University's Center for Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) was created as a service for students, a place they could go to talk about their problems with a professional. As a service industry, it is the function of CAPS to serve Penn State students in their psychological needs.

However, many students on campus are turned away from CAPS in their time of need, either due to lack of communication by the student regarding his/her needs, or because of a lack of CAPS staff. If a student is willing to call out for help to a service specifically created to help them, CAPS must be able to and willing to do whatever it can to help that student.

In fact, CAPS is needed now more than ever. According to a study, conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles, during the 2000 academic year, the percentage of students who reported feeling depressed at some point during the past year increased from 8.2 percent to 16.3 percent.

The CAPS service proclaims it will aid students in helping with their "feelings of loneliness, inadequacy, family or marriage difficulties, lack of confidence, the inability to concentrate or study, or simply 'feeling the need to talk things out.' "

CAPS does offer crisis services, meaning that if a student is in need of emergency care, CAPS promises to get that student immediate help. Students, however, need to be informed that in order to receive crisis care, they have to let CAPS know that they need to speak with a counselor right away, and cannot wait for a later appointment..

However, with 41,000 students to care for, and only about 24 counselors working in CAPS, Penn State owes it to the students of this community to expand and add funding to the program.

What students with mental health issues need are more counselors, not a newly expanded campus. While the many new buildings springing up around campus may attract future students, they are taking funding away from programs like CAPS, which are needed by current students.

If more money was devoted to improving CAPS service, maybe students wouldn't have to wait for days to see a counselor.

Penn State has an obligation to provide its current students with what they need. If students feel they cannot get the psychological help they desire they can wind up leaving school, or worse, hurting themselves or others. Therefore, more attention needs to be paid to this organization, especially with freshmen depression on the rise.