Mental Health Awareness Week will be celebrated beginning today through Thursday, Oct. 10. Hosted by the Student Association for the fourth consecutive year, the events and programs will work to help break the stigma around mental health among college students.
“Mental Health Awareness Week should be important to Syracuse University students, as well as students at universities across the country, because it is a time to realize that you’re not in this alone and that is OK to not be OK,” says Mackenzie Mertikas, president of the Student Association. “There are countless resources within the Barnes Center at The Arch to help students with physical and mental health, nutrition, sleep and more. Students may use the Walters Pet Therapy Room in addition to light therapy and massage chairs within the Crowley Family MindSpa to help relieve stress. As college students, we are all under a lot of stress and pressure between all of the things that we have going on. Mental Health Awareness Week is a time to recognize that there are so many people that are going through similar things and that it is OK to get help.”
Campuswide events begin with kick-off programming today. Within the Barnes Center at The Arch, students are invited to Destress for Success from 10:30 a.m. to noon in room 308. Swing by the Quad to explore health and wellness resources, including the Health Hub from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and grab free swag including T-shirts, stickers, stress balls and other goodies. To show their solidarity in the mental health journeys of others, students will have the opportunity to write kind messages to friends or to other students on postcards and tie green ribbons throughout the week. With opportunities daily, don’t miss your chance to stop at the Barnes Center at The Arch Walters Pet Therapy Room to visit with your favorite furry friends.
The campus community is invited to attend the Mental Crossroads Panel, on Tuesday, Oct. 8, starting at 7:30 p.m. in the HBC Gifford Auditorium. This panel discussion will highlight the intersectionality of mental health. Guided Meditation will be hosted at varying times on Wednesday, Oct. 9, and Thursday, Oct. 10, within room 308 of the Barnes Center at The Arch. Starting at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 10, the Stop the Stigma Concert in Hendricks Chapel is open to the campus community and will feature performances from students and faculty surrounding mental health and resiliency.
For more information on Mental Health Awareness Week, contact Mackenzie Mertikas, Student Association president, by email at mamertik@syr.edu. For more information on mental health resources within the Barnes Center at The Arch, contact counseling by email at BarnesCenter@syr.edu or by calling 315.443.8000.
Story by Division of Enrollment and the Student Experience communications intern Carina Coestad ’22.
