Blue Devil of the Week: Shaping Well-Being at Duke - Duke Today

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Blue Devil of the Week: Shaping Well-Being at Duke - Duke Today Posted: 21 Jan 2020 04:33 AM PST Name: Tom Szigethy Title: Associate Dean of Students and Director of Duke's Student Wellness Center, Co-Convener of Environment and Culture for Healthy Duke Years at Duke: 11 What he does: Tom Szigethy's is helping to make Duke a healthier place through the Duke Student Wellness Center and Healthy Duke initiative.  At the Student Wellness Center, Szigethy meets with students struggling with substance abuse for one-on-one counseling sessions. He also trains student groups to help develop and implement risk management plans to minimize the risks associated with social events.  "It's about having a conversation about why they're participating in harmful practices," he said. "It's trying to figure out the root of the problem."  Szigethy studies how cultures around the world practice wellness, which shapes how he engages with the Duke population through the Healthy Duke initiative. Szigethy offers guidance on Duke's environment and culture core of the initiative, which focuses on the quality of life on campus as it pertains to natural spaces, buildings and sense of place.  "Ultimately, we want to give people the tools to be more proactive in addressing their wellness," Szigethy said. "There's not one solution that will make everyone feel better, so we need to provide a selection."   What he loves about Duke: Szigethy appreciates how Duke leadership is open to new ideas for practicing wellness. He offered the Oasis West self-care space as an example. The room, which is open to all Duke community members, in the Student Wellness Center, features items from around the world that promote overall well-being and stress reduction: material to make-your-own aromatherapy spray, a Tibetan singing bowl and massage chair.  "Duke was very supportive to the idea of exploring wellness with all of your senses," Szigethy said. Memorable day at work: Szigethy recalls the excitement in the community when the Student Wellness Center opened in January 2017. Students visit the center as a one-stop shop to visit Counseling and Psychological Services and Student Health, meditate, get work done between classes and simply relax. Wellness activities on making tea, meditation, yoga, knitting, tai chi and magic are held at the center weekly for students and employees.  The center features a fountain, Steinway piano for all to play and meditation garden.  "We wanted a space where the community could come and feel their stress lighten," he said. "It was cool to see that we accomplished the goal."  Special object in his office: Two works of art hang above Szigethy's desk.  One is a mat he got at the Japanese Garden in Portland, Oregon, with sewn messages about peace, Zen, friendship and love. The other is a drawing from a student depicting two people embracing inside an hourglass. "That student practiced mindfulness by drawing," Szigethy said.  "It was pretty awesome to see him turn his passion into a source of wellness." Well-being tip: Take time each day to unplug and be silent.  Szigethy typically journals during this time. He said it helps to have an activity like gardening, cooking, drawing, knitting or playing an instrument.  "Find an activity that assists you in focusing on the moment," he said.  First-ever job: Szigethy worked at a pet shop "Tropical Showcase" in Hicksville, New York. The shop sold tropical fish, parrots, parakeets and other exotic birds.  "We would walk around with baby parrots on our shoulders to teach them how to behave around humans," he said. Something most people don't know about him: Szigethy acted in 10 musicals by the time he graduated high school. He starred as the titular character in "Oliver!," and joined performances of "Fiddler on the Roof," "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Anything Goes." "Nothing is better than live theater," he said.  Is there a colleague at Duke who has an intriguing job or goes above and beyond to make a difference? Nominate that person for Blue Devil of the Week.

Game and Fish Commission condemns aerial shooting of goats - Powell Tribune Posted: 21 Jan 2020 07:00 AM PST By Mike Koshmrl, Jackson Hole Daily Via Wyoming News Exchange JACKSON — State wildlife officials are blasting Grand Teton National Park's decision to lead off its mountain goat eradication efforts with aerial gunning. Meeting in Cheyenne on Wednesday, the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission broached the topic unexpectedly and signed off on a resolution opposing the park's plans for this winter. Instead of shooting the non-native goats from a helicopter, the governor-appointed board is seeking a hunt open to volunteers, an approach the park has also authorized. "Having government personnel kill mountain goats from helicopters and leaving them to rot and be wasted is unacceptable," Game and Fish Commission President David Rael wrote to acting park Superintendent Gopaul Noojibail. Grand Teton National Park's "refusal to utilize statutory options allowing skilled volunteers to harvest the mountain goats is shortsighted and sets a dangerous precedent." The eradication plan, years in the making, was finalized last fall. At the urging of the state, the national park altered its decision to allow the use of "skilled volunteers," i.e., hunters, to remove the exotic goats, which are considered a threat to the survival of the Teton's native bighorn sheep herd. But the plan is flexible, also allowing for aerial and ground-based gunning from contractors and rangers. When park officials rolled out their plan Jan. 3, they announced aerial gunning would be the method of choice for the first winter. A vast portion of the Tetons was closed to accommodate the contracted shooters, but ongoing winter storms have kept helicopters grounded. The cull was subsequently called off and rescheduled for later this month or in early February. Grand Teton spokeswoman Denise Germann said Thursday that Wyoming Game and Fish's appeals have not led to any change in plans for this winter. Besides the written resolution, Noojibail and Game and Fish Director Brian Nesvik have been discussing the method of choice for killing off the Tetons' goats. "We do plan to continue with the aerial, lethal removal," Germann said. "We need to move quickly." Aerial gunning, she said, is the most efficient and effective way to cut down the 100-plus-animal goat herd, which dwells in Cascade and Snowshoe canyons and beyond. Game and Fish Commissioner Mike Schmid, of La Barge, said Thursday he doesn't buy the urgency argument. The park, he said, dragged its feet for years after proposing to eradicate its mountain goats, during which time the population exploded. "That's laughable to me that they want to get this done as fast possible," Schmid said. Schmid said he would agree to aerial gunning if it came last as a measure to clean up lingering goats after hunters had their opportunity over a year or two. But as the go-to option, he said, it doesn't sit well. "I think overall it flies in the face of Wyoming values, shooting stuff and leaving it lay on the mountain," he said. Allowing an impromptu hunt on National Park Service lands — where the activity is generally prohibited — is not without controversy. The federal John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management and Recreation Act, passed last year in Congress and signed into law by President Trump, contains a provision that opened the door for Grand Teton to authorize volunteer hunters. Some Park Service watchdogs at the time were disappointed. "We believe this amounts to an ad-hoc hunt," National Parks Conservation Association staffer Sharon Mader told the Jackson Hole Daily. "We supported the park's preferred alternative, which said that the lethal removal would be done by ranger sharpshooters. Given that was the park preference, it was unusual that they decided to go with volunteer hunters." Grand Teton's Germann contends that "hunting" is not a fair description of what would happen. "Cull" is a better term, she said. The specifics of how a "skilled volunteer" program might work were never sorted out. The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission has otherwise supported the goal of removing the Teton's non-native goats, even authorizing an extremely aggressive hunt just outside park boundaries to assist in the effort. It's the method that is proving to be the sticking point. "The Commission strenuously urges the National Park Service to immediately cancel plans to kill the mountain goats via aerial gunning," Rael wrote to Noojibail, "and implement a plan allowing the mountain goats to be removed by skilled volunteers."

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