Active Minds is a student-led organization that was founded by a junior at the University of Pennsylvania after the suicide of her older brother who suffered from depression and psychosis.
This organization was founded to combat the stigma of mental disorders and shed light on the issues that are faced with having mental disorders on college campuses.
The Mississippi State University Active Minds Organization is especially geared toward lifting stereotypes off mental disorders and utilizing the student voice.
The organization will have an event on March 29 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. called “Speech Outweighs Silence.” The event will be held at MSU on the Drill Field. Volunteers from Health Promotion and Wellness are planning to assist in setting up the event as well as run the event.
Backpacks will be on display during the event with personal accounts and stories attached to them that will represent the 1,100 students who die every year by suicide. Statistics of various attributes that are associated with stigmas and mental disorders themselves will also be attached to some of the backpacks.
Regular meetings for Active Minds take place every other Tuesday at 7:15 a.m. and are located in the Health Promotion and Wellness Office.
According to the group’s Facebook page, “Active Minds is the only organization working to utilize the student voice to change the conversation about mental health on college campuses.”
Active Minds works with advocacy groups on college campuses to inform the public about mental health issues.
They try to provide resources and encourage students to get help if needed. They serve as a connection between those students with mental disorders and other college students.
“Through campus-wide events and national programs, Active Minds aims to remove the stigma that surrounds mental health issues, and create a comfortable environment for an open conversation about mental health issues on campuses throughout North America,” their Facebook reads.
Active Minds MSU recently set up a booth in Allen Hall that provided free coffee to those who were willing to approach the booth and speak with Active Minds representatives about the organization itself. Participants of this event were given an Active Minds pin as well as a schedule of all of the future meetings.
If anyone is interested in being part of this event, please contact Kim Kavalsky with Health Promotion and Wellness.
Editor’s note: The original article stated backpacks will be given out at the “Speech Outweighs Silence” event. Backpacks will not be given out, but will be on display. Kim Kavalsky works for Health Promotion and Wellness, not Health Services. The Reflector regrets these errors.
