The African-Caribbean Students Association (ACSA) co-hosted a mental health stigma workshop in Campion Student Center’s Doyle Banquet Hall North Feb. 18. About 25 people attended the event, co-hosted with the Center for Inclusion and Diversity (CID), Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) and Office of Student Support & Well-being as part of Black History Month activities.
The workshop included a group activity and a presentation about the stigma of mental health in communities of color.
During the group activity, led by Honey Walker ’16, assistant director of well-being education & support, attendees learned about mental health stigma and experiences faced by students of color.
“Students of color certainly have a vastly different experience navigating a [predominantly white institution] than their white peers do,” Walker wrote in an email to The Hawk. “First and foremost, navigating an academic space is already more inaccessible for many people of color, then to arrive and see very few people like you can be incredibly isolating.”
According to data from the National Center for Educational Statistics, St. Joe’s is a predominantly white institution (PWI), with a fall 2023 student enrollment of 63.6% white. The rest of the student body consists of 10.2% Asian, 8.5% Hispanic, 8.2% Black, 2.8% who identify with two or more races, 2.5% race or ethnicity unknown and 0.1% Native American.
“My biggest worry is that students of color might internalize that as something being wrong with them rather than there being a systemic issue of there being little space for them to do things in a way that matches their own culture,” Walker wrote.
Chelsey Desir ’25, ACSA president, said the reason for hosting the workshop is to destigmatize mental health issues so students know it is OK to seek mental health support.
“We decided to organize this workshop, mostly because I was thinking about how I felt as a Black student within a PWI and also as a psychology major,” Desir said. “It felt like bringing out this information was necessary to the community, especially since it’s Black History Month.”
Xavier Cajuste ’28 said St. Joe’s culture influences conversations about mental health for students of color.
“I think [St. Joe’s] being a PWI definitely makes mental health talked about a lot more, especially with people of color here, who sometimes are in spaces where there’s not really a lot of people to look to,” Cajuste said.
It is also important for families to support students and normalize conversations about mental health before college, said Izzy Imran ’27, ACSA secretary.
“When a person grows up in an environment where mental health is stigmatized, usually the root of it is in familial bonds or friendship bonds,” Imran said.
Gabby Stevenson ’21, the program specialist for the CID, said structural barriers can also prevent students of color from getting mental health support.
“I think that many students of color, and many people of color, feel as though there is something wrong with them, when that’s really just not the case,” Stevenson said. “So, the concern that people are going to potentially judge them might make it impactful and affect how they interact and engage with resources.”
Cajuste said the workshop helped him realize that there is room for growth in his own mental health journey.
“One thing that I have to unlearn is that I have to be strong and not to really show a lot of emotion,” said Cajuste. “But, at that workshop, it showed me that I can show emotion, and I can still be a strong individual.”
