"What Shall I Say About the Irish?"
The utterly impractical, never predictable,
Sometimes irascible, quite inexplicable, Irish.
Strange blend of shyness, pride and conceit,
And stubborn refusal to bow in defeat.
He's spoiling and ready to argue and fight,
Yet the smile of a child fills his soul with delight.
His eyes are the quickest to well up with tears,
Yet his strength is the strongest to banish your fears.
His hate is as fierce as his devotion is grand,
And there is no middle ground on which he will stand.
He's wild and he's gentle, he's good and he's bad.
He's proud and he's humble, he's happy and sad.
He's in love with the ocean, the earth and the skies,
He's enamoured with beauty wherever it lies.
He's victor and victim, a star and a clod,
But mostly he's Irish in love with his God.
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Who IS St. Patrick?
John F. Kennedy once said, "A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers." St. Patrick is such a man (being both honored and representative of a country). Born in Scotland in 387, St. Patrick lived a hard life but overcame all challenges to impact an entire country in a most important way. At age 16, St. Patrick was captured by some Irishmen and enslaved in Ireland for six years. This hard time only served to strengthen his faith:
“and His fear increased in me more and more, and the faith grew in me, and the spirit was roused, so that, in a single day, I have said as many as a hundred prayers, and in the night nearly the same, so that whilst in the woods and on the mountain, even before the dawn, I was roused to prayer and felt no hurt from it, whether there was snow or ice or rain; nor was there any slothfulness in me, such as I see now, because the spirit was then fervent within me.”
After six years of slavery, St. Patrick escaped back to England. There, he became a priest and decided that his goal was to convert the people of Ireland to Catholicism. The Catholic Church had already assigned the conversion of Ireland to another man, named Palladius, but Palladius was frightened by the natives of Ireland and so St. Patrick took over the mission. In 433, he landed in Ireland and was at once confronted by the local druids. Being already familiar with the druids (his former owner was one), St. Patrick made his way through Ireland and preformed miracles and converted many. He even went back to his former owner and paid the ransom owed for his escape! On Easter in 433, St. Patrick and a large group of druids came head-to-head. Apparently, after much struggle, the chief-druid gave St. Patrick permission to preach his faith in Ireland. It was at this time, that St. Patrick, supposedly, took a 3-leaf clover from the ground and used it to explain the Holy Trinity to the people gathered. After this momentous day, St. Patrick continued around Ireland baptizing people and building churches. Converting a country was not easy, and St. Patrick survived many attempts on his life during this time, but he continued undaunted. In addition to his work converting and traveling about Ireland, St. Patrick also built an infrastructure of church there, appointing many bishops and priests.
St. Patrick spent his entire life in his quest in Ireland. He enjoyed wearing goat-hair clothes (apparently as a form of penance), sleeping on rock, and using all his free time to pray. An especially significant event occurred when he spent 40 days on top of a mountain with only a small cave for refuge from the elements. He did this in order to gain special blessings and mercy for the Irish people. Story has it that after those 40 days, no evil came to Ireland for 7 years! St. Patrick was not satisfied with this, and so he continued to fast and pray for a longer time in the name of Ireland.
He is also credited with banishing all of the snakes from Ireland (and apparently there are no snakes there these days), but there may not have been any there to start out with. The people there were worshipping snake-like idols, though, and St. Patrick was influential in helping end that.
On March 17, 493, St. Patrick died. He spent most of his life in Ireland with one goal that he accomplished with incredible focus. His perseverance and faith are legendary and well worth remembering. Have a happy St. Patrick’s Day!!!
St. Patrick was a gentleman
Who through strategy and stealth
Drove all the snakes from Ireland.
Here's toasting to his health.
But not too many toastings
Lest you lose yourself and then
Forget the good St. Patrick
And see all those snakes again.
Irish Quotes:
This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever.
-Sigmund Freud (about the Irish)
O Ireland isn't it grand you look--
Like a bride in her rich adornin?
And with all the pent-up love of my heart
I bid you the top o' the mornin!
-John Locke
"Ludicrous. Ridiculous."
-1989 edition of Collins Concise Dictionary defines the word 'Irish'
You cannot conquer Ireland. You cannot extinguish the Irish passion for freedom. If our deed has not been sufficient to win freedom, then our children will win it by a better deed.
Padraig Pearse - a leader of the 1916 Rebellion.
The quiet Irishman is about as harmless as a powder magazine built over a match factory.
James Dunne
Give an Irishman lager for a month, and he's a dead man. An Irishman is lined with copper, and the beer corrodes it. But whiskey polishes the copper and is the saving of him.
Mark Twain
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar, and fat.
Alex Levine
Our Irish blunders are never blunders of the heart.
Maria Edgeworth
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REMEMBER TO WEAR GREEN ON MARCH 17th!!!
Conferences and Upcoming Events
Be on the lookout for several upcoming conferences where you can present psychology research papers (great for your resume and also lots of FUN). Here are some links and dates to keep in mind (yes, similar to last month, but still important for those who need to know):
National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR)
Minnesota Undergraduate Psychological Conference (MUPC)
The 41st annual MUPC will be held at The University of St. Thomas in St. Paul on Saturday, April 22, 2006.
* The deadline for submissions will be March 31st.
* The keynote speaker will be social psychologist Robert Levine from California State University in Fresno, author of A Geography of Time and The Psychology of Persuasion: How We're Bought and Sold. A link to his webpage can be found at the conference website.
* The website site is up, and includes a good deal of information about the conference (including a tentative schedule). More details will be added as April 22 approaches, so check occasionally for updates. The address for the website is: www.stthomas.edu/psy/mupc
Things for Psych Majors to Watch for:
- Psi Chi monthly events! Each month, Psi Chi will have events open to all Psych majors or students taking psych classes (and friends!). Come and have fun (and often FREE FOOD)!
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A Fable
By Barbara Simpson
In a time long ago and in a place far away, there was a little kingdom, a college, a little college of ivy one might say. The little people at this little college taught what they most wanted (and were most able) to teach and learned what they most wanted to learn. Everybody did what they did best, and they said, “What we do is good.”
For a very long time good people had come to the little college of ivy. What they had found there was good. They looked for and found good both in themselves and in each other. The little college grew.
One day the little people at the little ivy college got together and said, “Our halls are now made of stone. Our foundations are firm. Our walls stand tall. Our courtyards are beautifully planted with trees and flowers. Birds come to sing in our trees.
What we have done is good. And now we are good enough to attempt to do something bigger and more grand. They spoke among themselves and decided upon a course of action. “To become something bigger and more grand we will bring in a new leader, one who is bigger and more grand than those we have known, someone who is bigger and knows how to do things that are grand.” And when they were done saying those fine things they looked into each others’ eyes and said, “What we have said together is good. Let it be done.”
And so it was done. There came to this little college a leader who was bigger and more grand. He was different from any than any they had ever seen. The people marveled and said, “This is a good thing that we have done.”
Time passed. Then, one day the little people began to notice things, little things at first, but these things got bigger and bigger. One by one, the people came to understand that what they had done so long was no longer good. Their leader was grand and was taking them to places they had never been and to understandings they had never known. The little people got together and said, “What we have been doing is not so good.”
Finally it came that the littlest person, the one farthest away from the grand leader, found something. It was words written on one of the walls of the littlest building. “Surely not words,” the people said, when he took them to see what he had found. “No word has ever been written on the little college walls before. No good little person would do such a thing to the little college walls.” But when they went to look, the little people found that there was something written on the little walls. The words read, “Teachers teach, students learn, I rule. What I say is good.”
By then the little people realized that they had not seen their new leader for some time. But from time to time new rules appeared on the outside and on the inside of the halls. And as the halls were made of stone, the new rules were written in stone. “We now have a ruler,” some of the little people said. “It is so,” said the others.
People no longer talked with each other to develop shared vision. The rules provided their vision. The flowers no longer grew. The trees were brought down for their timber to frame new grand halls. The birds no longer came.
And the rules said, “I rule. What I have done is good.”
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Psychology Student of the Week!
(Students honored for their incredible excellence in psychology for a particular week)
February 27th-March 3
Name: Anne Sitorius
Year in School: Junior
Plans after Gustavus: Hopefully grad school for clinical or counseling psychology to eventually become a child psychologist.
Favorite Psychology Course and Why: Developmental psych because it was fun learning about different aspects of child development, and then see them in the daycare kids I work with.
Favorite Professor and Why: I’ve had so many great profs it’s way too difficult to pick a favorite.
Best Psychology Related Memory: Research methods with Clark Ohnesorge was definitely a good time. Once he gave Sarah Hudson extra credit on a test because she drew a cartoon of me.
Do you Have any Advice or Suggestion to other Psychology Majors for making the Most out of your Psychology Career at Gustavus: Work on a research project with a professor. It’s a lot of fun!
March 6th-10th
Name: Chris Sorenson
Year in School: Senior
Plans after Gustavus: University of Minnesota for homeopathic medicine
Favorite Psychology Course and Why: I really enjoyed Social Neuroscience with Dr. Kruger. It was a challenge to present articles every class period and basically teach one another about our topics. It felt like grad school and I took away a lot more information than I would from a lecture course.
Favorite Professor and Why: I would say Dr. Kruger and Dr. Martin are my favorites because they put a bit of themselves in their lectures through humor or stories, and are warm and personable.
Best Psychology Related Memory: It was definitely special to sit with my wife in Dr. Martin's developmental psy. class and learn all about children just before we would have one ourselves! Good prep class.
Do you Have any Advice or Suggestion to other Psychology Majors for making the Most out of your Psychology Career at Gustavus: Because of circumstances, I have the unfortunate situation of taking Stats II during my last semester ever. I would recommend that you get this class done with ASAP so that you can have more options in front of you like honors research/projects. Enjoy your time here, it goes quick!
March 13th-17th
Name: Stephanie Lovik
Year in School: Junior
Plans after Gustavus: I plan on going to grad school for forensic psychology…although I’m also interested in I/O psychology and school psychology…so a lot could change!
Favorite Psychology Course and Why: Probably cognitive…I think it is one of the most interesting psych classes.
Favorite Professor and Why: Dr. Martin, he definitely made classes interesting and he’s always willing to help you out.
Best Psychology Related Memory: Um…probably training our rat in About Behaviorism for J-term 2005. Our rat was a genius!
Do you Have any Advice or Suggestion to other Psychology Majors for making the Most out of your Psychology Career at Gustavus:
I know I’ve heard this a lot but it’s so true: get to know your professors and advisor. They can be a lot of help!
March 20th-24th
Name: Lindsey Kraft
Year in School: Senior
Plans after Gustavus: Graduate Study in Gerontology at MNSU
Favorite Psychology Course and Why: It’s a tie between cognitive and abnormal. I learned a ton in both courses, and really enjoyed the fast-pace style of both professors.
Favorite Professor and Why: They are all excellent in certain ways, but I’d have to go with Dr. Ackil. She’s been great as an advisor, and always very helpful and attentive regardless of the circumstances.
Best Psychology Related Memory: Our 7-person methods lab, and specifically the day of the ‘O4 symposium…the others know what I’m talking about. ;-)
Do you Have any Advice or Suggestion to other Psychology Majors for making the most out of your Psychology Career at Gustavus: Dive in! The psych department offers so many opportunities, and the professors are always willing to help in any way possible—just get involved, and get to know people because you never know what you may learn, or what kind of opportunity you may stumble upon.
Look out! You could be the next Psychology Student of the Week!
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Seasonal Affective Disorder: Not Just the Winter Blues
  
By Rachel Anderson
The long, cold and dark winter season can drag on for many of us, influencing our mood and motivation. However, for some people, it isn’t merely the “winter blues” – it goes far beyond that. For some, it develops into a serious, depressive mood disorder known as Season Affective Disorder (SAD).
SAD is a seasonal, recurrent mood disorder that coincides with the natural seasonal changes. The DSM-IV does not recognize it as a separate disorder itself, but rather categorizes it as a “specifier,” or subtype, of other mood disorders, such as Unipolar Major Depression and Bipolar Disorder. Within SAD, there exists two main sub-types: winter and summer depression. Winter depression is the most common and has a fall onset. December and January are typically the worst months, with symptoms predominately from atypical depression, such as an increase in eating, sleeping (also known as hypersomnia), appetite and weight, as well as feelings of great irritability and lethargy. Those with winter onset also tend to crave carbohydrates. These symptoms normally fully remit by spring and summer; in some cases, the person may enter a form of mania or hypomania during the summer months. In contrast, summer depression has a spring onset and parallels typical depressive symptoms such as a decrease in sleep, appetite and weight.
There are several possible causes for Seasonal Affective Disorder. Some researchers have proposed that reduced of sun light can delay one’s circadian rhythm, or internal clock for daily activities such as sleeping and waking, thus triggering depression. Indeed, there is some evidence of higher SAD rates in regions of increasingly northern latitude, such as Alaska.
Another possible cause is an overabundance of melatonin. The pineal gland secretes melatonin in dark light, while suppressing it in bright light. There is less bright light available in winter, causing an overproduction of melatonin in some people. Studies have found that, while dim light may be enough to suppress melatonin production in controls, it is unable to sufficiently suppress production in SAD patients.
Similar to depression itself, low levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin may be a contributor as well. Researchers have found that after subjects are injected with d-fenfluramine (DFEN), a serotonin-releasing drug, they report much lower depression levels. In addition, some researchers deplete tryptohpan, thus lowering serotonin synthesis. When given to SAD patients in remission, tryptophan depletion causes patients to relapse into a more depressive state.
While there are various pharmacological drugs that are used to treat SAD, the primary – and most popular – treatment is bright light therapy (also known as phototherapy). In light therapy, a light box is placed on a desk a half a meter to a meter away from the patient, normally facing the person at a downward slant. Patients are free to engage in other activities (such as reading) during the duration of the treatment; however, it is suggested to look up at the light occasionally in order for it to be most effective. Typical duration of light therapy is 30 to 120 minutes each day.
Whether the light is correcting the circadian phase delay or improving serotoninergic and other neurotransmitter functioning is still in question; however, according to SAD patients and meta-analyses, light therapy works, and it seems to work quite well.
For more information:
National Mental Health Association: http://www.nmha.org/infoctr/factsheets/27.cfm
Mayo Clinic on SAD: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/seasonal-affective-disorder/DS00195
Columbia University (great Q&A section on light therapy): http://www.columbia.edu/~mt12/blt.htm
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What do YOU want to do with your PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR?
By Crystal Smith
A lot of people have no idea what is in store for them in the future. Here’s your chance to start preparing yourself for what’s to come. First of all, an important point to bring up is the decision to become further educated in an area. In order to practice psychology in an educational or therapeutic setting you are going to need more than a BA. There are countless degrees to consider when thinking about Graduate school. The first step is to narrow down your field of interest. Which class did you enjoy the most during your time here, and which area would you like to take a seminar in? It is always a good idea to take a seminar that pertains to your specific area of interest because then you can get a detailed look at possibilities for grad school. For example, if you liked your Brain and Behavior class take Social Neuroscience, if you liked Developmental take Adult Psychology, and if you liked Personality take the Humanistic seminar. If you are really interested in actively practicing Psychology another 2-6 years of study is almost a necessity.
However, if Graduate school doesn’t seem like your cup of tea there are still a ton of options out there. Your Psychology major is going to help you in many different areas of work. The kinds of jobs many majors seek are in non-profit or government institutions. Nevertheless, this does not limit you to one of these areas. If you are interested in Mental Health Services you can be a social worker, child life specialist, or volunteer coordinator. If you are interested in Business and Industry you may become a Sales representative, or become involved in PR or marketing. And if you are interested in education, you may find yourself as a math, science, or psychology teacher.
The characteristics many professionals look for in their employees are exactly the characteristics most psychology majors possess. The top ten characteristics employers seek, according to the NACE survey, are: (1) Communication skills (2) Work experience (3) Motivation/Initiative (4) Teamwork skills (5) Leadership abilities (6) GPA/Academics (7) Technical skills (8) Interpersonal skills (9) Analytical skills (10) Ethics. And from what I have seen of the ambitious students at Gustavus, I know we support these qualities. So, when preparing for the future, remember that the possibilities are endless for psychology majors.
One of the most important and useful tools in your career search is going to be the Career Center at Gustavus. They love to keep students informed of the college fairs and opportunities that are available to students. There is also going to be a panel of Psychologists from different areas that are visiting to tell us about there jobs on April 11th. I encourage you to check this out.
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New Joke...
Don't Pinch
by Bruce Lansky
When I got on the school bus,
I was in for a surprise.
My friends all stared and pointed.
There was mischief in their eyes.
A kid who sat in front of me
reached out and pinched my knee.
My friends all started laughing,
but the joke was lost on me.
And then I got my second pinch.
I felt it on my ear.
And then I felt a third and fourth.
You guessed it--on my rear.
I asked, "Why are you pinching me?
I think it's very mean!"
They said, "Today's St. Patrick's Day
and you're not wearing green."
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