NC State is no stranger to the mental health crisis. After enduring the loss of several students since the start of the 2022-2023 year, administration has taken steps towards expanding counseling resources and minimizing stress as a whole. The addition of wellness days to the calendar has been a key part of NC State’s wellness initiative.
The NC State website states that “Wellness Day is an effort to provide staff, faculty and students an opportunity to reflect on their health and well-being.” This entails a weekday that’s void of classes and academic programs. In lieu of a regular schedule, the University arranges events and activities designed to promote students’ welfare.
Although wellness days are a relatively new addition, it seems they’re here to stay.
“We began having wellness days a year ago, … and now we have mapped out the next three years as well,” said Dr. Warwick Arden, NC State’s executive vice chancellor and provost.
Wellness days bring with them a resounding question on campus: Why are they placed in the middle of the week?
“We have tended not to do it on Mondays or Fridays because we just don’t want to create a long weekend, where folks are just gone,” Warwick said. “We prefer that they stay on campus.”
While the motivation behind this tactic is understandable, in practice it takes away from all that wellness days could offer.
By definition, the wellness day is supposed to bring rest and relieve stress for students and staff. While staying on campus to partake in the day’s planned activities can accomplish this for some students, for others, a wellness day may best be spent visiting loved ones or just getting a change of scenery.
There are thousands of students whose families live just out of range for the standard weekend visit. A three-day weekend could offer them the chance to reconnect with loved ones, see family pets and spend their wellness day where they choose.
Other students may simply need a break from their current environment. A study conducted by NYU confirmed what many students have figured out for themselves: “New and diverse experiences are linked to enhanced happiness.”
The study also showed variability in physical location increases positive feelings. For many, a wellness day may be better spent off campus.
This week, NC State’s wellness day was on a Tuesday, which did one of two things: It either prevented some students from taking care of themselves in the way they best saw fit, or it encouraged them to skip their Monday classes in order to do so.
Warwick said despite a lack of data to attribute a decrease in mental stress to wellness days, it was a well-received addition with an obvious intention behind it.
“One of the things that we know it does is send a message, particularly to the students, that we care,” Warwick said. “I mean we really do care about their physical and mental well-being. … And I have to think it’s positive.”
There is no objection from students to a day off, and as the semester starts to ramp up, the benefits are obvious. However, if the registrar’s office or calendar committee have already ensured room in the semester for a wellness day, its benefits ought to be maximized.
The University should explore the opportunity to plan future wellness days on Fridays and Mondays. Not only can those wellness day activities be enjoyed by the students who choose to stay local, but others who know they can look after themselves best by spending the day off campus will have the opportunity to do so as well.
