WALTHAM, Mass. (AP) — A growing number of U.S. colleges are trying to ease students’ anxieties around failure and teach them to cope with it. On many campuses, it’s meant to combat climbing rates of stress, depression and other problems that have been blamed on reduced resilience or grit among younger generations. Across the country, campus mental health officials report today’s students appear to have a harder time bouncing back from adversity. Counseling centers have seen surging demand, often from students overwhelmed by everyday stresses. Professors have raised concerns about students’ fragility when it comes to receiving bad grades.

Colleges have responded with an array of programs meant to boost resilience and help students catch up on life skills. When it comes to grades, Cornell College in Iowa is warning professors that they shouldn’t soften their scoring for the sake of students’ emotions. A directive on the issue notes that “a grade of a C or below is not the end of the world.” “Normalize failure. It’s part of life. It’s one way we learn,” the message says. “Sometimes students need to fail, and not be given an undeserved grade by a sympathetic faculty member.”

Others are highlighting the failures of successful people. Harvard University has a website sharing rejection letters received by faculty, staff and alumni. Experts propose a variety of theories to explain why today’s students might be struggling. Some say the pressure to succeed is stronger than ever, making even small failures seem disastrous. Some say social media floods students with images of perfection that make them feel bad about their own lives. Others blame parents who tightly manage their children’s lives and shield them from failure — a tendency taken to the extreme in the college admissions bribery scandal , in which dozens of parents were charged last month with paying bribes to help their children get into top schools.
Whatever the cause, mental health issues appear to be on the rise on college campuses.

A 2018 survey by the American College Health Association found that 22% of college students were diagnosed with anxiety or treated for it over the past year, up from 10% a decade before. The rate for depression rose from 10% to 17% in the same span, the survey found. Efforts to tackle campus mental health have sometimes been met by sneers. On social media, some observers mock a generation of fragile “snowflakes” who need “safe spaces” and “trigger warnings.” But mental health advocates counter that today’s students are grappling with a host of pressures that past generations didn’t, from social media to the threat of school violence.

The Page County Sheriff’s Office reports deputies, Tuesday initiated a traffic stop for a traffic infraction, on 270th Street near the intersection with E Avenue (or about 3 miles west of Coin). During an investigation, the driver, 46-year old Gary Lynn Runyon, JR., of Coin, was arrested for driving while barred, an Aggravated Misdemeanor. Runyon was taken to the Page County Jail and held on a $2,000 bond.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — A man has been convicted of being intoxicated when his pickup truck struck a minivan in Waterloo, killing a baby inside. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that 37-year-old Derrick Johnson was found guilty Tuesday of vehicular homicide while intoxicated. Authorities say Johnson was involved in an Aug. 2, 2017, collision that killed 7-month-old Liam Mwanje, who was inside the minivan when it overturned. Other children in the minivan were injured.

Police say Johnson was speeding, failed to halt at a stop sign and was distracted and looking in his rearview mirror. Police also estimated that Johnson’s blood alcohol level was as high as 1½ times the legal limit at the time of the collision and say he had cocaine in his system.

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports 25-year old Mizraim Eliasaf Alvarez-Corado, of Omaha, turned himself-in to the Sheriff’s Office Wednesday afternoon. Avarez-Corado was wanted on Pott. County warrants for: Leaving the scene of an injury accident, Criminal Mischief in the 4th Degree, and Failure to report an accident involving injuries. His bond was set at $2,000. And, 30-year old Matthew Loyd Stevens, of Council Bluffs, who was being held in the Pott. County Jail on numerous, other charges, was presented with a warrant for Theft in the 3rd Degree. Stevens was then turned over to jail staff.

GLENWOOD, Iowa – Residents of Glenwood are strongly encouraged by city officials and the DNR to continue to conserve water and only use it for necessities after boiling. Authorities said Wednesday that water continues to be transported in from Shenandoah and Red Oak, but the trucks are having a difficult time keeping up with the amount of water being used. Officials are urging residents to conserve the water and use only when necessary to ensure the process of getting a more permanent system in place happens as quickly as possible.

The treatment plant and one well were successfully put back online yesterday and testing is being conducted on those today. The water both within the well and the treatment plant must first be verified safe to drink. Then, the entire distribution system must be flushed to replace all existing water with newly produced water. Sampling must be conducted throughout the distribution system to verify the water is safe to drink after it is confirmed that water has turned over within the distribution system. This process will take some time.

Officials commend the residents of Glenwood for being extremely patient and cooperative throughout this flooding event and are encouraged to continue to do so until the system is back to normal.