituality in their music,” said biology junior Mike Burke. “It lets people know it’s okay to feel confident in their beliefs.”

Macklemore sat down in an interview with one of New York’s most popular radio shows, Sway in the Morning, on radio station Shade 45. When asked if he parallels religion with his music, he confesses that though he is not religious, he is spiritual. He’s connected with God through his music.

“When music is in its purest form, you’re just a conduit for something greater than yourself,” Macklemore said. “You don’t have to think about it. You don’t have to force it. It comes through the pen. And that’s not you. I don’t take credit for those moments. That’s something bigger than me.”

Christian Eberhart, professor of religious studies, believes that religion and its spiritual foundations are a part of mainstream culture. Artists reflect on modern mainstream culture as a part of their art.

“Sometimes, people might not even be aware of the fact that a certain principle or proverb is biblical,” Eberhart said. “For example, when somebody says ‘an eye for an eye’, talks about the ‘Exodus,’ or finds that something has ‘apocalyptic’ dimensions.”

Finance graduate Ketul Patel does not buy Macklemore’s explanation. Patel said secular artists simply use religion in their music for profit.

“I think they use religion to attract a different crowd, a newer market, to their brand,” Patel said.

Psychology senior Sarah Hayes said she believes it’s a way of expression.

“Music can be a somewhat of a religious experience,” Hayes said. “That’s why people get emotional sometimes listening to it. Music is their outlet.”

This article is selected from our Faith special section in the latest installment of CoogLife, which can be found in our fall Back to School edition.

—
“Finding faith, religion in secular music” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar

The A.D. Bruce Religion Center has worked to establish its place on campus as a student center and will celebrate its 50th anniversary this year. | Courtesy of A.D. Bruce Religion Center

“Are you familiar with Harry Potter?” A.D. Bruce Religion Center Manager Bruce Twenhafel asked me. He has held his position for the past four years.

Twenhafel recalled a story of a young woman — a UH alumna — who was getting married. The woman wanted to get married at the religion center and see it for herself first.

“I said, ‘We’re right next to the football stadium,’” Twenhafel said. “She said, ‘Where?’ and I said, ‘Weren’t you a student?’”

The woman said she really did not know where the center was. Twenhafel asked her what her major was; she said it was English.

“I said, ‘Ma’am, we’ve been behind Roy Cullen for four years.’ She said, ‘Oh! So that’s what that building was! So we jokingly call it, ‘Platform 9 ¾’ because if you don’t know anything about it, you just think it’s a building you go past,” he said.

Twenhafel noted that most people spend four or five years on campus, but never visit the A.D. Bruce Religion Center—including faculty and staff.

“Everyone thinks that this is the wedding chapel,” Twenhafel said. “Nobody knows we’re here. It’s amazing.”

Courtesy of A.D. Bruce Religion Center

Twenhafel thinks this has a lot to do with people associating a degree for a higher education with classrooms.

“They’re thinking of the typical kinds of things they had in high school and grammar school,” Twenhafel said. “And so, you’re going to have the fitness centers, (and) they may not be aware of the Health Center or the University Center, but they never hear about faith or spirituality.”

“Back in the ’40s, ’50s, ’60s, we had our campus ministries in the little houses. The neighbors would get upset that the University was bleeding over to their property,” Twenhafel said. “So there was an immediate need for some kind of religion center.”

The University first began as a community college, later transitioning into a private college.

“As a private college, it didn’t really matter,” Twenhafel said. “They were working with Gen. Bruce, and he knew we would eventually become a public university. So he said, ‘If you want a building on this campus, you need to do it now.’”

Back in the ’50s and ’60s, while the center was being developed, a lot of the denominations were building stand-alone centers specific to their beliefs and their religion around the campus. The religion center is one-of-a-kind: a negligible number of major and smaller public universities in the United States have a facility like A.D. Bruce Religion Center.

“There are only three public universities that I have found in all of my research that have something similar to A.D. Bruce Religion Center, with Penn State and Southern Illinois State University being the others,” Twenhafel said.

“(The Muslim Student Association has) close to 20,000 students coming through the center, including faculty and staff, to attend their events. It’s phenomenal how this building is used so quietly and so often, and people don’t recognize it.”

Bruce Twenhafel A.D. Bruce Religion Center manager

When the University Center took responsibility for the management of the religious center in Sept. 2009, the building was brought up to speed in terms of reservations and the provision of other services.

“How those kinds of things were different is that there’s a whole new philosophy, in which students come first and how provide those services,” Twenhafel said.

Nine months later, when Twenhafel came on board, he noticed the building was in disrepair.

“We needed new carpet. Certain areas hadn’t been painted in a long time. (By) paying attention to the cleaning, we were able to go to the Student Fee Advisory Committee and make the case (that) this is one of the student centers,” Twenhafel said.

In addition, the religious center needed new chairs and tables as well as an improved sound system in the chapel.

“It’s not just weddings we have. We hold Mass, and some of the fraternities and sororities use the chapel for inductions for their groups,” Twenhafel said. “We have alumni events, recitals, musical events so we’re able to justify it as a student center facility.”

Additionally, students come to the center to meditate, while others use the chapel for a quiet place to study.

“We have Wi-Fi,” Twenhafel said. “Students practice on the piano. Students of architecture would be sent to draw sketches of the building, which is great example of post-modern design facility.”

UH will also be celebrating the religion center’s 50th anniversary. They are currently in the planning stage, with a committee to plan activities that will occur in Feb. 2015.

“We would like to have an opening ceremony,” Twenhafel said. “We’ll have concerts, we’ll have lectures (and) we’ll have food events.”

In addition to weddings, the majority of bookings are with the student organizations. One of the organizations that frequents the center is the Muslim Student Association.

“They have close to 20,000 students coming through the center, including faculty and staff, to attend their events,” Twenhafel said. “It’s phenomenal how this building is used so quietly and so often, and people don’t recognize it.”

Twenhafel adds that the hallmark of the religion center has been interfaith dialogue throughout its 50 years of existence.

“Our Campus Ministries Associations has been working hard to make certain that in collaborative process in an education component, that in a comparative culture way, people have an opportunity to understand each other,” Twenhafel said. “So that once you know not only the character of the person, but the beliefs of the person you have a better understanding of them and an appreciation of what they are and likewise, they will have a better understanding and appreciation of who you are.”

This article is selected from our Faith special section in the latest installment of CoogLife, which can be found in our fall Back to School edition.

—
“A.D. Bruce Religion Center: UH’s Platform 9 3/4” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar