Trinity Student Group Hosts Mental Health Conference

Several members of the Trinity community took part in a day-long program designed to address mental health issues on college campuses. The April 3rd “Changing Minds Mental Health on College Campuses Conference” was organized by Students to Unite Science and Humanitarian Interests (SUSHI) and co-hosted by a variety of campus interests, including the Counseling Center, the Dean of Students Office, the Women’s Center, and the Psychology Department. According to SUSHI, the symposium’s goal was “to look broadly at mental health issues faced by college students on campuses today, from the mundane to the clinical, with a view towards encouraging more discussion of mental health issues and fighting stigma around discussion of mental health issues.”

Adwoa Dadzie ’04 (left) makes a point during a panel discussion at the “Changing Minds Mental Health on college Campuses Conference.” To her left are Ann Reuman, associate dean of students,  Margaret Lindsey, director of the First Year Program, and Randolph Lee, director of the Counseling Center.

The conference’s well-organized and informative schedule included a series of panel forums and discussion groups, each focusing on a different aspect of the issue. Randolph Lee, director of the Counseling Center, Ann Reuman, associate dean of students, and Margaret Lindsey, director of the First Year Program, participated in a panel titled, “Integrating Mental Health into the Campus,” while Dean of Multicultural Affairs Karla Spurlock-Evans, Trinity Chaplain Dan Heischman, and Laurel Baldwin-Ragaven, Henry R. Luce Professor of Health and Human Rights, were part of a group that discussed “The Many Facets of Mental Health.” Another panel confronted “Sex, Drugs and Food Issues.” Students Leah Brennan ’04 and Adwoa Dadzie ’04 also participated as panelists, as did Professor of Psychology Emeritus George Higgins, who served as director of the Counseling Center for 37 years.

Included among the panelists was an assortment of area mental health professionals. The conference drew about 70 people to campus, including students, administrators, and faculty members from such schools as Brown University, the University of Connecticut, Pine Manor College, Wesleyan University, Vassar College, and the University of Hartford.


 

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