We must not balance the budget on poor, elderly

Sen. Bernie Sanders

March 28, 2013

  In the spirit of Sen. Sanders’ recent JSC Student Town Meeting, we reprint the Senator’s recent op-ed, which discusses many of the points he raised during the Student Town Meeting.       The Democrats won a major victory on Election Day.   Despite dozens of billionaires spendin...

Words of Wellness: Sleep… Sleep… Sleep…

Cynthia Hennard

March 14, 2013

Recent University and College health surveys found that up to 35% of college students felt their academic success was significantly and negatively impacted by sleep problems. Typical sleep challenges for college students include the obvious: roommates coming and going, noisy dorms, a great social life,...

Words of Wellness: Your health, up in smoke

Lori Koshowski

February 22, 2013

Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable illness and death in the United States.  It causes many different cancers, chronic lung diseases such as emphysema and bronchitis, heart disease, pregnancy-related problems, and many other serious health issues. Each day, more than 3,600 people under...

CATFISH:”Fifty Shades” Are Us?

February 7, 2013

Unless you’re Amish, or live in a cave, you have probably heard of "Fifty Shades of Grey." Many of you have read it and maybe you have even read it secretly in that barn or cave. Set largely in Seattle, it is the first installment in a trilogy that traces the relationship between a virgin college gra...

Friends, Community and Social Capital

Cynthia Hennard

February 7, 2013

Friends are a big source of comfort and stress in our lives - whether we have them and the dynamics they bring. Even extreme introverts need and want peeps and are no less capable of having them than are gregarious extroverts, it just looks different. Business culture uses the term social capital. Psy...

Silenced Voices loud and clear

Kayla Friedrich

December 6, 2012

As I entered Bentley 207 to witness “Silenced Voices”  on Nov. 14, I didn’t know what to expect. Living in Vermont I have had the pleasure of meeting a few of the migrant workers who traveled here from Mexico to work on our dairy farms. What I didn’t realize was the level of fear that these...

Words of Wellness: Energy Deficit — Are energy drinks the answer?

Lori Koshowski

December 6, 2012

Sales of energy drinks have skyrocketed over the past 6 years and if these product sales are an indication of need then there is a growing deficit of energy amongst its users.   Between 1998 and 2003 the sale of energy drinks in the US increased by as much as 465%.  By 2006, sales of energy drinks...

Greeting from the SGA

Melissa Rixon, SGA, Director of Public Relations

November 15, 2012

With Thanksgiving Break just around the corner, it is hard to believe the Fall semester is already coming to a close. The SGA has been hard at work accomplishing a number of projects and initiatives with many new ideas making their way into action. President Shane Bouthillette and Vice President Colin...

Puzzled by Petrics

November 15, 2012

Six JSC students, Jane, John, Erin, Frank, Ester and Jose, come to a river crossing while on an Outdoor Education trip. They have only one boat amongst themselves which can only carry 2 people at at time. There is however an additional complication which is that Jane and Frank are dating, as are Erin...

S.A.D. is no laughing matter

Sarah Palmer

November 15, 2012

As the snow starts to fall and the days begin to get cloudy and short, you may start to feel down or moody. For some of you it may just be the initial adjustment to colder temperatures and shorter daylight hours, but for others it may be due to Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). For a majority of people,...

Words of Wellness: Why not smoke pot?

Cynthia Hennard, LCMHC, LADC

November 1, 2012

Ever since the days of Reefer Madness, the hysterical propaganda from the “war against drugs” camp and the oppositional don’t worry about it from the “pot’s a natural God given gift” camp has created a cultural split that can make it complicated to arrive at a thoughtful informed decision...

Student First, SGA Later

Dan Schurman

November 1, 2012

I would like to address the Student Petitions Against SGA GPA Requirement article. I would first like to say that you are here to be a student FIRST! You are not going to college to join the SGA or play a sport or go on amazing trips, you are here for a degree. A degree in which you pay A LOT of money...

Get the facts on the common cold so it can’t get you

Lori Koshowski ANP-BC

October 6, 2012

The common cold, or acute viral nasopharyngitis, is a viral infection of the upper respiratory system, which may involve the nose, throat, sinuses, eustachian tubes, trachea, larynx and bronchial tubes. Colds are one of the leading causes of doctor visits and missed days from school and work. It is estimated...

Letter to the Editor re: Wiseman investigation

VSC Faculty Federation

October 2, 2012

While the Faculty Federation does not generally comment on confidential personnel matters, the situation involving Professor Fred Wiseman at Johnson State College has generated so much press coverage and public controversy that we feel compelled to comment. The Federation has reviewed all the material...

Words of Wellness: Eat well, be well

Jeanie Cass, JSC Nurse Practioner

May 3, 2012

Have you started exercising yet? Did you measure your abdomen as I mentioned last week? Well, the other part of the obesity equation is our diet. Diet is WHAT we eat, not a restrictive way of eating. Why are we so overweight in America? Well, for starters, we have literally “supersized” our food....

Stop the nuclear industry welfare program

Senator Bernie Sanders and Ryan Alexander

May 3, 2012

The following is an excerpt from a commentary written by Ryan Alexander and Bernie Sanders. The US is facing a $15 trillion national debt, and there is no shortage of opinions about how to move toward deficit reduction in the federal budget. One topic you will not hear discussed very often on Capitol...

Words of Wellness: Listen to the tape

Jeanie Cass, JSC Nurse Practioner

April 12, 2012

Get a tape measure. What you don’t have one? Get creative with a piece of yarn (from a knitter on campus) and a ruler… and measure the largest portion of your waist between your belly button and the hipbone. Men, are you over forty inches? Women, are you over thirty-five inches? If you answered...

Benefits of health care reform

Senator Patrick Leahy and Congressman Peter Welch

April 12, 2012

This guest column was originally published in the Williston Observer. In the two years since President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, Americans are seeing the benefits. Nearly 86 million Americans have received free preventive services such as routine check-ups and cancer screenings. Over 105...

Words of Wellness: Humor for Health

By Rebecca Walter-Proulx, Contributor

March 22, 2012

One of my favorite poems is “Diagnosis” by Sharon Olds (You can find the poem at http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2010/11/19). In this poem, a mother is deathly worried about “funny looks” that sometimes appear on her baby’s face. Fearing her child possessed, she takes her...

Rap from the Rep

Mark Woodward, Lamoille County State Representative

March 22, 2012

There is no place for intrigue and excitement like the Vermont Statehouse as the end of a biennium approaches. We all come back from town meeting knowing that if legislation is to make it to law this session it has to pass out of committee this week in order to have time to work it’s way through the...

Words of Wellness: The mechanics of panic

By Brian Wilcox, M.A. L.C.M.H.C., Contributor

March 8, 2012

Stepping from the brink of the cave, the woman moves rapidly to the brambles near the cave entrance where she remembers the blackberries. She feels a twinge of fear at having forgotten her spear but the thought of the blackberries override it as she hurries to the berries. The woman draws near the brambles...

Words of Wellness: Enjoy Vermont’s Winter Wonderland

Jeanie Cass, JSC Nurse Practioner

February 16, 2012

In preparation for this article, I interviewed Brad Moskowitz, Professor of Outdoor Education, avid backcountry enthusiast, and member of the Mount Mansfield Ski Patrol. Brad provided me with helpful information grouped into five general recommendations. Remember the old Scouting adage “be prepared”? 1: Prep fo...

Rap from the Rep: A Message from Rep. Mark Woodward

Rep. Mark Woodward

February 16, 2012

This has been an exciting week at the State House. In my ten years as the Rep from Johnson and Eden I have never witnessed such a large turnout of Vermont State College students. As a JSC alumni myself, I have to admit we had by far the best showing. Well done JSC! It is this kind of action that influences...

Words of Wellness: Making the Best of It

Cynthia Hennard, Contributor

February 2, 2012

When it comes to being successful, does attitude matter? Does it help to be positive? Are people born that way or is it something that can be cultivated? What about happiness – do you have to sacrifice happiness to work hard and be successful? Yes. Yes. Yes. And, no. Research on Positive...

Rap from the Rep: A Message from Rep. Mark Woodward

February 2, 2012

This year, the Vermont Legislature has hit the ground running. Throughout the fall most members were hard at work helping their communities recover from Hurricane Irene. Fortunately, Lamoille County sustained little damage when compared to the southern part of the state, although Johnson did lose...