College is filled with ups and downs.  Great times with friends. Twenty-five page papers. Spontaneous excursions. Tiring all-night study sessions.  But unfortunately some students don’t seem to believe that the ups outweigh the downs and they decide to take irreversible action.  According to Suicide.org, a nonprofit organization for awareness, prevention, and support, suicide ranks second in the leading cause of deaths among college students.  And what’s even scarier is that the majority of people who attempt suicide don’t die – which makes me think that if all attempts were “successful” (in the denotative sense)  suicide could easily move into the number one cause of death. So why isn’t this a more prominent topic?  Why are so many people unaware that it is even a problem?

It didn’t even occur to me until earlier this week, when a friend of mine decided to take his own life.  I was heartbroken.  Not only because of the pain of losing him, but because of realizing how much anguish he endured while everyone stood by, unaware.  I sought condolence in my friends and it seemed like every other one said the same thing: “I had a friend who committed suicide, too.”  It’s time that we become aware of the warning signs and do something to decrease the number of students who feel that suicide is their only escape.

In addition to learning about the warning signs we must learn to listen.  Knowing the warning signs will do no good if we are not actively trying to be aware of them.  In the following YouTube video about college suicide it is shocking and upsetting to realize how many of the students who took their lives tried reaching out to people.

Long Way Home: Real Stories of College Suicide and Those Left Behind

If you or anyone you know is exhibiting the warning signs of depression or contemplating suicide do not shrug it off.  Call a friend. See a doctor. Or reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

Patrick Kasper looks more like a California movie star than a youth fitness mentor living in North Dakota. With his tanned skin, caramel-colored hair, and toned build, Patrick appears as though he’s had an accidental layover in Fargo, but Kasper’s mission to fight the youth obesity epidemic while building self-esteem through Positive Motion is actually very purposeful.
Positive Motion is a mind, body and soul fitness program for kids and adults that makes exercising, well, fun. It is Patrick’s ultimate goal to motivate kids across the nation to live in a proactive instead of deconstructive state. Through Positive Motion’s three core elements of passion, program, and purpose, Patrick hopes kids will realize that they must value and nurture themselves to establish lifelong healthy habits.
Patrick’s outlook on life has not always been so positive. A native of Fargo, Patrick described himself as an “overweight, depressed teenager living in his parent’s basement.” He wanted to be active enough to keep up with his four brothers, but when he tried, his weight and poor self-esteem prevented him from breaking this negative cycle. It wasn’t until he watched students rehearsing for the musical “Oklahoma” at Trollwood Performing Arts School, that he felt inspired to start moving. He began exercising and losing weight, but in an unhealthy way, often skipping meals. Patrick credits his mentors, Eddie and Kathy Gasper, for encouraging him to a live a healthier life.
“I was really lucky to have role models in the Fargo-Moorhead area. When I watched them [Eddie and Kathy] dance, I wanted to dance, but I wasn’t in shape to do that,” he said.
Patrick began a rigorous schedule of dance classes, taking everything from ballet to hip-hop. During these classes, something clicked for Patrick as he realized the key to a healthy lifestyle is self-esteem.
Emily Gunkelman, Positive Motion’s marketing promotions developer, is amazed by Patrick’s commitment to improving children’s lives.
“Patrick is a role-model for every human being on the planet. His authenticity is real, and he’s an extremely generous, creative powerhouse,” she said.
Kelly Gerchak, an eighth grade theatre arts and sixth grade language arts teacher at Horizon Middle School in Moorhead, has known Patrick in a variety capacities for several years and has seen firsthand the success of Patrick’s programs.
“I have known Patrick as a young performer with TPAS. Then as a teacher of dance to my own children and finally as a college choreographer. Patrick and I have worked on many shows together in which I was the director and he the choreographer. This year we will be working on Horizon Middle school’s musical “Once Upon A Mattress” and using Positive Motion to teach our students how to be fit, have fun and raise money for the production. It is a joy to watch Patrick use his gifts as an artist when he choreographs a show and to see him turn his passion for health and fitness into a successful Positive Motion program that benefits so many people.”

Gerchak has been tremendously pleased with how students respond to Patrick’s programs.

“Patrick has visited my academic classes several times and the impact on these students is instantaneous. After participating in a Positive Motion lesson with Patrick the kids were energized and ready to sit down and work. One student even said to me, ‘I wish I would have Positive Motion every day before Math, ‘cuz then I might be able to stay awake’,” She said.

In addition to volunteering in local elementary and middle schools, Patrick frequently travels around the country with Positive Motion. He recently returned from the International Key Club Convention in Memphis, TN, and has introduced Positive Motion to the Boys and Girls Club in Minneapolis, and even corporate organizations, such as State Farm and the Salon Professional Academy. Adults, he said, need stimulus during the work day just as much as kids.
Another benefit of Positive Motion is its fluidity. Patrick adjusts the routine to accommodate students in wheel chairs, hesitant middle-school boys, and children recovering from mental illness at Prairie St. Johns in Fargo.
Gerchak says Patrick is able to connect with students in an genuine way.
“Kids are attracted to Patrick like bees to honey! He is so charismatic and speaks their language. He also is a great role model for kids, the adolescent boy in particular. Many boys that age are not sure if exercise and eating healthy is a “cool” thing to do. He shares some of his life experiences that make the kids feel comfortable and can easily relate too,” she said.

“We didn’t even know we were exercising!” is a response Patrick often hears after a group finishes Positive Motion. And that is his goal. If exercise isn’t enjoyable, students are going to abandon it in favor of Facebook or video games. Positive Motion counters the allure of inactivity because it is a holistic approach to exercise.

Before returning home in 2004, Patrick became known internationally as a fitness instructor, presenting Positive Motion in Paris, Bahrain, and the Grand Cayman Islands, among other locations, and now, Fargo. His Monday night Positive Motion class at Gasper’s School of Dance has become a hit, and Patrick is a familiar face in the Fargo-Moorhead school system, presenting “Fitness Fairs” at West Side Elementary and Discovery School in Fargo.
Gunkelman is excited for the future of Positive Motion, but also enjoying the present.
“I get to have some of the fairy dust sprinkled on me. I get to see someone enjoy life. I get to see people smile. I get to watch this message change people’s lives.”
To learn more about Positive Motion and upcoming events visit: http://www.positivemotion.net

I have been assigned to write a blog.  I’ve never posted a blog ever before in my entire life and  to me, blogging is a pastime of super-smart and computer savvy people. Defintiely not me.  This is going to be a challenge but I’m going to face it head on.  

Tracy Briggs, my Broadcast Newswriting and Reporting professor, has assigned my classmates and I to write a blog on something related to newswriting and reporting or an activity that we’re passionate about.   I choose to ‘blog’ about cheerleading because participating in this sport has affected my entire college career and it is one of my many passions.  Throughout this blog, I will give you evidence of why cheerleading should get recognition as a sport.

The debate of cheerleading being a sport has been circulating the globe for the past few decades.  Pe0ple, particularly those who do not have any experience cheerleading, believe cheerleading to be an easy activity. They envision the 1950s version of a cheerleader who stood on the sidelines clapping during the game.  What I’m talking about it competitve cheerleading.   

Unlike the regular sports, cheerleading involves every muscles of your body.  Legs, arms, chest, core, you name it, and we use it.

Sport is defined as organized, competitive and require skillful physical activities. It is governed by a set of rules in which a winner can be declared by objective means. Most people who said cheer or dance is not a sport have never being to or seen a cheer/dance competition. It is a sporting event where teams of athlete meet to compete in an arena or gym and a winner is declared.

Cheerleading combines “weight” lifting with gymnastics and dance and other things. It is competetive, there are teams, it takes tons of practice (both inside and outside of actual practice) and A TON of confidence. If cheerleading can’t be a sport but golf can there is something wrong with the world.

On October 16th and 17th, the Fargo-Moorhead community came together once again for the 5th annual Homeless & Hungry Event. Over 670 participants of all ages met at different locations throughout the community to raise awareness for the Homeless and Hungry population of Fargo-Moorhead.

The mission of Homeless & Hungry is “to empower people to raise awareness for homelessness, to financially assist shelters and their partnering entities, and to change the hearts of participants and sponsors to serve as God’s hands and feet.”

The organization got it’s start when a youth group from First Lutheran Church of Fargo came together with a passion for serving others. They created Homeless & Hungry in order to use their faith to become servants and assist the people in our very own community. Many people  are willing to serve and are quick to volunteer on mission trips to cities that are hundreds of miles away, but they overlook the problems that exist in our own community.

Here are a few statistics about homelessness taken from the organization’s website: http://www.myfirstcommunity.com/category/homeless-and-hungry/

Almost ½ of ND’s long-term homeless population lives in Fargo

Each year over 1100 people are estimated to be homeless in F-M

Veterans make up 36% of homeless males in Fargo

Almost 80% of Fargo’s homeless population has a high school diploma or GED – 30% have attended at least some college.

One-third of the women (32%) in sheltered locations had at least one child with them.

To fully participate in the event, people are asked to raise $365, fast for a full 30 hours, sleep outside in a cardboard box, contribute to service projects throughout the community, participate in an all-community worship service, and share a meal at a shelter.

It was a powerful sight to see as I was driving down the busy street of Broadway. As I got closer to First Lutheran church, hundreds of cardboard boxes filled the church’s lawn and parking lot. People of all ages, from children to grandparents, had decorated their temporary ‘home’ with bible verses, pictures and sayings that supported their cause. People were busing making fleece tie-blankets that would be donated to local shelters.

When I returned later that evening, groups of people sat around fires making conversation. When I asked Rhett Carlson, a high school student at Fargo North, what the hardest part about participating in Homeless & Hungry was, he said it was definitely going without food for 30 hours.

Youth Director at Hope Lutheran Church Adam Voigt said that it is important for everyone to participate in the event because it serves as an eye-opener to the problem of homelessness in our own community

Concordia students pitched in by hosting a dance to raise funds and food donations, making fleece blankets, and sleeping-out on Olin Hill to raise awareness.

This year’s Homeless & Hungry event raised $130,000 and collected 40,000 lbs of donations for those in need in F-M.

-Karalyn Kester

‘He looked deeply into the mirror at himself as he trimmed his facial hair. Since hearing the news of his father’s cancer his life had changed drastically. The world he knew was crumbling and all he had to rely on it all was facial hair. This facial cut he had come to love so much represented how he felt, who he was. He wore it with style and it raised money for the person he loved most in life; his dad.’

Fashion is about making a statement, showing off your individuality along with your personal interests and passions. However an aspect of fashion that is often overlooked is statement as fashion. Unfortunately tragedies do happen in life but there are ways to fight, to endure. The real question is: As a general populace do we do enough to support those in need? Do we donate time or money?

Obviously we are not all millionaires. We don’t always have copious amounts of time to donate for the betterment of others. We live in the real world. Time is money.

The best way to donate that I can think of (other than the aforementioned resources) is to donate your image.

I realize this may seem like a strange idea, but let me explain.  There are many organizations out there that stand simply to raise awareness by wearing certain t-shirts, words, colors or even hair styles. From awareness we can further affect the world in positive ways; it takes that first thread of knowledge and support.

One of my favorite organizations really shines in the month of November; or as they like to call it Mo-vember. Many of us have heard of ‘No shave November’ but these men don’t just simply sprout hair to connect with their aesthetic man hood. Instead they do it to support cancer research.

The Australian native organization states that:

 

Each year Movember is responsible for the sprouting of mustaches on thousands of men’s faces in Australia and around the world, with the sole aim of raising vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and depression in men.

Men sporting Movember mustaches, known as Mo Bros, become walking, talking billboards for the 30 days of November and through their actions and words raise awareness by prompting private and public conversation around the often ignored issue of men’s health.

Supported by the women in their lives, Mo Sistas, Movember Mo Bros raise funds by seeking out sponsorship for their Mo growing efforts. The rules are simple; register online at Movember.com and start the month of Movember clean shaven, before growing a Mo.

Money raised in Australia is shared equally between programs targeting prostate cancer and male depression. Funds are committed to our men’s health partners, the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and beyondblue – the national depression initiative and the Movember Foundation. Together, the three channels work to ensure that Movember funds are supporting a broad range of innovative, world class programs in the fields of research, education, support, and awareness

http://us.movember.com/

The mustache craze has crossed seas and is gaining support every day. Some professional athletes have even taken up the cause like Minnesota’s own professional hockey team The Wild.

Okay so if mustaches aren’t your thing; the Mobro’s are not the only fashion organization. Another organization that is close to my heart is To Write Love On Her Arms. The organization started in 2006 to tell a story about a girl named Renee who was struggling to fight her demons. Overall the movement has a very positive message; one of love.

To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide.  TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.

http://www.twloha.com/

Over the years they have responded to 150,000 messages from people in 40 different countries. Talk about changing lives.

TWLOHA sells a lot of t-shirts and are supported by a great deal of bands including but not limited to Boys Like Girls, OneRepublic, the members of Paramore, Jon Foreman from Switchfoot, Sean from The Blackout, Derek Sanders from Mayday Parade, Deon Rexroat from Anberlin, Amy Lee from Evanescence, Bryce Avary from The Rocket Summer, Miley Cyrus, Casey Calvert from Hawthorne Heights, Kevin Skaff from A Day To Remember and Brendon Urie and Ryan Ross from Panic at the Disco.

However my favorite way to donate my image for this organization is during what has been deemed as ‘TWLOHA Week’. September 10^th through the 17^th of every year many write in big bold letters the word ‘LOVE’ on their arms to show support. Some also celebrate November 13^th as TWLOHA day (doing the same thing).

Obviously these are not the only organizations out there. Wearing pink for breast cancer, the Lance Armstrong ‘livestrong’ bracelets, they are all statements. The things we care about, the parts of life we wish to preserve. Find something beyond yourself to love, to care about, ultimately something to embrace. There are many causes out there that could use your support. And for some reason, if there isn’t start one. Love is a movement. With enough effort and support who knows what the future could hold. So the question is, what do you care about?

The vision is that we actually believe these things…

You were created to love and be loved.  You were meant to live life in relationship with other people, to know and be known. You need to know that your story is important and that you’re part of a bigger story.  You need to know that your life matters.

We live in a difficult world, a broken world.  My friend Byron is very smart – he says that life is hard for most people most of the time.  We believe that everyone can relate to pain, that all of us live with questions, and all of us get stuck in moments.  You need to know that you’re not alone in the places you feel stuck.

-To Write Love on Her Arms

–Nikki Stibal

On an unusually warm October evening, students and faculty alike filled the Frida Nilsen Lounge to standing room only to enjoy readings from three brilliant writers. This year’s Visting Writers Festival, hosted by Concordia’s English Department, brought to campus three diverse writers, which included James Dawes, Katrina Vandenberg, and Alan Davis. 

            James Dawes, a nonfiction Harvard-educated writer, opened the reading with excerpts from an unfinished work centered upon criminal confessions. Nominated for a Minnesota Book Award in 2008 for his nonfiction work, That the World May Know: Bearing Witness to Atrocity, Dawes currently teaches English writing at Macalester College in St. Paul.  In the unfinished work he read from, Dawes captured descriptions of such troubling material as water boarding, rape and child soldiers after conducting a series of interviews with real criminals.

Before beginning his excerpt, Dawes warned the audience, “It’s about some pretty awful stuff; a bit graphic,” he said.

Dawes’ sparse language and casual tone worked to make his piece softly powerful. Following Dawes, Poet Katrina Vandeburg took the platform. A professor at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Vandenberg was also nominated for a 2005 Minnesota Book Award in poetry. Vandenberg read from Atlas Poems, her first collection of published poems and read also from a collection to be published in early 2012. A Fulbright Scholar to the Netherlands in 1999-2000, a few of the ten poems she read dealt with hemophilia and insightful topics such as the history of tulips in the Netherlands. Though seemingly distant subject matters, Vandeburg is special because her poetry made these subjects relatable and comprehensible. 

            Fiction writer Alan Davis was the final reader of the night. Currently an English writing professor at Moorhead State, Davis has published two prize-winning collections of stories and has received, among other honors, a Loft-McKnight Award of Distinction in creative prose. Davis read from his most collection of stories, “Alone with the Owl,” and the story “Growing Wings” from a previous collection.

Junior Kim Barry especially enjoyed listening to Davis’ readings.

“I hadn’t been a big fan of his stories before this event, but hearing him read and hearing him explain his stories gave me a new appreciation and understanding for them,” He said.

Barry was also pleased with the overall visit from the writers.

“I think it’s great Concordia does this every year. Its gives students who are looking to go on to a profession in writing a great chance to see and talk to those people who are professional writers,” he said.