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March 21, 2018
Last year during Fresh Check Day students were asked to write what their "elephant in the room" was. A collage of all the answers was created and displayed at the event.
Student club Active Minds is hosting their 2nd Annual Fresh Check Day tomorrow from 12 p.m. – 3 p.m. on the Quiet Side of the Bauccio Commons.
Fresh Check Day is a mental health fair that combines fun activities with educational information about mental health and suicide awareness. Last year UP became the first school in Oregon to host the event and over 300 UP students attended.
We recently spoke with Active Minds President, Molly Thomas ’18, about the event and mental health.
Why did you decide to host a Fresh Check Day at UP?
Active Minds brought Fresh Check Day to UP because we felt there was a lack of checking in with students about their mental health, a lack of having difficult conversations, a lack of educating students of warning signs, and just in general a lack of open conversation about mental health.
Villa Hall director Matt Connolly has a very personal connection to the Jordan Porco Foundation, which founded Fresh Check Day. He has been involved with the foundation for a long time and knows the family who started the foundation and Fresh Check Day, and knew that the event would be a great fit for UP.
What types of activities will there be at this year’s event?
Each booth will have a different activity. Some of the activities include: zumba and dance classes, art activities for students to express themselves and their mental health story, activities on gratitude, drunk goggle obstacle course, bucket list wall, mental health related carnival games, writing letters to the Trevor Project, and stone painting.
Students can win awesome prizes for participating in the activities and visiting the booths. Some prizes they can win include, a TV, Amazon Echo Dot, coloring books and colored pencils, tea and mug, oil diffuser and oil, polaroid camera and film, and gift cards.
We also will have free Voodoo Doughnuts and snow cones!
Who are you collaborating on campus with to make this event happen?
We’re collaborating with so many awesome clubs, groups and organizations on campus. We’re partnering with CPB again and below is a list of all the various groups who we are collaborating with and who are hosting booths.
What are some resources that can help students who are struggling with mental health?
We are surrounded by resources; counselors, staff, friends and other students.
The message of Active Minds is for people to talk about mental health so they know that they aren’t alone and that they can feel comfortable in the community to reach out to their resources and support systems.
At UP we have the Health and Counseling Center readily available. They have same-day appointments available every day and you can also call and make an appointment for another day, it’s completely free and confidential.
We also have a new program called ProtoCall for after hours, because mental health crises don’t just happen between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. when the HCC is open. Just call the HCC number (see below), press 3, and it connects you with a counselor to speak with.
Professors are usually very understanding as well. They are able to help students with the academic side of things.
If students live on campus they can go to their RA’s or hall staff.
There are also national and local mental health and suicide call lines (listed below).
Health and Counseling Center
Top Floor of Orrico Hall
503.943.7134
hcc@up.edu
ProtoCall
503.943.7134; choose option 3
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
1.800.273.8255
Multnomah County Crisis Line
503.988.4888
Toll-free: 800.716.9769
Hearing-impaired dial: 711
What do you hope the future of Active Minds and Fresh Check Day at UP will be like?
As a senior who is leaving and has been involved with Active Minds since it started at UP, I hope that it only grows and keeps an active presence on campus. I hope we continue to host Fresh Check Day every year and that it offers students support, resources, and the knowledge that it’s ok to struggle because we all do.
How about the future of mental health and suicide awareness at colleges in the US?
There is so much growth that can be made when it comes to mental health and suicide and how they are addressed and talked about on college campuses. UP has taken some great steps in the right direction since my freshman year, but there is so much more that can be done. I hope that the culture of mental health changes on college campuses and that students feel more comfortable talking about their struggles.
I hope that mental health becomes an everyday subject, because it is something that everyone struggles with. Suicide is such a taboo. We need to be able to openly talk about suicide and how it impacts communities and the loved ones of the person lost.
Any other Active Minds events coming up?
This is our big event for Spring. Our next events will be happening during dead week, which we’ve re-named ‘Stress Less Week’. We’ll have various events throughout the whole week for students to de-stress and practice some self-care. One event during that week that that I’m super excited about is that we’ll be partnering with Espresso UP to bring some cuddly animals to campus.
If anyone wants to get involved in Active Minds or any further questions they can contact thomasmo18@up.edu or activemindsup@gmail.com
For ADA accommodations for Fresh Check Day, please contact Matt Connolly at connolle@up.edu
University of Portland
5000 N. Willamette Blvd.,
Portland, Oregon 97203-5798
503.943.8000
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