A study conducted by MTV-U on the mental health of college students revealed that stress levels peak for students during their junior year.

In the fall of 2008 a total of 503 full time college students on campuses in Boston, MA, Austin, TX, Ann Arbor, MI, and Berkeley, CA between the ages of 18-24 years old were surveyed. According to the study, stress levels are higher in females, with 72 percent compared to males who are at 54 percent.

Some of the main causes of stress felt by juniors in college are applying to graduate schools and the reality setting in that “the real world” is just around the corner.

(Photo: Google)

“It is terrifying to think that in just another year our college careers will be over and we will be trying to make it on our own in the real world,” said junior Ben Siok.

The theory as to why stress peaks for college juniors is that the stress slowly builds up during students’ freshman and sophomore years. Out of the students surveyed in this study, only 39 percent of college freshman agreed that they felt the pressure to handle stress. However, stress levels of sophomores in college increased to 58 percent.

“Stress is very misleading; it can creep up on you. Looking back on freshman year I was not stressed at all, but compare that to now and I definitely feel more stress,” said Siok.

But, what about college athletes?

Some would argue that student athletes have less stress than non-student athletes because of the fact that athletes are able to relieve stress on the field of play.

The Athletic Insight, an online journal of sports psychology, compared stress levels between college athletes and non athletes in a 2003 study. Contrary to popular belief, student athletes reported to have higher stress levels compared to non-athletes.

Researchers believe that student athletes feel more pressure because of the responsibilities that come with being an athlete, such as having a heavier work load with attending practices and doing homework, and not getting enough sleep during the week.

“Being a college athlete can be very stressful sometimes. The days are long and filled with either practice or school work and that can take a toll on you,” said junior, hockey player Kevin Quinn.

Experts suggest that any college student who is having a hard time relieving stress follow five stress relievers: work out, get at least eight hours of sleep a night, listen to music, eat right, and manage time wisely.

For more information on how to relieve stress log onto eRaven and refer to the Wellness Center page.

(Photo: Google Images)

by Sean Carroll
edited by Alycia Brandt

Procrastination has been linked to increased levels of anxiety in college students and will lead to unhealthy habits down the road.

According to a study conducted by Fuschia M. Sirois, a psychology professor at Carleton University in Ottawa, shows that procrastination in college students will translate to poor health and higher levels of stress. Procrastination is nothing new to college students, but many may not know about the long term side effects caused by putting off their work.

“I can only get my work done at the last minute because the pressure forces me to get it done,” said junior Kevin Quinn.

Let’s face the facts, not many college students would rather sit down and do the hours of countless homework every night when they could be off having fun with friends. One of the many reasons why procrastination rates are so high among college students today is the sense of freedom that they have. Out of 374 freshman undergrads that were studied at Carleton University, a whopping 61% admitted to procrastinating consistently on a daily basis.

“I definitely procrastinate every day. Even when I know that I have a lot of work I always wait until the last minute to do it,” said Quinn.

Many freshman fall into poor study habits such as procrastinating simply because when they go away to college they no longer have their parents making them do their work.

“In high school I was always on top of all my work. I thought that it would be the same way when I moved to college but two years into my college career I find myself putting my work off more and more,” said junior Justin Adams.

The most dramatic cause of procrastinating is increased levels of anxiety and stress. College students who continuously put off work until the last minute suffer from high levels of stress and often feel overwhelmed.

“When students procrastinate their anxiety takes the form of relatively high physiological stress at everyday hassles and social interactions,” said Sirois.

Some experts have said that the best way to break the cycle of procrastination is to improve one’s time management but for most that is easier said than done.

“Telling someone who procrastinates to buy a weekly planner is like telling someone with chronic depression to just cheer up,” said Joseph R. Ferrari, a psychology professor at DePaul University during the study conducted by professor Sirois.

A solution that may help all procrastinators out there get back on the right track is to eliminate all distractions. This means turn off the TV, radio, and stop spending hours on facebook. Eliminating distractions will help keep procrastinators on task and as a result the student will feel less overwhelmed with only having to concentrate on the task at hand.

For more information on time management stop by the Academic Services Center located in the Library.



(Photo: Google Images)

by Sean Carroll
edited by Melissa Koszer

Punxsutawney Phil has predicted an early spring for this winter’s latest Groundhog Day.

2011 has kicked off the year with a snow filled January, but there is hope with Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction of an early spring.

The tradition continued on Wednesday, February 2nd at 7:25 a.m. in Gobbler’s Knob, PA. Groundhog Day has been celebrated in Gobbler’s Knob since the first time Phil was pulled out of his tree stump in 1887.

Many wouldn’t consider a groundhog very accurate on whether we will have an extended winter or an early spring, especially when the prediction is based on seeing his own shadow or not. Those skeptics would be right, because Phil has only been correct 39 percent of the time on his seasonal forecast.

“I follow Phil’s prediction every year, not because it’s the most accurate prediction of the weather but my mom was always interested in it,” said senior Patrick Smith.

One thing is for certain, Phil’s prediction of an early spring has a lot of people hoping that he is right this time around.

“I’m going to keep my fingers crossed because I don’t think I’m the only one around here that is getting a little sick of the white powdery stuff,” said junior Anthony Chighisola.

Even if Phil’s prediction turns out to be a hoax, spring will eventually be here and Phil will be forgotten until Groundhog Day 2012.

Special guests Andrew Scher and Candy Crowley were honored during the seventh annual Fitzwater Honors Wednesday afternoon in Pierce Hall.

Scher, Executive Producer of the CBS show, “The Doctors” and Crowley, Senior Political Correspondent for CNN were both awarded the Fitzwater Center Medallion for Leadership in Public Communication.

“I am honored to be here tonight and extremely lucky to be receiving this award,” said Scher while speaking to the audience. 

Crowley shared her experience and shared some words of wisdom with the aspiring journalists.

“Whatever sacrifices you make in journalism you will get back. Keep going; in the end you will be surprised where you end up,” said Crowley.

“Excellence requires commitment, dedication, and hard work,” said Kristen Nevious, Director of the Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication during her opening speech.  

The Fitzwater Scholars Medallions for Academic Excellence were the first awards to be given out. The recipients of the medallions were seniors Kevin Flanders, Robert Michaelson, and Abbie Tumbleson. The three seniors had a combined average GPA of a 3.75.

The award for contributions to the public discourse by a New Hampshire high school media advisor was presented to Gordon Lang of Kingswood Regional High School.

“To tell you the truth I never thought I would be teaching journalism but when I transferred to Kingswood I found myself doing just that. I take great pride in my students and the things they accomplish,” said Lang during his acceptance speech.   

Bailey Gaffney took home her first award of the night while Michaelson took home his second award when they were awarded for their contributors to the public discourse.  The award is given to graduating seniors.

“To me Journalism is about bringing people together. Journalism is about what’s happening, people, and life,” said Michaelson.

Marlin Fitzwater and President James F. Birge also spoke at the event.

“The faculty as well as the students should be congratulated on the fine job that they do shaping the young minds of our students,” said Birge.

Kaitlin Krolikowski in action against AIC

The Franklin Pierce University women’s tennis team finished the season with a convincing 9-0 victory over AIC in Springfield, MA, Sunday evening.

With the win the Ravens improved to a record of 2-11 overall, while AIC finishes the 09-10 season 0-13. The win over AIC snapped a five match losing skid that the Ravens have endured since there last win on February 14, against Pace.

“Even though we didn’t have a great season overall it is nice to end it with a win. I think this win will give us something to build on for next year,” said junior Lauren Smilovich.

After a tough loss at SNHU, 9-0, the day before, the Ravens came out on Sunday and put it behind them.

 “It is always hard to try and forget about a loss especially, when it was the day before. Coming out and playing the way we did against AIC showed us all that we can bounce back from a loss and win,” said sophomore Christina Bonelli.

The first doubles match of the day featured sophomores Kaitlin Krolikowski and Suzana Deronkic defeating their opponents 8-1. The second doubles match would prove to be a confidence booster for the Ravens with an 8-3 victory for Smilovich and senior Bianca LaPointe.

“I think that our team’s play in doubles set the tone for the rest of the match. We came out hitting well and that gave us all more confidence going into our singles matches,” said Smilovich.

All six of the Ravens went on to win their singles matches in straight sets with the closest margin of victory being 6-2, 6-0, turned in by Smilovich.

“This match was a great win for our program. We are consistently improving every year and this proves that we can compete with any team out there,” said Smilovich.

Campus Recreation is pulling out all the stops for their final on-campus event of the spring semester by introducing an age-old Scottish tradition: Highland Games are planned for Spring weekend and will take place later this month on April 24.

The daylong event will feature such events as caber toss, ten vs. ten tug of war, a hay bale toss, and a kilted race to the top of the Manor. Even though there are a variety of events to choose from the main event of the Scottish celebration will be the Couples Carrying Championship.

Pairings for the Couples Carrying Championship can be a combination of male/female, male/male, or female/female. The race will take place behind the Boathouse on the lower portion of Peterson Hall Lawn and will be 831 feet long. The course will also consist of multiple obstacles such as hurdles, sand piles, and a mud pit crossing.

“Because our Intramural program is so popular here we are hoping to target that crowd and get them involved in this new event,” said Brandon Burton, Campus Rec. Employee.

In addition to the athletic events, the Highland Games will provide a taste of Scottish culture with authentic Scottish cuisine and music. The music will include a traditional bag piping band that will play throughout the day.

“Our hope is that we will educate and provide a fun event for students to participate in for years to come,” said Chelsea Ketchen, Campus Rec. Employee.

The prizes for the winner of each event have yet to be determined.

“If anything the winners of the events will likely be given an intramural champion t-shirt,” said Burton.

Students who are interested in the individual events or participating as a pair for the Couple Carrying Championship can sign up at the Bubble starting on April 22; or the day of the event.

“We are very excited sponsoring this new event and look forward to a strong turnout of students,” said Ketchen.

For more information on the Highland Games contact Chelsea Ketchen via e-mail at ketchenc@franklinpierce.edu.

We all know that Rindge is not a huge metropolitan city by any means but why is it that the Bubble is always packed?

According to the 2008 estimate Census, the total population of Rindge, NH community is about 6,538. This number is not what many people expect from a college town but either way the number is staggeringly low. The University itself only has 1,500 students enrolled this year.

Being that there is not a great deal for someone to occupy themselves in the town of Rindge, NH it would make sense that the Bubble is the place to go. This would not be a problem if a membership to the Bubble was only given to students rather than everyone who wants one in the local community. The Bubble itself only covers 72,000 square feet.

I do realize that the school is trying to make some money by allowing the local community to use the facility and the Bubble is the only gym in the town of Rindge, NH. The fact of the matter is that the majority of the students go to the Bubble on a daily basis to work out and wind up waiting to use a piece of equipment.

“It is hard to get a solid workout in sometimes, especially when the gym and cardio area is so small,” said junior Patrick Smith.

Another reason why the gym is always busy is the amount of sports teams that are trying to share the facility. On campus alone there are seventeen sports teams who are all required at some point to be in the gym throughout the day.

“Being in the weight room is very important for our athletes and sometimes it is tough for them to get a quality workout as a team when they are competing to use the equipment,” said Jaymie Harrington, Head Hockey Coach.

There would seem to be two very reasonable options to fix this problem. The first, being that Rindge could provide another facility in which the non student community could join. The second, the University should build a gym for the use of the sports teams on campus. Without some sort of solution to this problem the overcrowding at the Bubble will continue to happen for years to come.

The third place Franklin Pierce baseball team was defeated by the fifth place Bentley Falcons by a score of 8 -7 Sunday afternoon at home.

Sunday’s game was the fifth straight game for Franklin Pierce in four days. The Ravens came into the contest with a 3-1 record in their last four outings.

Both teams started the game with solid defense and at the end of the first inning there was no score. The Ravens struggled early and did not get a lead in the game.

Bentley took the lead 1-0, on a run scored by sophomore Mark Lane in the second inning.

The Ravens came right back and made a score by Mike Augustine, a graduate student and first baseman.

The tie was short lived after Bentley shot out to a commanding 5-1 lead in the top of the third inning. The Ravens cut the Falcons lead to 5-3 with scores from senior second baseman Cody Kauffman and junior third baseman Derek Ingui.

The bottom of the fourth inning saw the Ravens yet again chip away at the Falcons lead when Augustine scored a run off of Kauffman’s triple into right center field. Bentley struck back in the seventh inning by increasing their lead to 8-4. The Ravens tried making a comeback in the bottom of the seventh inning, cutting Bentley’s lead to just one run, 8-7.

The lead was enough for the Falcons to come away with the victory.

“It is always disappointing to lose a game especially at home, but our hitting needs to improve in order for us to comeback and beat Bentley at home this upcoming Wednesday,” said sophomore Isaac Wenrich,  the designated hitter.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 13-8 on the season and 3-2 in the Northeast-10 Conference.

The Ravens will travel to Bentley this Wednesday March 31 for a rematch. The game is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Campus Recreation reached high attendance numbers with the first trip to Mt. Snow Sunday.

Ten participants made the day trip to Mt. Snow, which was a record number of people attending this event. The trip to Mt. Snow is held once a year by Adventure Recreation, which is a part of Campus Recreation.

Skiers and snowboarders left for Mt. Snow at 7:00 a.m.  “It can be hard to wake up early on the weekends seeing how that is the only time I get to sleep in but once you remember that you’re going skiing it’s easy to get motivated,” said Junior Jared Gardiner.

The cost was $45 per person for the trip compared to $75 for a regular-priced single day lift ticket to the resort. Along with a discounted lift ticket Campus Rec. also provided transportation, which was included in the fee.

“We also charge just $5 to students with season passes already because they just come for transportation which is cheaper than paying for gas,” said Trip Leader Chelsea Ketchen.

With more and more students becoming aware and interested in the variety of trips and events that Campus Recreation provides, the staff looks to add more trips to Mt. Snow in the future.

“Even with all the planning that goes into these kinds of trips such as getting approved transportation, checking the group rate at the resort, and promoting the trip, the only problem we always run into is with attendance,” added Ketchen.

With temperatures hitting fifty degrees on Sunday the weather was ideal for the students who went on the trip.

“The sun was shining and the best thing was that I didn’t even have to wear all of my heavy ski gear. Couldn’t have picked a better day to go,” said Gardiner.

For More information about upcoming Campus Rec. events refer to the Bubble or the events calendar found on eRaven.