The singer Morrissey tells me "Everyday is like Sunday" through the headphones of my MP3 player.

"Everyday is silent and grey." He must have gone to Penn State, where you're more likely to get caught in a tornado than see the sun in the sky. But the ever-figurative Morrissey was hitting on depression, a subject that affects Penn Staters more than we're willing to admit.

Depression is a real problem. Almost half of all college students said they've been so depressed that they found themselves unable to function, according to the American College Health Association. This includes the nearly 15 percent who qualify as "clinically depressed," which requires medical attention to control.

Even I've been depressed recently, which is odd considering that the Red Sox have been playing relatively well. After a couple weeks of feeling stressed, anxious, and unhappy, I took that monumental first step of admitting I had a problem. (I told my Buddy Christ dashboard statue.) I now realize that depression isn't necessarily caused by outside influences. Chances are, if you're truly depressed, there's not much on an emotional level that you can do about it.

Penn State's "party school" reputation precedes itself as a major selling point, and prospective students are biting the bait. Plenty of us expected four years of keggers, easy classes, flexible schedules and relationships. Boy, weren't we surprised when classes started -- we learned that college is actually hard work (unless you're one of those wimpy forestry or theater major students, in which case you've got nothing to complain about).

Of course we'd soon become a campus full of depressed young adults. Our schedules are demanding. Our responsibilities are numerous. Our parents are sick of us begging for money and tell us to get jobs. And then the startling realization sunk in that this is the way it's going to be for the rest of our lives. Worse, if we're to believe movies like Office Space or High Fidelity, though if we all grow up to be as sexy as John Cusack we'll at least have some peace of mind.

State College's nickname is Happy Valley, cultivating the idea that students don't have frustrations or responsibilities. It's great that we can be known as a community with boundless optimism and a carefree attitude, but at the same time, Penn State and its students have real problems, even depression. Some may be hard-pressed to admit it, as the social stigma attached to "Happy Valley" implies, but depression needs to be treated sooner than later.

I'm sure that the University Health Services can help diagnose and treat depression, as common as it is in college students.

However, most people would probably prefer to consult their family physician before taking a major medication, not to mention that some might have a problem with a doctor that they've never even met before prescribing a strong drug. So what options do students have to keep depression problems under control?

In all seriousness, a college setting doesn't do much to foster a depression-free environment. And unfortunately, it's not Penn State's job to do so. The practical measures that students can take to deal with depression, they don't seem to want to. Tell someone else about their problem? No, it's too personal. Lay off the bottle a little, since alcohol exacerbates depression? Not at Penn State, where the unofficial alma mater is "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall."

In all honesty, reading a UHS article about the dangers of depression, filled with endless statistics and medical jargon in the Science and Health section of The Daily Collegian, isn't going to alert the student body that such a problem exists on a large scale. As students, we need to take care of ourselves because if we don't, no one else will.

If your blues are lasting longer than a few days, take some practical measures: Hold off on the beer or talk to someone even if it means missing class or neglecting a homework assignment. Your personal health is much more important than 50 minutes of Power Point slides. And heck, even if you must resort to medication, at least you won't feel like everyday is silent and gray.