Students, like the city, never sleep (much) during exams

By MADI CEESAY

Students in the city that never sleeps are using sleeplessness to cope with the end of semester academic work load is sleep deprivation.

“I have a friend who doesn’t sleep,” said Maria Stern,22, a freshman major in International Relations. “My friend is graduating. She has a job, exams to study for, and three term papers to write. She is always stressed out.”

After 16 weeks of studying, many students around the City College campus are complaining about the excessive levels of their stress caused by having to work, study, manage families and relationships. Many of them are really stressed out because they do not have enough time to get things done.

The story of Richard Che,18, a freshman major in mechanical engineering is all too familiar. He has a part time job working 14 hours a week. Che said with just one week to the end of the semester he still has not finished writing his two English class essays each about 7 to 10 pages, an engineering project and a music project.

“ In the last two weeks, I have been staying up all night, five days a week,” he said “I will continue doing that through next week.”

Many students find themselves in this stressful environment because they are lazy.

“I am a procrastinator,” said an 18 year-old Music major freshman who gave his name as “Henry. “I have a speech due this Wednesday but I still don’t have a topic to speak about.”

And Henry does not have a job and is taking only four classes. He said he has no other distraction that could keep him from doing his school work on time.

When students can no longer bear the burden of their stress , there is only one place to seek help: the CCNY Wellness and Counseling Center located at room J-15 in the Marshak Science Building.

“Midterm to end of semester is one of the most stressed-out periods,” said Patria Marin,PhD, a counselor/psychologist with 25 years of experience and one of the only two full time counselors at the understaffed center. 

She said students are stressed-out because they have multiple roles to perform:school,work,kids,taking care of their elderly parents and managing relationships.

Though statistics about patients are confidential, Marin said said she attends to an average of six students a week. And the same is true for her colleague.

However, she said because of the stigmatization of mental health issues in minority communities students from these communities feel reluctant to come forward to the Center for help.

“They usually turn to elders ,priests, and family members for counseling,” Marin said. “ So this service is new to them.”

With about 87 percent of CCNY students from minority communities, she thinks it is wise for them to seek counseling in the center.

“Services are free and confidential,” she said.

When a student goes to the center for counseling he/she undergoes a treatment for a maximum of eight weeks to be bailed out of his/her stress, said Pereta Rodriguez,director of the center. “If they don’t feel better we refer them to private clinics,” she added.

While CCNY may not be the most stressful school Marin said “the students complain that Cty College is stressful.”

Stressful as the end of the semester may be, students like Maria often live and die by their own work ethic.

“I have been consistently doing my work,” she said. “But Facebook is my worst distractor.”