UT’s Greek Week Raises $62,000 in Seven Days
In seven days, UT’s Fraternity and Sorority Life (FSL) community raised almost $62,000 to help several philanthropies that are important to all 20 active UT chapters.
“It’s phenomenal,” said Ryne Burds, assistant director of FSL. “It’s a record for us.”
Greek Variety Show and overall Greek Week champions Delta Zeta, Alpha Tau Omega and Zeta Phi Beta lift the Greek Unity Cup in celebration. Photo courtesy of Katarina Georgelas ’21
Greek Week, held this year from Feb. 28 to March 6, is a week-long fundraising event that promotes unity and emphasizes FSL’s mission of service and wellness to the 1,400 students involved. Through competitions and educational events, each chapter raises money toward supporting community nonprofits.
Murray State receives mental health grant
Levi Brandenburg
lbrandenburg1@murraystate.edu
Murray State received $70,000 of funding from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief fund (GEER) that will go towards mental health services on campus.
Angie Trzepacz, director of counseling services, said the funds will be distributed to all the Kentucky public universities by the Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE).
Murray State will allocate the funding for three areas. First, the state paid for mental health first aid training for faculty and staff who are interested. Second, the funding will contribute to accessing Therapy Assistance Online (TAO) for all students, faculty and staff for the next 16 months. The remaining funding will go to mental health services.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (24/7): 800-273-8255
National Alliance on Mental Illness of Berkshire County, warmline (non-crisis): 413-445-1136
Information for parents
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: tinyurl.com/3hnb3u4k
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: tinyurl.com/9wtnwjwp
To make an effort to help, experts say, people should begin by asking youths how they are doing, and those conversations can normalize talking about feelings of stress and sadness. Also, schools, pediatricians and mental health providers are collaborating to ensure that families can access the resources they need.
If someone opens up about their feelings, a good first step is to offer validation and appreciation, as well as referrals to possible sources of support, Heim said.
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Alex Bush has spoken publicly encouraging students to take care of themselves and about the grief of losing six loved ones to suicide. Photo courtesy Alex Bush.
Sophomore mental health advocate Alex Bush centers her life around positivity from her vibrant social media presence to her presentations encouraging students to take care of themselves.
However, this positivity has not always been around for the 19-year-old entrepreneurship major. Since she was a junior in high school, Bush has publicly spoken about the grief of losing six loved ones to suicide, two of whom were family members.
“(My grandmother) was my first experience with suicide. My mom kind of sheltered me from it, then my dad passed my junior year (of high school),” Bush said.
ASWSU Senators unanimously passed and endorsed a resolution for no assignments to be due on break days established in lieu of the traditional week-long spring break during a meeting Wednesday.
The resolution is to ensure students take care of their well-being during break days, according to the resolution. Senator Jilian Hutchison-Blouin wrote the resolution with Senator Oluwanifemi “Nife” Shola-Dare as a sponsor.
The loss of a traditional spring break significantly impacted the health and academics of students and faculty members, according to the resolution.
“I know that a lot of students have had issues with having assignments due on the mental health break day last week,” Hutchison-Blouin said.