Jessica Pellegrino – General Assignment Reporter
Sometimes a person just needs a good hug. You may remember the students in t-shirts with the words “FREE HUGS” plastered on the front walking around campus last semester. You may not, however, know about the forces behind the free hugs.
Active Minds is an organization on campus with a specific goal in mind. Their mission is to bring awareness about mental health on campus and to change the conversation about mental health. The aim is to be more positive and supportive while trying to end the negative stigmas about mental health.
Active Minds plan awareness programs is to get people involved and become more educated about mental health on campus. Active Minds puts on programs for Mental Health Stigma Week and Eating Disorder Awareness week, just to name a few.
Kayla Mitchell, Active Minds president, believes Active Minds is an amazing organization on Southern’s campus.
“My favorite part about being a member is how involved on campus I’ve become. I came to Active Minds as a freshman in Fall of 2011,” said Mitchell. “I joined because of our Free Hugs event and immediately became a part of our executive board as secretary. Since then, I’ve been working with our Executive Board to continuously build up our club to what it is today. My favorite part is how much our programs can impact people and how something as small as a smile or just saying ‘I’m here for you’ can mean the world to a person who is struggling.”
Active Minds truly does focus on how the small things can mean the most to a person. But Active Minds doesn’t stop at hugs and smiles. Last semester they put on an event which involved hundreds of chairs being set up to demonstrate the effects of suicide on college-aged students.
“We put this program with the support and funding of SAFAC,” said Mitchell. “We set up 1,100 chairs on the academic quad to have a physical representation of the statistic that every year 1,100 college students across the U.S. do not make it to graduation due to suicide. We also had a table set up for support and for students to write inspirational messages to put on the chairs. This is honestly my favorite program that we’ve ever done and we’re hoping to make it an annual event. Many administrators also saw the event and were very moved by it only adding to the possibility that this program will happen again.”
“At the spring leadership banquet,” Mitchell adds, “we received the Program Impact Award for this program.” The Chair Project was a very successful step forward for Active Minds, which is a small organization on campus.
According to Mitchell, students should join Active Minds if they are looking to be a large part of our campus and reach out to people. They should also join if they are interested in mental health, psychology, social work, or any of those related field as well.
It’s an amazing experience to be able to reach out to people and really make a difference while they are at Southern. Active Minds meets every Monday at 1 p.m. in room 303 of the Adanti Student Center.
Photo Credit: Alyssa Korzon, Active Minds
