Parisa Burton
Staff Writer
Two students from Student Government are giving back to the College community with a new initiative called Mental Health Mondays, where they craft TCNJ-themed positivity bracelets to hand out to students.
Aria Chalileh, vice president of student services and political science major, and Kate Zydor, student government mental health chair and freshman psychology major are the co-founders of Mental Health Mondays.
Chalileh and Zydor have been occupying space in the Library Café, but they hope to acquire their own table soon and even expand to other areas of high student traffic like the Brower Student Center.
According to Chalileh, positivity bracelets were the theme for both Mondays so far. The two students crafted 10-15 bracelets the first week and decided to stick with this idea moving forward after witnessing a great turnout and positive reactions from recipients.
“When receiving the bracelet, I really felt like I was a part of the TCNJ community, not only that but something bigger, something that supports and cares about the students in this community,” said Maddie Weir, sophomore psychology major.
The two students are excited about implementing new ideas into Mental Health Mondays in the future and are also open to student feedback and suggestions.
Chalileh ran Finals Fest last semester, which is an event aimed at easing student stress and spreading mental health awareness during finals week. She hopes to incorporate self-care goodie bags and vision boards into Mental Health Mondays because mental health is important all semester long, not just during finals.
The two students aim to grow their team so they can maximize the number of bracelets made and also hope to receive funding from the school in order to bring their other ideas to life.
According to Chalileh, their goal is to leave a symbolic impact on students. They aspire to see everyone wearing a positivity bracelet to remind themselves that they are not alone in their mental health struggles.
“One of my friends texted me during an interview, and sent me a picture of the bracelet they were wearing for good luck,” Chalileh said.
Mental Health Mondays is very special to both students, as they are passionate about mental health and want everyone on campus to feel seen.
“You have to remind yourself daily that you are human,” Chalileh said. “You will make mistakes but you are not a reflection of your mistakes.”
The two wish to emphasize that students at the College are never alone because there is a whole community of students going through similar struggles who can support each other.
“If someone feels like they don’t have people to support them, we will be those people for them,” Chalileh said.
Counseling and Prevention Services is a free student counseling service where the College provides individual and group sessions for students. Individual counseling consists of hour-long sessions. CAPS also provides referrals to students who wish to continue therapy after this period.
Unlike individual sessions, there is no limit to the number of group sessions students can attend. This semester, there are over 15 workshop groups offered to students, each with a unique topic. People feeling alone can benefit from these community building opportunities.
According to Chalileh, the College also provides two apps for students: Talk Campus and UWill.
Talk Campus is an online platform that allows students to communicate with other students from different college campuses by anonymously posting about what they are going through.
This app is helpful for students who are not interested in traditional therapy and prefer to talk with people in their age range who might be able to relate. Moderators are in charge of deleting any dangerous or harmful messages.
UWill is another online therapy service tool the College works with that enables students to match with an immediate counselor in times of need.
“It definitely seems like TCNJ cares about student mental health, however, most students aren’t aware of the resources available to them,” Weir said. “I think they could improve mental health initiatives and programs by advertising more online and on campus.
Chalileh and Zydor are both excited to continue to grow this event for the rest of the semester and leave a lasting impression on students.
“I think Mental Health Mondays is important to TCNJ because it lets students know they aren’t alone if they’re going through a rough time,” Weir said. “People don’t realize how important initiatives like this are.”
Editor’s note: Kate Zydor is also The Signal’s opinions editor. She was not involved in this article, nor was she interviewed or consulted on its content.
