Editorial: The winter is responsible for our despair

If you worked at Disneyland, where would you go on vacation? It’s only been two months since winter break and we at the Advocate are thinking we could use a vacation. A vacation from the flu, lunches from Vista and from overcast and windy mornings. We need a vacation from the Northwest.

On the other hand, living in the Northwest has it advantages: a surplus of fresh air, trees, rain, and mild winters. Although, our rainy season – November to June – is anything but mild. To the majority of the nation it is regarded as one of the most depressing places/times in the country. To some, this is why Oregon and Washington have such great art and music: We are indoors two-thirds of the year. We have to get creative; it’s an act of self-preservation.

And, with the winter holidays behind us and only a measly one-week break from school between now and the glory days of our summer, the motivation to show up every day is wearing thin – on some of us, at least. We are in the thick of what has been called “the winter trough.” Students suffering from “the trough” show signs of general despair, hazardous-homework-habits and become selective in their attendance and/or participation.

Some people say it’s a flu bug; some say it’s the lack of sunshine on their bare skin. For some, the possibility of an outside element being responsible for these feelings is not something that occurs to them. The fact of the matter is these feelings of hopelessness, sluggishness and general lack of chutzpah are not anyone’s fault; they are Oregon’s.

Overwhelmed and stressed out is how we feel, so we – being objective journalists – asked MHCC faculty members if they have noticed any signs of “the trough” in their students.

“Not so much,” said Carl Eckrode, a respiratory care instructor. Instead, his students “are hitting their stride; the second-year students see graduation around the corner,” he said adding that students are doing well.

 

Judit Szentirmay, an adult basic skills ESL/ENL instructor, said, “On a sunny day, everyone feels better.” But, when the weather is bad, she sees one of two things: “For newcomers, non-native students, the weather makes it easier for them to become depressed. Those who’ve been here longer know how to take care of themselves.”

Szentirmay says she takes care of herself in the winter by eating healthy, drinking plenty of water and tending to her garden.

Anna Johnson, a business and computer information systems instructor, she thinks because she is a “career motivated teacher,” she doesn’t see much of a change explaining that the students want to be there.

“We (teachers) all give mid-terms at the same time,” and students get stressed then. She deals with the weather by skiing in the mountains: “It’s generally sunny up there.”

David Todd, a computer science instructor, tries to recognize his own energy level and if it’s low, he’ll drink water or walk around more, and act out his classroom lesson a little more.

“It gets me back in gear; sometimes it’s (the students) who pick me up,” said Todd. While he does feel there is a “saw tooth effect” (ups and downs) to each term and that energy levels are at their worst during major tests, he thinks all seasons have their challenges. “In the spring, students are energetic, but they’re not with you. Their minds tend to wander” as good weather arrives, he said.

“It’s like running a marathon,” said history instructor Elizabeth Millikey referring to the winter and spring terms that stand between winter and summer breaks. “You start to feel it’s dragging you down. I try to make more of an effort to get outside and walk when it’s nice out,” she said.

MHCC’s self-proclaimed “Resident Union Thug,” Leslie Yates (head of the classified employee union), hardly needs any cheering up. For those who know her, Yates can be a beacon of positivity and much-needed cheer in the Humanities Department. But, even she says, “it gets hard during the winter term,” and on top of that “there has been a lot of negative crap happening in the media lately.” She said students seem to get overwhelmed during midterms, so she always tells students who seem to be in a slump or getting down on themselves to remember, “You are doing well. You’re here and that’s what counts.”

And so, whether you work at Disneyland, play in an Indie band and love the rain for way its artistic-propulsion-properties or, you’re just a worn-out, overworked college student trudging along in this overcast and windy wonderland, we feel you. Winter can be tough, but it can also be a really great time to get some studying done. We are going to try switching up some of our eating habits, get some more exercise and hold our Ed Board meetings outside whenever possible.

If you are feeling the affects of “the trough” we suggest diet changes, exercise and talking to a counselor or an academic adviser on campus, go to the tutoring center or talk to your teacher about feeling overwhelmed. And if that doesn’t help take this piece of advice from the great Denzel Washington, “You pray for rain, you gotta deal with the mud too. That’s part of it.”