Stress Beleaguers Campus Feels More Pressure This Fall

Author: Lindsey Whitton

This fall, Middlebury College is stressed out. Faculty and staff members discuss the problem at meetings, students complain during late- night study breaks and almost everyone seems a little more tired, a little more rushed.
Mary Hurlie, senior adviser for Organizational Effectiveness, is careful to note that she does not think that campus stress has risen to the level of anxiety or dysfunction. "I differentiate between stress and anxiety," she said, but "whether there is or there isn't more stress this fall, people are feeling like there is."
Hurlie attributed the perceived stress to two factors: worldwide current events and changes on campus. Many students, faculty and staff members echoed her observations and described how the combined effect of local and international concerns compounded the normal stresses of working, studying and living in a college community. The increasing pace of life over the last few years, especially in an academic community, and the self-perpetuating and infectious nature of stress may have aggravated the problem.
This fall current events have seeped into the so-called "Middlebury bubble" and the consciousness of many community members. An impending war with Iraq, international terrorism and a series of high-profile violent crimes in the United States have been consciously or unconsciously affecting campus stress levels. The first anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks has also created underlying stresses, added Yonna McShane, director of Health and Wellness education Office.
"The way the world is right now — it wears on everybody," Kathleen Ready, administrative director of the Health Center, said. "It's a very stressful time."
Maggie Goedecke '03 said that although she hasn't been openly anxious over worldwide concerns, "it's another thing in the back of my mind."
Hurlie said she believes, however, that this year "events of the world are not even in the back of our minds — they are in the forefront." The prevalence of national and international concerns has been unusually prominent and influential in the last few months, and she said she believes they have had a considerable effect on Middlebury community members.
Major internal changes at the College have also been occurring over the past few years. "Change in and of itself has caused stress," noted Mike Knapp, government documents assistant and president of the Staff Council. Physical changes like new buildings or the rearrangement of a building's occupants, as well as major institutional changes like the introduction of the commons system, have taken their toll on faculty, staff and even students. Middlebury is "a community in change — and that is stressful for everyone," agreed McShane.
Hurlie noted that change has become a constant force in our society. She does not, however, think that the amount of change at Middlebury is unusual compared to other higher educational institutions. The specific issues at Middlebury may be unique, but change is fairly universal.
The dining staff in particular has bore the brunt of the recent change-related stress, Knapp pointed out. The whole dining system has undergone significant changes twice this fall, and will continue to evolve in the next few years as the commons system solidifies.
Knapp attributed the "revamping" of the health insurance system as the most significant stress that all faculty and staff members have felt this fall. "Some individuals are going to be seeing a significant jump over the next two years in the cost of their health insurance," he noted.
Ready, a member of the health insurance review committee, noted that "people are already feeling financially unsure and stressed because of the economy," and the unavoidable health care situation may only compound this.
"The best way to alleviate or at least mitigate stress from the Staff Council perspective is to keep people continuously informed," Knapp said. The council is working towards "lots of clear, precise communication so people aren't taken by surprise by any of the changes."
Technology and work habits have sped up the pace of life in the last few years. In general people are committing to more work and spending longer on assignments than in the past. "People have been busier," Knapp noted. "They feel like they have a lot going on. They have to get from point A to point B and get three things done. It's just not as relaxed an atmosphere."
McShane has been working at the College for 20 years, and "in the last few years things have gotten more stressful, there are more demands."
Many members of the College community have noted that the schedule this fall was particularly busy, with a plethora of outstanding speakers and official weekends. Although the speakers are appreciated and enjoyed, many have felt increased pressure to attend every event and have thus sacrificed sleep or quality of work in order to go to the lectures.
"I have found Middlebury to be a campus of extremes," Emily Donnan '05 said. "So when you are stressed, at least when I'm stressed, I tend to be stressed to an extreme — it's not just one paper that has to be written by tomorrow morning, it's three papers."
Commons deans have been particularly concerned about stress this fall, especially in regard to the first year class. Scott Barnicle, dean of Atwater Commons said, "I don't even know if it is quantifiable, but anecdotally it does seem like there is a higher level of stress among first-year students about their academics and other things."
He attributes some of the cause of this stress to factors like "increased electronic communications, higher admissions competition, the increase in pace that exists here every year, environmental degradation, decreasing personal time, global situations and too much emphasis on external rewards versus internal gratification."
Sarah McCague '06 said, "I keep telling myself 'OK ... this week is going to be really hard but I'll make some sacrifices, sleep a little less and get through it — and I do only to find the next week is just as hard."
The problem is not, however, restrained to the first-year class. Goedecke noted that this fall has been her most stressful semester, for example.
"As we each have our individual stresses, we start building off of each other," Jessica Lockwood '03 explained. "If you aren't doing work and everyone else around you is staying up until 4 a.m. then you think, 'Wait a minute — there has got to be something I am missing.' "
Recently in academia there has been a continuous drive towards excellence. Middlebury College has identified six "Peaks of Excellence," and College literature is continuously referring to standards of excellence. McShane is concerned, however, that "sometimes people confuse excellence with perfection." Striving towards perfection only creates stress and the impression of failure.
McShane viewed sleep deprivation as one of the biggest concerns for campus health. When students are suffering from stress they often cut back on sleep to create more working hours. With less sleep, however, people become more irritable, less capable of making judgments and more likely to perceive situations in an "all or nothing" light. Student performance drops significantly and the student often becomes more stressed as a result. In addition, all the accumulated stress sometimes results in the person not being able to sleep when they finally get to bed.
McShane has identified two ways in which people can avoid stress. First, stress management skills are critical in our society. She is working on a variety of ways the College can help community members gain these skills, including workshops on focus meditation, relaxation and lowering anxiety levels. Secondly, people need to "learn to just say no," she said. Many members of the College community are driven overachievers and thus often take on hectic work schedules, leaving no time for mental and physical health.
Ready suggested that people take t
ime away from whatever is causing them stress this fall and spend time relaxing, catching up and being with their families. She said that although "it's hard to quantify" the exact amount of stress-related patients the Health Center nurses. "A lot of health related things have a stress component to them. Long term stress really lends itself to people getting sick, she explained."
"Academically we seem to be challenging students," McShane noted, but the College must, she cautioned, find a balance between challenge and health. "You can't burn the candle on both ends — you end up paying for it."




Maggie Gerdicka '03 said that although she hasn't been openly anxious over worldwide concerns, "it's another thing in the back of your mind."
Huerly believes, however, that this year "events of the world are not even in the back of our minds – they are in the forefront." The prevalence of national and international concerns have been unusually prominent and influential in the last few months, and she believes they have had a considerable effect on community members.
Major internal changes at the College have also been occurring over the past few years. "Change in of itself has caused stress." Mikeasd Knapp, Aasdasd and President of the Staff Council noted. Physical changes like new buildings or a rearrangement of a building's occupants, as well as major institutional changes like the introduction of the commons system, have taken their toll on the faculty, staff and even students. Middlebury is "a community in change - and that is stressful for everyone." McShane agreed.
Hurley noted that change has become a constant force in our society. A speaker hired to talk to senior staff members this fall described modern change as white water that needed to be navigated. Hurley found this description particularly apt. She doesn't, however, think that the amount of change at Middlebury is unusual compared to other higher educational institutions. The specific issues at Middlebury may be unique but change is fairly universal.
The dinning staff in particular have born the brunt of the change related stress this fall, Knapps pointed out. The whole dining system has undergone significant changes twice this year and will continue to evolve in the next few years as the commons system is put online.
Knapps attributes the "revamping" of the health insurance system as the most significant stress that all faculty and staff members have felt this fall. Due to unavoidable causes the system has been reworked and now "some individuals are going to be seeing a significant jump over the next two years in the cost of their health insurance."
Kathleen Ready, a member of the health insurance review committee, noted that the changes in the policy could be a viable cause of stress for faculty and staff members this fall. "People are already feeling financially unsure and stressed because of the economy," she pointed out.
"The best way to alleviate or at least mitigate stress from the staff council perspective is to keep people continuously informed," Knapp said. The council is working towards "lots of clear, precise communication so people aren't taken by surprise by any of the changes."
Technology and work habits have sped up the pace of life in the last few years. In general people are committing to more work and spending longer on assignments than in the past. "People have been busier," Knapp noted. "They feel like they have a lot going on. They have to get from point A to point B and get three things done. It's just not as relaxed an atmosphere."
McShane has been working at the College for 20 years, and "in the last few years things have gotten more stressful, there are more demands."
Many members of the College community have noted that the schedule this fall was particularly busy, with a plethora of outstanding speakers and official weekends. Although the speakers are appreciated and enjoyed, many have felt increased pressure to attend every event and have thus sacrificed sleep or quality of work in order to go to the lectures.
"I have found Middlebury campus to be a campus of extremes," Emily Donnan '05 said. "So when you are stressed, at least when I'm stressed, I tend to be stressed to an extreme - it's not just one paper that has to be written by tomorrow morning, it's three papers."
The commons deans have been particularly concerned about stress this fall, especially in regard to the first year class. Scott Barnicle, Dean of Atwater Commons said "I don't even know if it is quantifiable, but anecdotally it does seem like there is a higher level of stress among first-year students about their academics and other things."
He attributes some of the cause of this stress to factors like "increased electronic communications, higher admissions competition, the increase in pace that exists here every year, environmental degradation, decreasing personal time, global situations and too much emphasis on external rewards verses internal gratification" but he says that he is "not comfortable making specific speculations on this, although it is something that significantly concerns me."
Sarah McCague '06 said, "I keep telling yourself 'ok...this week is going to be really hard but I'll make some sacrifices, sleep a little less and get through it - and I do only to find the next week is just as hard."
The problem is not, however, restrained to the first-year class. Gerdicka noted that this fall has been her most stressful semester.
"As we each have our individual stresses, we start building off of each other," Jess Lockwood '03 explained. "If you aren't doing work and everyone else around you is staying up until four then you think –wait a minute – there has got to be something I am missing."
Donnan agreed, saying "because we live on our campus, we are living in the environment that causes our stress... it causes many other things like happiness and excitement and fun, but it also causes stress and hence, it's difficult to really escape from that stress without physically going off campus."
Recently in academia there has been a continuous drive towards excellence. Middlebury College has identified "Seven Peaks of Excellence," and College literature is continuously referring to standards of excellence. McShane is concerned, however, that "sometimes people confuse excellence with perfection." Striving towards perfection only creates stress and the impression of failure.
McShane views sleep deprivation as one of the biggest concerns for campus health. When students are suffering from stress they often cut back on sleep to create more working hours. With less sleep, however, people become more irritable, less capable of making judgments and more likely to perceive situations in an "all or nothing" light. Student performance drops significantly and the student often becomes more stressed as a result. In addition, all the accumulated stress sometimes results in the person not being able to sleep when they finally go to bed.
Due to sleep deprivation and significant amounts of work, many members of the Middlebury College community rely heavily on caffeine to stay alert. McShane cautions against this, noting that "stimulants create more long term problems."
McShane has identified two ways in which people can avoid stress. First, stress management skills are critical in our society. She is working on a variety of ways the College can help community members gain these skills, including workshops on focus meditation, relaxation and lowering anxiety levels. Secondly, people need to "learn to just say no," she said. Many members of the College community are driven overachievers and thus often take on hectic work schedules, leaving no time for mental and physical health.
Ready suggests that people take time away from whatever is causing them stress this fall and spend time relaxing, catching up and being with their families. She said that although "it's hard to quantify" the exact amount of stress related patients Health
Services nurses, "a lot of health related things have a stress component to them. Long term stress really lends itself to people getting sick."
"Academically we seem to be challenging students," McShane noted, but the College must, she cautioned, find a balance between challenge and health. "You can't burn the candle on both ends - you end up paying for it."