College Health Week encourages lifestyle wellness

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Stephanie Koss, Senior Reporter

College Health Week was held at UWL from Monday, April 18 to Thursday, April 21. Sponsored by the UWL Wellness Resource Center, the week aimed to help college students make healthy, safe decisions regarding their sexual responsibility and mental health.  

Among some of the events held were “Healthy Relationships 101”, Sex Trivia, Condom Bingo, “Stomp Out the Stigma,” “How to Be a Better Lover,” “Get Healthy High” and “The Ultimate Race.”

In addition to providing resources for mental and sexual health, the week also promoted awareness for victims of sexual assault. The event that culminated College Health Week was “The Ultimate Race,” which was held on Thursday, April 21 at the Clock Tower. Teams raced around campus, making their way to different stations, all while learning about sexual assault.

“The Ultimate Race was a lot of fun. We got to race around campus and go to different stations, and each station was centered on learning something new about sexual assault. My team didn’t win, but it was still a fun, worthwhile event to be a part of!” said senior Matt LaVigne.

The event “Stomp Out the Stigma” was held to promote raising awareness for mental health issues as well as attempting to erase some of the stigma that currently surrounds mental health.

Certain students shared their stories regarding their experiences and stories with mental health to show others that they don’t have to be afraid to share what they’ve gone through, and that there is plenty of help and resources available for them. The participants involved want students to know that no one is ever alone in their fight against a mental illness.

“I think this week is important because there’s always something new that we can learn about our mental and sexual health. I think there’s a lot of people who aren’t aware of the resources that are available on our campus, and I think this week really helps to bring those resources to light,” said junior Samuel Korger.

The Wellness Resource Center at UWL offers many different resources to students to allow them to make healthier, safer lifestyle choices. They specialize in drug and alcohol education and prevention as well as wellness programming, which allows students to be trained to be peer health educators.

The Counseling and Testing Center at UWL also offers many resources related to mental health. They offer scheduled appointments for students to come in and speak with a mental health professional who can aid them in any issues they may be facing, whether that be school, home, work, loss, grief, domestic violence/abuse and many more.

Want more information about these two on campus resources? Call the Wellness Resource Center at 608.785.8977 or visit them in Room 149 Graff Main Hall. You can reach the Counseling and Testing Center at 608.785.8073 or visit them in Centennial Hall, Room 2106.