Students gather to raise awareness for mental health
About 550 students united on Sweeney Field for St. Joe’s largest Out of the Darkness walk to date on Nov. 4.
This event was sponsored by the Dean’s Leadership Program and supports the Active Minds organization, a nonprofit that is devoted to educating college campuses about the importance of mental health awareness.
The trail of the one-mile walk was decorated with string lights, streamers, balloons and words of empowerment written in colorful chalk.
Statements such as “Our story is not over yet” and “You are not alone” filled the sidewalks and steps on the Philadelphia side of campus.
The Out of the Darkness walk highlights the necessity for college students to further discuss mental health issues.
Marybeth Ayella, Ph.D., assistant professor of sociology and faculty advisor for Active Minds at St. Joe’s, said it is important to recognize the effects of mental health on college campuses.
“It is important to know how common mental health conditions are,” Ayella said. “One in four people over the age of 18 experience mental health conditions. This offsets the feeling that ‘I am alone,’ which is one of the most distressing feelings one can have.”
Raising over $8,000 for the St. Joe’s Active Minds chapter, the fourth annual walk made a mark on many of its participants, including Caroline Cooper ’22.
“My favorite part of the walk was the silent self-reflection because it afforded everyone the time to think about how they could be an ally to those struggling,” Cooper said.
As Allison Mcbryan ’22 walked out of Hagan Arena, where food and refreshments were served to participants, she said she grinned from ear to ear. She said that she learned a lot about not only herself, but also the community of people surrounding her.
“This topic of conversation is important at St. Joe’s because there are students struggling with mental health who attend the university,” Mcbryan said. “They should know that they are never alone and there are always people willing and eager to support them.”
The large turnout for this year’s walk served as an indication for the Active Minds club that the community here on Hawk Hill will not shy away from the mental health conversation.
Active Minds plans to strive towards removing the stigma that surrounds the topic and getting as many people involved in the conversation as possible.
“Suicide is the second leading cause of college student death and it is preventable,” Ayella said. “Talking, recognizing the commonality and seeking help can prevent some of these suicides.”
For Cooper, reminding students their lives are valuable is an important part of the event, especially because typical college students are so busy that they may not take time for themselves.
“This notion of asking for help is not normalized, and people think that they need to deal with everything themselves,” Cooper said. “As college students, there’s a lot of pressure on us to balance school, work, serving others and being involved in clubs while also making time for a social life. Sometimes, we need to be reminded to take a minute to focus our mental health.”
The Office of Counseling and Psychological Services, located in Merion Gardens, is an on-campus resource for any student that would benefit from individual or group counseling. For more information, call 610-660-1090.
