Sarah Mead
Staff Writer
A new mental health committee on campus, Racers Empower, will hold a community event on Monday, Jan. 27.
A committee of faculty, staff and students, Racers Empower: Healthy Minds, Healthy Campus is the latest effort by the University to promote mental health and wellness on campus. The committee is a collaborative effort of many different departments across campus, including Student Engagement and Success, Campus Recreation and Wellness, Veteran and Military Student Success, College of Education and Human Services, School of Nursing and Health Professions and the Student Government Association.
“Anxiety and depression are the number one issues facing college students,” said Peggy Whaley, director of student engagement. “Many student support offices across campus are seeing more and more students with these issues and other issues that are affecting their success. The staff in Student Engagement and Success wanted to start programming this spring to address some of the issues.”
Anxiety and depression are the main focuses of the program. The Racers Empower committee plans to explain how to reach on-campus resources and support services and encourage students to open a conversation about their experiences.
“Research indicates that mental health related issues are among the top reasons that students give for withdrawing from college before graduating,” said Angie Trzepacz, director of the university counseling center. “We want to improve student retention and increase [students’ success] both in and out of the classroom.”
The program is scheduled to host four events this semester. Each event will last three hours, but students are encouraged to attend or leave as their schedules allow. Snacks will be provided and those who attend will be entered in giveaways, as well as a grand prize for attending all four events.
“Racers Empower events aim to provide students with a safe place to educate themselves on mental illness, take a break from the everyday stressors of life in college or to connect with other students, staff, faculty and resources involved with mental health efforts,” said Hannah Daab, SGA senator for the College of Business.
While the event is designed to encourage individual success, the overall goal of the campaign is to create an inclusive community on campus to reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness and promote a healthy mind and body.
“We want students to focus on self-care and coping skills for their own mental health, but we also want them to know about resources to help others,” Whaley said. “A broad reaching goal is to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health and wellness so that students act quickly when they or others have an issue and receive the support and care they need to be successful.”
Peyton Lutz, resident adviser in White College, is a student concerned with mental health and is excited about the new programs on campus.
“Students should be concerned about their mental health because this is often one of the most stressful times in our lives,” Lutz said. “For many of us, this is our first time away from home [and] learning how to be financially stable. It’s important that students take some time to care about their mental health.”
The first event, titled Jump Start January, will be held in the Rocking Chair Lounge in the Curris Center from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“I would definitely be interested in going to a Racers Empower event and would encourage the people around me to go as well,” Lutz said. “Having awareness is a great start to tackling mental health.”
