Max Bickley – General Assignment Reporter
Though the weather outside may have been grey and rainy, inside of the Moore Field House, Southern was kicking off its prelude to the Greater New Haven Heart Walk. Working in tandem for the event were the American Heart Association and the SCSU Wellness Center, who provided a beginning “Campus Heart Walk” for students at Southern.
As both students and faculty did laps around the track ring in Moore, Emily Rosenthal, the coordinator of the Wellness Center at Southern, took a moment during her walk to talk about what the event was.
“This [event] is our on-campus walk to get excited and promote the Greater New Haven Heart Walk,” said Rosenthal. “This on-campus walk is to signal students to the larger charity walk next month, and this event coincides with the goal of the Wellness Center which is to have a population of healthy, happy, and engaged students here on campus.”
Also present at the Campus Heart Walk was Heart Walk Director, Angelina Stackpole, who was not only participating in the walk with Southern faculty and students, but also commented on the Greater New Haven Heart Walk.
“The Greater New Haven Walk though is in order to raise awareness and raise money cardiovascular disease and stroke,” said Stackpole. “People can register to walk in teams and fundraise money, and similar to Relay for Life people can register in teams as well.”
Stackpole relates the success and importance of the Heart Walk, and emphasizes that every person counts in the grand scheme of things.
“Last year we had over 5,000 participants from over 70 different organization in the New Haven area,” said Stackpole. “Last year alone we raised over three hundred and fifty thousand dollars in support of the American Heart Association, and every bit of money raised goes to education, research, and advocacy for cardiovascular disease and stroke.”
However, when it came to the connection between Southern and the American Heart Association, there are actually multiple connections. Assistant Director of the Fitness Center at SCSU, Jessica Scibek, elaborated on the partnership between Southern and the AHA.
“This is our third year in a row involved with the AHA in doing wellness programming and trying to improve physical activity on our campus, said Scibek. “Southern, actually, is one of the bigger sponsors for the event, and we have almost 20 teams from the school registered to walk. Not only that, President Papazian is the chair of the event, so Southern has a strong presence and relation to this Heart Walk.”
Though this was the case for last week, in marking one month from the Greater New Haven Walk in May, Southern has a walk around campus every week, led by the Fitness and Wellness Centers.
“Every week, on Thursdays from 12:30-1:00 p.m., we start up a walk around campus from Connecticut hall,” said Scibek. “We walk about a mile, and it is a good way for students or faculty to get into the habit of setting up a time in their day to do a heart-healthy thirty minute walk. And this is every week, so if there is free time in a student’s schedule, it is worth a try.”
For any student interested in attending the Greater New Haven Heart Walk it is May 7, 2016 starting at Savin Rock in West Haven at 9 a.m. For more information visit NewHavenHeartWalk.org to find out directions, location, and how to register for the walk.
