KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) — This week, Western Michigan University is encouraging its students to “be kind to their mind” through events dedicated towards their emotional, psychological and social wellbeing.
Mental Health Week also stems from WMU’s commitment to what’s called the Okanagan Charter, an updated set of guidelines challenging colleges and universities to create healthier campuses and communities.
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“How we help them to graduation and really help them develop skills and can enter a community within our campus and outside of it that is going to sustain and prioritize health and wellness of every individual in the world,” said Cari Robertson, director of health promotion and education with WMU.
Staff said the dozens of events planned for next week’s Mental Health Week by the Western Student Association is clearly aligned with the charter’s mission.
“It’s student-led, it’s going to focus on wholistic wellbeing and specifically mental health, which is a priority. It’s a priority need, people are talking about it. It’s great to see students really excited to take the lead.”
“A way of trying to show their peers that we are also experiencing these things, we also need a break and maybe we all can’t hit the lottery and just take a yearlong break from life. But we can at least acknowledge our humanity for a week straight and hopefully those behaviors continue for the other 51 weeks of the year,” said Janay Christian, assistant director for mental wellbeing with WMU.
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Western’s assistant director of mental wellbeing, Janay Christian, believes this united front can help end isolation fueled by social media, pandemic-era restrictions and other modern-day issues.
“When we get students here and we treat them as if they are coming into a city that is a community, that they belong here, we show them how to be citizens as members of the rest of the world,” said Christian.
A full schedule of the events can be found on the Western Student Association website.
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