Appalled by the silence of Boulder County Commissioners

Regarding Dana Bove’s Dec. 16 guest opinion, “Public participation only works if the County listens,” about the Boulder Commissioners’ non-actions re his group’s efforts of wildlife conservation, I am appalled at the silence and dismissiveness of the commissioners. They should be thanking him for all the time, energy and costs he’s contributed toward ensuring our wildlife has a future.

Darryl Dargitz, Boulder

Rob Reiner did more than Trump ever will

Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, had a more positive impact on this country and the world than Donald Trump could ever hope to, even given several lifetimes.

Bob Luhr, Boulder

Don’t let embarrassment control your life

Almost everyone has experienced the feeling of embarrassment at least once in their life. Whether it was a student’s alarm going off in a lecture or slipping on ice while walking to class, these experiences have resulted in embarrassment. Normalizing embarrassment will ensure that embarrassment doesn’t negatively affect our lives, and it requires everyone to act. First off, we must understand embarrassment because how can you truly normalize it if you don’t know what it actually is? Next, we must expose ourselves to embarrassment. If we shy away from experiences that have caused us embarrassment, then we will miss out on opportunities. In an article published on September 18 in Psychology Today, Sheila Rauch and Barbara Rothbaum, who are professors at the Emory School of Medicine, say that avoidance causes problems for the future.

Not letting embarrassment control our lives will allow us to take more risks and live a more fulfilling life. Learning how to not let embarrassment control our lives should be important to everyone. Getting over embarrassing situations is not always easy, but avoiding them is not the answer. There is always more that can be done to not only prevent embarrassment from controlling our lives, but making the world a kinder place.

Madeline Schaefer, CU Boulder student

More support needed in friendship building

All around the world, individuals, especially adolescents and college students, often struggle with friendships and the shifts and changes that come with them. In our own community here in Boulder, this issue often goes unnoticed, even though this issue is a huge factor in mental health challenges young adults face. As students transition into college life, they often find themselves lonely and overwhelmed, unsure of how to form meaningful friendships. Being someone who experienced this issue firsthand, I truly believe individuals need to have more support during these changes and struggles. I didn’t have much support, and didn’t have places and communities I felt comfortable enough to share my thoughts and experience with, so I believe schools and universities need to do more to create spaces and communities where students can cope with these feelings and changes and have the opportunity to build healthy, supportive friendships rather than navigating these challenges alone. Friendship shifts are a very common issue in this world, but the even bigger issue is that the support is lacking. More support centers and counselors need to be provided in schools and universities that specifically help with this problem. To do so, institutions should implement peer-support programs, train academic counselors to address social transitions, and create mentorship programs that pair upperclassmen with underclassmen students to help them adjust socially.

Avery Richter, CU Boulder student

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