About The Program
President Schmidt (center) along with members of the First United Presbyterian Church of Troy
The 2023 RPI Mental Health Week Program was organized by the Active Minds club in close partnership with the Student Health & Counseling Center. Students were able to participate in a number of fun, social activities as well as mental health related seminars and workshops throughout the week (10/01/23-10/07/23). In total there were 96 hours' worth of activities for students throughout the week, being offered by 20 different campus and community organizations!
The overall goals for the program were to de-stigmatize mental health on campus, offer students a fun break from the stress of classes, and connect both students and faculty/staff with available mental health resources in the local community. The program's culminating Stronger Than The Stigma fair was a major success, having free food, live music performances, therapy dogs, raffle prizes, and nearly 50 participating organizations! Among the attendees was the university's 19th President, Martin A. Schmidt. After the fair there was a mental health night hosted by Morgan's Message at the men's hockey game, followed by a student free skate on the ice.
Some other major events that occurred during the week included the Kickoff Ice Cream Social at EMPAC, which was attended by the school's new provost, Rebecca W. Doerge, and the student-led Mental Health Town Hall. In addition to all of these events, the Mueller Center offered over a dozen free fitness classes to students throughout the week, and there was a table in the Student Union every business day that week being run by student and faculty/staff volunteers to help promote the Mental Health Week program and share information about available mental health resources on campus.
Explore some more pictures and descriptions of various activities below!
Fun Activities
From painting pots with WMP during the week, to tie dying shirts at the fair, there was plenty for students to do! Many of our sponsors joined in on the fun, with Sigma Chi bringing balloon darts, FIJI hosting lawn games, and Hands of Grace Wellness offering free healing touch therapy services.
Live Music
Live music was performed throughout the Stronger Than The Stigma Fair by student groups associated with the Rensselaer Music Association (RMA). These groups included the Contemporary Jazz Ensemble, Ceili Band, Experimental Music Quartet/Quintet, and the Sax Ensemble.
Free Food
There was free food at the fair donated by Hannaford, and one of our other major event sponsors, Panera, graciously offered us a 50% discount for their catering services! The CCPD (Center for Career & Professional Development) also gave out free sweets during the week, and BMES (Biomedical Engineering Society) hosted a Marshmallow Manifest event that was lots of fun (with one of the wonderful marshmallow creations shown above)!
Therapy Dogs
What's a Mental Health Week without some furry canine friends? Ellie (left) and Gremlin (right) definitely stole the show at our fair!
Student Free Skate
Morgan's Message partnered with Active Minds and Student Athletics to host our program's Mental Health Night during the opening season men's hockey game against Union College (where RPI won 2-0). Announcements regarding mental health were made during the game and Morgan's Message setup a table beside the rink with information and resources. There was also a student free skate event immediately following the game!
