Aliya Sternstein: Coping with senioritis

The highly publicized mental illnesses of Andrea Yates and John Nash call attention to the lesser but still substantial stress and anxiety that many of us are now feeling -- six months after Sept. 11 and less than two months until graduation.

And maybe that's not so bad.

Fortunately, most of the stress we experience as over-achieving Ivy Leaguers is not as debilitating as psychosis or delusional thinking. Still, the pressure mounting on students -- especially second semester seniors -- is staggering. Returning from their last spring breaks ever yesterday, seniors are now even more upset about Sept. 11 uncertainty, the nil job market and a condensed spring semester (ironically due to a psychiatry convention booking up hotel space on the usual graduation weekend), not to mention the customary fear of "What the heck am I gonna do out there?" If you see a senior holding on to a stop light for stability today, go hug him.

In sum, the stress on the nation complicates the normal strains of entering the real world. Some universities, including this one, are trying to prop their students up.

UCLA undergrads are taking "Stress and Coping in the Aftermath of a National Disaster." A couple days before break, Counseling and Psychological Services Director Ilene Rosenstein and several of her crew noticed an upsurge in the number of seniors dropping by, so now they're pondering a senior support group -- an open forum for agonizing over impending breakups, fretting over fraying friendships and cursing out job recruiters behind closed doors.

Rosenstein said seniors are not viewing joblessness and stress from a healthy perspective. "They feel it's mundane, or they think something's wrong with them," but it's "bigger" than them.

Curious as to just how much bigger? Bring it up in between Thursday's Duke-Indiana game and the Oscars.

For those not comfortable in a formal group setting or in individual counseling, maybe talking's the best prescription. Stress and anxiety are upon us. We're all aware, yet we don't say anything to each other. And that breeds isolation and detachment. So ask your buddy how she's doing Thursday night, while stuffing your face with pizza.

More relief. Self-combusting seniors and those suffering from Sept. 11 fears and memories can join the new campus group promoting mental illness awareness -- Open Minds, according to the club's founder Alison Malmon, a College junior. "It's kind of like a self-help group in itself," Malmon said of the close to 75 members on the club's listserve, at least a third of whom are affected by mental illness. "Most people open up in a group setting."

Bobby McFerrin songs are not effective panaceas these days. Say "Don't Worry, Be Happy" to a senior who's got to polish off the GPA, consider the move to New York and say goodbye to her home for the last four years, and you'll get your smile turned upside down by a left hook.

Reminders are everywhere. Gallup pollsters called up college students last weekend to see if they've rethought their careers, with the terrorist attacks and all. I imagine the questions went something like, "Are you trading in that Andersen offer now? Thinking about social work instead?"

Feeling a mild case of the crunch while vacationing in Vegas last week, I panicked over this column, convinced myself it'd be a brilliant idea to write something on how the University should finish up the disgraceful, tenured construction site on 40th Street -- as a Steve Wynn-owned casino instead of a movie theater. He's a Penn trustee and alumnus. He opened the Bellagio Hotel and Casino. It could work.

And then I talked to some friends who assured me that everything's gonna be alright -- so long as I don't write that column, do graduate, do throw all current job aspirations aside and apply to school somewhere in South Dakota, find an apartment there that rents for less than $500 and do it all by May 13. Aliya Sternstein is a senior Psychology major from Potomac, Md.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.