Our Current Projects
1
Residential Wellness Corners
The McDonald Center for Student Well-Being (McWell) is home to several useful resources that are aimed at providing students with an opportunity to unwind and rejuvenate; a significant portion of these resources include a variety of restorative spaces. While these existing resources are wonderful, for a university that holds an undergraduate population of around 9,000 students, the number of rooms that they currently have available might be limiting (especially during more stressful periods), and having to visit an entirely new location to unwind might also be a deterrent for students. As a result, our committee aims to establish wellness corners within residential halls, which consist of elements that the McWell restorative spaces contain. We believe that this will address existing concerns by expanding the number of restorative locations, while also providing a dedicated location for students to unwind in the comfort of their own dorms.
2
SpeakUP ND
ResLife and Wellbeing is currently working with the Office of Community Standards to revamp the current SpeakUp ND program, the university’s official anonymous reporting too. After investigating the Inclusive Campus Student Survey results, we discovered that students feel hesitant to report adverse experiences that they face, and one of the reasons for this hesitation is because they are not aware of the resources that exist or how to use them. Through our initiative, our committee aims to produce a training module that seeks to not only raise awareness of SpeakUp, but to give students the skills to use the platform effectively, as well.
3
Mental Health Day
Our committee hopes to inspire greater discussion about mental health awareness by bringing more recognition to Mental Health Day on our campus. We aim to do this by partnering with the necessary organizations and individuals to provide incentives to students for participating in activities that promote mental health during the week preceding Mental Health Day; people would receive a ticket for each activity that they complete. This would then culminate in an event on Mental Health Day, where a more in-depth discussion of mental health practices (and a distribution of resources) could be had, and the tickets that people were awarded could be entered into a raffle for a prize. Through our initiative, we believe that we would encourage people not only to participate in healthy activities that could lead to the development of healthier habits, but our overall goal of bringing recognition to Mental Health Day (and mental health as a result) would be achieved.