College students, now more than ever, are saying they are feeling high levels of stress, as The New York Times pointed out last week in the publication of the findings of a national survey.
Among the hundreds of thousands of college freshman surveyed, 48 percent rated their emotional wellbeing as being average or below—a 12 percent drop from the last recorded survey from 1985. At N.C. State, one organization is trying to reverse this trend.
Health Promotion, a subsection of Student Health Services, has created a series of monthly events from the beginning of February through the end of April geared toward nurturing different facets of student health.
According to Rachel Rotberg, senior in French language and literature and intern with the Office of Health Promotion, each of the events was designed with a “wellness model” in mind.
“The main goals of Health Promotion and this initiative are to have a series of programs that pertain to the World Health Organization’s wellness model of sustaining our health on multiple levels,” Rotberg said. “More specifically, these programs offer a holistic point of view that covers health in the following areas: intellectual, spiritual, emotional, social, physical, environmental and occupational health.”
The series is set to begin tonight in Talley Ballroom, where Health Promotion has partnered with ballroom dancing club Dancing with Wolves to offer students free salsa lessons.
Rachel McCloskey, junior in mathematics education and member of Dancing with Wolves, said she believes the event will provide students with both an educational opportunity and a much-needed break.
“In college, it is especially important for students to be able to find events like these that can help them lead more balanced, and healthier, lives,” McCloskey said. “I love anything related to dance, so that’s why I’ll be attending this event, but it will be a lot of fun even if you don’t know how to dance.”
McCloskey also said due to the sheer number of campus organizations, there are likely to be opportunities for everyone to find their own path toward leading a more balanced life.
“We have so many clubs on campus to join that students will have no trouble finding something they like and fitting in,” McCloskey said. “But whatever the activity, it is absolutely necessary to find some kind of physical activity, even if it isn’t really athletic, to try out.”
Health Promotion is expected to host two other wellness-inspired events catered to student needs in February, including a trivia event and an occupational seminar.
However, while large crowds are expected for all events, Libby Jones, a senior in psychology and intern with the Office of Health Promotion, said she believes the most popular event will be the last one: a Zumba dance class.
“I think the program co-sponsored by the Career Center will be popular with students who are getting ready to graduate and are already searching for jobs; and with students who are hoping to get early preparation for their future job search,” Jones said. “But I think the Zumba event will probably be the most popular, since it will hopefully be to break a world record, and Zumba is one of the most well-attended group fitness classes in campus recreation.”
While Jones said the Zumba event will likely be the most popular, all students are encouraged to try attend any of the events.
“Each program has a little something different to offer. Some have direct health benefits, such as the Zumba class, whereas others offer information and advice for students which will hopefully result in more long-term benefits, such as the employment program,” Jones said.
Some of the programs are intended to be opportunities for students to relieve stress, meet other students and have fun, such as the Salsa event.
“All of these events were created with students’ needs in mind. We came up with the idea for each event by trying to think about the kinds of events we would like to attend and from which we think we would benefit,” Jones said.
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