Part 3

Dear Mr. Estrada,

I am currently a freshman here at Arizona State University, and I have a concern that I would like to address, for which I believe you, along with Residential Hall Association, posses an effective solution. 

Depression among college freshman is a major issue that needs to be brought out of the shadows and made known among the Arizona State University community. The transition between high school and college and from the comfort of home to living with a stranger in a dorm is not always a smooth one. Depression can be caused by many factors. Homesickness, in my opinion, is one of the major causes. Residing in a dorm and interacting with unfamiliar faces all the time can bring about a feeling of absence and loss of identity. Another main cause for despondency amid first year students is balancing one’s social life with school. By this I mean trying to meet new people and establishing social connections while maintaining a solid performance in school. The pressure in doing both can get the best of us sometimes, whether we like it or not. In addition, another cause for depression among first year college students is culture shock. The college environment is unlike any other; and, if you come from a small town or another country you will be in for a big surprise. I definitely noticed it, and I am sure many other freshmen also did. Depression has many causes and greatly affects undergraduate students.

I have experienced a little bit of unhappiness myself during my time here, and I firmly believe that if my Community Assistant and Peer Mentor were trained to address matters like these I would be comfortable going to them for advice and consolation. For many, it is much easier to open up to people who are around their same age, which is why I believe not very many college students seek assistance from the counseling department at Health Services. Because Community Assistants and Peer Mentors literally live a few feet away from us it would be so much more convenient and accessible for us dorm residents to go to them whenever we see necessary if they had the proper training and certification.

Because Residential Hall Association is involved in managing university housing and improving the overall housing experience, they would serve as my ideal audience for my proposal. RHA is deeply involved with student life at the dormitories so they would understand how big of an impact this would have on first year students here at Arizona State University. Their purpose is to improve the overall experience for college freshman and adding this service would only have even more of a positive impact on dorm residents. In the past there have been suicides here on campus and it is simply unacceptable that suicide after suicide there are not further precautions and concerns being taken into account. I cannot imagine being a parent of an ASU student receiving a phone call saying my child has caused self-inflicted injuries because of depression. What would that say about Arizona State University as an educational institution? I love my school and I am happy to be attending here, and I would like to see everyone else around me also cheerful and optimistic. After all, college is a major stepping stone in life and if ASU can do something as simple as providing guidance to Community Assistants as to how to deal with their resident’s depression there is no reason why they should not take action. 

I would like to thank you for your time, and take my proposal into consideration. Residential Hall Association has the power to do this and more, and I strongly believe this would add a great amount of depth to RHA and would receive a lot of support.

Sincerely,

Regina Soto