getting involved around campus
In the past year, TCU has tried to facilitate a more open discussion by supporting the development of student-led programs—just one of many ways that the school, as well as students, is encouraging a more positive attitude toward mental health. A variety of student organizations work with mental illness and suicide prevention. These organizations and the Counseling and Mental Health Center work together to educate the student body and raise awareness.
With the help of the Counseling and Mental Health Center, FrogSpeak is attempting to erase the stigma surrounding mental health at TCU. FrogSpeak is a student-run blog designed for students to anonymously share and learn from the experiences of others on their mental health struggles.
The blog has gained more traffic and attention this semester by being featured on the R U OK? website, a suicide awareness and prevention campaign on campus, said Cortney Gumbleton, leader of R U OK?.
Emily Sivak, a graduate student studying accounting, said she came up with the idea for an impact project with BNSF Next Generation Leadership Program during her senior year at TCU.
With the help of her partner, the two teamed up to tackle the stigma surrounding mental health on campus.
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FrogSpeak
FrogSpeak is a blog that serves as an outlet where students can anonymously share their experiences dealing with mental health issues.
An anonymous post on FrogSpeak
FrogSpeak is a blog that serves as an outlet where students can anonymously share their experiences dealing with mental health issues.
The TCU chapter of Active Minds, a campus mental health advocacy group, put on an event known as “Send Silence Packing," which took over the Campus Commons on Monday, Sept. 29.
The exhibit displayed 1,100 backpacks to represent the 1,100 college students who die by suicide each year.
Many of these backpacks, owned by the suicide victims themselves, were donated by families of the dead. Those backpacks carried a special meaning as the victims’ story and picture were pinned to the front of the backpack. They were also filled with photos, stories and mementos for students to look through.
Active Minds also shares the common purpose of reducing the stigma associated with mental health, as well as opening up the conversation about these topics.
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Active Minds' "Send Silence Packing"
"It's important to talk about [mental health] because spreading awareness matters to us. It's important to let people know that they are not alone, that they are loved and that they are wanted. It's also important for people to be able to see the warning signs in their friends. I think more often than not, it isn't that our friends don't care about our mental illness, they just don't recognize the warning signs, and even if they do, they aren't sure how to react. It is just as much about letting those with struggles know they have somewhere to go as it is about educating those without problems about the warning signs."
–Alec Mothershead
Co-President of To Write Love on Her Arms
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To Write Love on Her Arms
EmpowerTCU is a week long student-led campaign to address the issues of body image and eating disorders on TCU's campus. The issues of body image and eating disorders are all too real for many TCU students.
The movement's goal is to come together to change the culture and empower students by arming everyone with the information they need to help a friend struggling with an eating disorder.
"This movement is only as powerful as you make it," TCU Student Body President Cody Westphal said.
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EmpowerTCU
Puppy Therapy Day is an event where puppies are brought to campus in an effort to help relieve students' stress. It is a day that is put on by campus organization FrogSpeak in partnership with the R U OK? Campaign. This year's Puppy Therapy Day will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 17 in the Mary Couts Burnett Library.
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Puppy Therapy Day
