Others, including psychology faculty member Debra Murray, believe there are many reasons why today s students are different than those of the 80s. I think one of the pieces is that our culture and society continue to progress so rapidly, Murray said. For the past several years, Murray has toggled her way back and forth between her faculty status in the psychology department to working with programs such as Connect, which promotes safe alternatives to drinking and drugs. This year she is coordinating the popular class, Person, College, Community, targeted for the incoming freshman. We re asking students to change so rapidly from high school into this whole new lifestyle, Murray said.
College is definitely a test tube for stress.
We ask them to leave their families and their schedules. And we put them in new classes. Then there is technology. Murray believes that, too, has played a big role in our changing student. I can now plug in and tune out anytime I want, and that has changed, Murray said.