18 DECEMBER 1-7, 2022 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | LETTERS | CONTENTS | statement to the faculty and administrators at the small liberal arts college: Students needed a break after a particularly brutal few months. What’s happening at Colorado College is part of a startling trend of suicides at schools across the country. A National Library of Medicine report found that suicide is the second leading cause of death for college students; around 1,100 die by suicide each year. “There has been an uptick everywhere,” notes Rochelle Dickey, CC’s vice president for student life. “CC is not immune to that.” But there are some circumstances unique to Colorado College that could make stu- dents there particularly vulnerable. Students and alumni point to a lack of mental health resources; not enough BIPOC counselors; mental health issues created by the school’s intense block plan, with students taking one class for three and a half weeks followed by just a two-and-a-half-day break; and ineffec- tive approaches by the college in dealing with campus-wide distress after disturbing events. Gibson describes the on-campus situa- tion as a Ferris wheel spinning so fast that people are starting to fl y off. Colorado College may be small, but it’s mighty. It has an acceptance rate of 13.6 per- cent, the second lowest in the state, right behind the United States Air Force Academy. It’s the most expensive in Colorado, with an average in-state attendance cost of $83,000 to $86,000. About 67.2 percent of the 2,425 un- dergraduates this year are white, 25.6 percent are BIPOC, and 6.1 percent are international. One of Colorado College’s draws is its unique block plan. Rather than taking mul- tiple classes each semester, as at most col- leges and universities, students here take one class for three and a half weeks beginning on a Monday with a break between each block. Classes usually meet from 9 a.m. to noon every day, with labs in the afternoon for some. There are four blocks per semester and optional half blocks in the winter and summer sessions. The school touts this schedule as key to its academic rigor; the words “block plan” were spoken countless times this past May at graduation ceremonies as the school cel- ebrated the success of its students. Colorado College adopted the plan in 1970; only a handful of other colleges around the country use a similar schedule. While many students enrolled at CC for the block plan, they say they didn’t realize just how strenuous it would be. “I feel like the block plan itself is really exhausting,” says LaNiah Moon, a recent Colorado College alumnus. While three hours of class each day may not seem so bad from the outside, students point out that missing just two days of classes is the equiva- lent of missing six hours of material, making it nearly impossible to catch up on all the hours of lost content. “I don’t think that anything could have prepared me for how rigorous the block plan is,” Moon says. “There’s really no room for error or for mistakes, because how are you supposed to keep up with the course load if you’re not present in class?” Ronak Patel, a senior majoring in econom- ics and computer science, echoes this senti- ment. “I think the main problem is there’s just no support for anybody struggling through the block plan,” Patel says. “It’s so fast-paced that if you’re sick or you’re mentally unwell for even a day, you’ll miss so much.” “Our students are covering a week’s worth of work in one day of class,” Dickey acknowl- edges. “It’s strenuous.” She doesn’t see automatically giving a day off as a solution. Since the college must meet a certain number of contact hours, she notes that too many days off could put accreditation at risk. “That is up to faculty to determine how they might be able to offer some type of mental health break or a day off of classes,” she suggests. But the administration might also come up with a change to the plan that could better ac- commodate students’ lifestyles and needs. The school is now working on something called Project 2024, an effort led by CC professor Susan Ashley that’s looking at ways the school can improve by 2024. Some ideas to change the block plan include holding classes in the afternoon rather than a strict 9 a.m.-to-noon schedule, or combining two classes into a seven-and-a-half-week block so that students have more of an interdisciplinary experience. “It was designed in 1969; I’m sure it’s not always going to be the same block plan,” says Dickey. “It’s got to keep pace with the lives of our students. The lives of our students in 2022 are nothing like the lives of our students in 1969 or 1970.” A Hard Lesson continued from page 15 Colorado College has been rocked by three student deaths. WIKIPEDIA/JEFFREY BEAL continued on page 20 SUPPORTING SPONSORS NOV. 25 – JAN. 1 various dates (see website) Tickets limited, advance purchase required. botanicgardens.org C-470 & Wadsworth Blvd. Experience a winding path glistening with lights that illuminate the Colorado countryside. Hot drinks and sweet treats available for purchase. Get tickets today.
