Freshmen are very blue! The 2009 Ke Melancholy Measurement Survey is just out. Out of the 5,762 freshmen, 4,071 filled in the Ke Melancholy Measurement Chart, according to which 48.83% agreed that life was satisfactory while 11.58% expressed that it was not. The negative ratio last year was 7.21% but this year it has raised more than 4%. The Counseling Section will provide class supervisors with the information of the 460 most unhappy students for counseling purposes.

To coordinate with the requirement by the Ministry of Education to caringly screen college students’ psychological situations, TKU has conducted depression measurement surveys with the Ke Melancholy Measurement Chart since 2006. The surveys are measured in 3 levels: low, medium and high. The higher level means the less happy. The Counseling Section Chief Yen-wei Hu explained that last year when the survey was done, the freshmen were having their orientation. Maybe they were still ignorant about the new university life but had high expectations from it, thus the melancholy level was low. This year the survey was done right after the mid-term exams which might have given them some pressure. Moreover after the first half of the semester, the freshmen might have come across problems like life and study adjustments, doubts about their academic choices, personal relationships, etc. Further, the world-wide economic crises, family financial worries, and even parents’ unemployment problems could be the reasons that have caused the rising melancholy level.

Yen-wei Hu expressed that the publication of Melancholy Measurement Survey on College Students by the John Tung Foundation last October showed that the college students’ worries and anxieties were “future career planning,” “personal financial circumstances,” “poor schoolwork and bad exam scores” respectively. But “family financial situations and debt problems” came up in the 4th place which reflected the impact on students by the world-wide economic crises because only about 16% of the students worried about economic problems in 2005. Yen-wei Hu pointed out after the first half of the semester, some students were thinking to transfer to different departments and universities while having their mid-term exams. That could be another indirect reason for the raise.

Business Administration freshman Jin Chao said, “There is a great deal of pressure in college studies, as we have to read the original textbooks and have exams that are entirely different from those in high school. I have 35 classes every week. How can I find anytime to release my pressure?” Business Administration freshman Wei-li Wu felt that it was very hard to accept the reality that some students were cheating in exams. When he felt depressed, he would play online games to release his depression. Computer Science and Information Engineering freshman Yong-cheng Chang sometimes felt depressed by homework. He said, “I will be very depressed when I come to a bottleneck to solve a program problem. That is the time I will discuss my problem and talk with friends to get rid of my depression.”

Counseling Section coordinator Kai-ning Yu explained that the general survey results would be given to class supervisors for references. Students’ privacy will be thoroughly protected. But if students are willing to let their supervisors know their particular survey results, the Section would let the supervisors know the specific results of some students who are seriously depressed, so the Section will support the supervisors to help and counsel those students. Yen-wei Hu expressed that in the future her Section would organize self-cure, artistic treatment activities and games, combining them with positive psychological activities to guide students to develop positive thinking and relaxing skills. ( ~Dean X. Wang )