Student Association will focus on mental health intersectionality during its fourth annual Mental Health Awareness Week.

The week-long initiative is held to promote mental health awareness as well as the resources available to Syracuse University students. Mental Health Awareness Week is set to begin on Oct. 7, offering events at the Barnes Center at the Arch and on the Quad, among other campus locations. 

“We hope to show students that this university really cares about their mental health and shed light on the fact that we are working together to make sure people know that they aren’t alone,” said Mackenzie Mertikas, SA’s president.

SA members have been in close contact with leaders of SU resource offices — including the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Disability Cultural Center and the LGBT Resource Center — to ensure that people from all over campus are heard and understood. 

As part of the week, SA will hold a panel on the intersectionality of mental health. Representatives from the SU offices and student volunteers will also discuss the role mental health plays in everyday life.

“We hope to bring students into the conversation who wouldn’t necessarily be a part of it otherwise and make sure they understand the intersectionality of mental health across different demographics or even just between your mental and physical health,” Mertikas said. 

The panel is a new addition to Mental Health Awareness Week. SA is also planning to add meditation and yoga, offered through the Barnes Center, to the week’s itinerary.

Some events from last year’s awareness week will reappear this year, such as the Stop the Stigma Concert, featuring performances from students and faculty. The week will also feature ribbon-tying campaign for people who have struggled with mental health or know someone who has, another repeated event. 

John Jankovic and Amber Grant, SA Student Life Committee co-chairs, said in an email that they look to volunteer and spread awareness as much as possible during the week. They also plan on working on mental health and wellness initiatives throughout the year.

The main goal of Mental Health Awareness Week is to ensure that mental health is something SU students can talk about and understand. By promoting the intersection between different groups of people and different types of health, SA hopes to make the issue more relatable and tangible.

“It’s so great to have one week for students to be able to walk across the quad and go to these events and have mental health actually be something you can engage with. It just makes everything a little bit more real,” Sameeha Saied, SA’s vice president, said.

Published on September 8, 2019 at 10:16 pm

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