Official support for the Pilot Hill Project and a sizable RSO funding request were approved at Tuesday’s ASUW session, which featured a University Counseling Center presentation from Interim Director Dr. Toi Geil.
Geil, interim director of the Counseling Center, detailed the availability of counseling services to UW students, how those seeking help can make appointments, the conditions under which sessions are confidential or must legally be disclosed and how the Center prioritizes crisis situations for students.
“We see students across all their years at the University, including graduate students,” Geil said.
Students can seek confidential assistance with a broad range of concerns, from self-esteem to family and romantic relationships to The Counseling Center even has advice for staying calm and focused in the midst of an exam.
“Sometimes students are experiencing some testing anxiety, we can help them learn skills so that when they take tests they’re able to relax and recall information more quickly and accurately,” Geil said.
The Center is open for initial drop-in appointments every day from 10-12 a.m. and 1-4 p.m. Additional information is available from the Center and on their website.
Geil concluded by walking the student senators through a breathing and meditation exercise to reset and relax as a sample of other services and events the Center facilitates, such as workshops, group sessions and guest speaking for events.
Just under $7,000 in student fees was approved for allotment to the MILAAP, the Indian Students Association, for its upcoming annual Diwali Night event, a cultural show and dinner celebrating the Hindu festival of lights for which the RSO anticipates an attendance of at least 500 guests from the campus and community.
With the funds approved, Diwali Night will be taking place Saturday, Nov. 3 at 4:00 p.m. in the Education Auditorium, followed by a dance featuring Bollywood DJ Gaurav Raj and then dinner in the Yellowstone Ballroom.
The Pilot Hill Project is an effort by the Laramie community to purchase and preserve 5,472 acres (almost 9 square miles) of hills, prairie and forest east of Laramie for research, recreation and water management. According to the Pilot Hill Project Committee, the purchase will protect the Casper Aquifer, a geologic feature that naturally filters drinking water for Albany County residents, and may also provide an economic boost by attracting and retaining businesses and their employees.
An agreement has been signed by the city of Laramie to purchase the land from the Samuelson family, contingent upon raising $10.5 million—of which $750,000 has been raised locally by more than 450 investors. The ASUW resolution supports additional efforts to spread awareness to continue raising money for the purchase.
“I think this is a really cool opportunity that not only Laramie has, but UW has, to give our students more options for research, more options for recreation, and to expand our presence and our relationship with the community,” Wendy Hungerford, College of Education senator, said. “I think our students have shown that they’re in support of it and I think that we should back them up on this awesome opportunity.”
Those interested in more information regarding the Pilot Hill Project can find it at pilothill.org, where donations can also be made.
