On Thursday, April 7th, Westfield State University held its seventh annual Fresh Check Day.
Held on the basement floor of the Ely Campus Center, this event, a program of the Jordan Porco Foundation, featured many interactive booths, along with peer-to-peer messaging. The event was supported by multiple campus departments and groups, and provided free food and entertainment, all of which were to promote mental health and suicide prevention.
According to the official website, “Fresh Check Day aims to create an approachable and hopeful atmosphere where students are encouraged to engage in dialogue about mental health and helps to build a bridge between students and the mental health resources available on campus, in the community, and nationally.”
Among the activities featured included pet therapy, free massages, a survey where you can rate how often you get anxious or depressed, a booth where you had two chances to try and toss a bean bag into a bucket, the “Elephant in the Room,” where students could write down anything that bothered them that they didn’t feel like sharing, and “Paint Your Art Out,” a booth where you could do spin painting, as well as add your thumbprint to a picture of a tree.
Another event was called “Holding it Together” where you could write down anything that caused you stress in your life on a ping-pong ball, and then force it down at the bottom of a tank of water. Similarly, you could also write down reasons that motivate you to stay alive onto a ribbon, and then weave it into a mosaic along with other ribbons (“Ribbons of Reasons to Stay”). You could also play games, like Jenga, while wearing beer goggles, to get a sense of what it feels like to be intoxicated, at a booth called “Know Your Limit.”
There was also a booth called “Coming Out Letters of Support,” focusing on the LGBT+ community, where people could write encouraging messages to anyone who may feel ashamed or embarrassed about coming out.
As students visited each booth, the people representing each event would stamp a card given to them at the beginning of the event, and when they had gotten it stamped at least five times, they were eligible to enter a raffle and be given a chance to win a basket full of prizes.
Learn more about the different booths here.
