Gair Rhydd

Depression: a student experience

Depression is an illness which can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender... or student status. Features takes a look at the problem of student depression, and some of the support options currently available.

My name is Daniella. I’m a section editor for gair rhydd, I’m the president of a society with over 200 members, I have lots of great friends and I am doing well in my degree. I also tried to kill myself in my first year at university.

Depression is an illness which can affect anyone; male or female, young or old, student or non-student. In Wales today, there are over 250,000 people suffering from depression. Amongst the student population, it is impossible to tell how many people are suffering from depression, but it is clearly an issue; whilst depression is not necessarily believed to be more prevalent amongst students than their non-student peers, depression is the most common issue for which university counsellors are consulted.

Are you paying attention?

Are we all missing out on life-changing opportunities because we are too busy listening to our iPods? Features investigates...

The weather hasn’t been so good. Recently I saw a chap with a beanie hat, fashionably knotted scarf, cutting edge hoodie and a shoulder bag. Board shorts and flip flops made up the bottom half. Seemingly every climate was being catered for, apart from the one he was actually living in; it was raining.

He was texting too – faster than Tiger Woods on Valentine’s Day. This though, is about what was in his ears. Siberian Surfer Man would not entertain fluff or unsightly hair. He was a subscriber to little electronic buds of sound – an iPod child of the musical millennium.

The Muslim perspective

The majority of student lifestyles are drunken and debauched. Of course, not everyone follows these archetypal routines...

A few years ago, when I had first joined the Islamic Society in Cardiff University, we held an event aimed at raising awareness about Islam on campus. This was aptly titled Islam Awareness Week – an appropriate name even if it does make Islam sound like a national health issue.

Instead of lecturing the attendees to death (insert your own jihad related joke), we decided to record a short video entitled “A Day in the Life of a Muslim Student”. It went down quite well; we didn’t take ourselves too seriously but tried to get across the Muslim student experience, as well as a few notes about Islam at the same time. I decided that perhaps this would be an appropriate way to write about the Muslim student experience, but on a week long scale:

Gwledd y Gym Gym

Cyfnewid y bêl hirgron am bêl fawreddog arall am un noson

Diwrnod Santes Dwynwen. Pa ffordd well i ddathlu’r diwrnod rhamantus hwn na chael criw oddeutu 230 ynghyd i Stadiwm Mileniwm Cymru i fwynhau Dawns Fawreddog y Gym Gym.

Cymdeithas i fyfyrwyr Cymraeg Caerdydd yw’r Gym Gym, ac rydym yn trefnu gwahanol weithgareddau yn amrywio o grols gwahanol o amgylch y ddinas, i dripiau megis y Ddawns Ryngolegol yn Aberystwyth a’r Eisteddfod Ryngolegol a drefnir yn flynyddol.

News in brief

Ginger dinosaur

The most primitive feathered dinosaur known to man had a ginger Mohican.

Deadly protein's positive uses

Prion protein is responsible for rare but fatal illnesses like CJD, but it may have positive uses too

Prion disease describes a group of progressive conditions that affect the brain and nervous system of humans and animals. In people these disorders impair brain function, causing memory changes, personality changes and problems with movement that worsen over time. The signs and symptoms of prion disease typically begin in adulthood, and the course of these disorders ranges from a few months to several years.

It is important to note however that these disorders are very rare. They affect about one person per million worldwide each year.

Fifteen things you should know about graduate recruitment and careers

At a time when most of you are worrying about your graduate prospects, Jobs & Money brings you the ultimate guide to finding a job.

1. We are in a recession and graduate vacancies are down by 25% BUT 75% of graduate vacancies are still out there – a wide range of opportunities still exist, so go for them!