The month of October is dedicated to raise awareness about domestic violence and how it impacts our communities. Simpson College Counseling Services is also holding a Mental Health Awareness Week right now.

While The Simpsonian has coverage of both topics in this issue and how they are being handled within the Simpson community, what we really hope is that students understand that these subjects affect our everyday surroundings beyond this month. The prevalence of these topics never goes away, and it’s up to us on how we handle it. It’s up to all of us to make sure we know not to treat these matters like games or jokes. The Simpsonian believes these issues are serious, and we hope you feel the same way.

We’re thankful for the people and organizations who have opened up to our reporters and have shared their stories with us. The fact that you are opening up to our readers allows us to educate them about why these issues are important. To our readers, we hope you take away a learning experience and see what you can potentially do to help make a difference.

Domestic Violence Awareness Month takes more than just one person trying to educate others about its existence – it requires everyone to make it stop. Mental Health Awareness Week falls under the same category. As college students, we’re constantly surrounded by stress, anxiety and other concerns. Both are significant to Simpson, and it’s up to us to handle it in the best way possible.

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, a survey from 2011 shows that more than 62 percent of students who withdrew from college made that decision based on mental health problems. There are ways for us to take control of what we face as students and we hope you will take advantage of the resources on campus such as the ones we are reporting about. The same thing applies with domestic violence problems.

Our adviser constantly tells us that The Simpsonian is supposed to be a place where reporters and editors do homework for the entire campus, and that’s what we’re hoping to do here. We believe your stories are also powerful – our entire staff is here if you’d like to open up and share your story with us, or even write your own perspectives piece on any topic you believe is important to our student body.