• About
  • Editorial Board
  • Advertise
  • Join Us
  • Archives
The Wellesley News -
  • News and Features
    • Students With Medically Restricted Diets Struggle to Eat On Campus
      Students With Medically Restricted Diets Struggle to Eat On Campus
    • Students find new ways to celebrate Diwali
      Students find new ways to celebrate Diwali
    • Changing COVID-19 regulations impact students’ mental health
      Changing COVID-19 regulations impact students’ mental health
    • News
      • News in Brief
      • Nation & World
      • President’s Corner
      • Senate Report
    • Features
      • Alumnae Spotlight
      • Eye on Science
      • Faculty Focus
      • LGBTQIA+ Column
  • Opinions
    • Wellesley, why can’t you meet our dietary needs?
      Wellesley, why can’t you meet our dietary needs?
    • The block system is a joke
      The block system is a joke
    • Spineless nonpartisanship: how the Girl Scouts convinced me they no longer care about girls
      Spineless nonpartisanship: how the Girl Scouts convinced me they no longer care about girls
    • Staff Editorial
    • Letters to the Editor
    • The Elephant in the Room
  • Arts
    • Music Performance Courses Adapt to an Altered Semester
      Music Performance Courses Adapt to an Altered Semester
    • Ben Wheatley’s adaptation of “Rebecca” fails to deliver compared to its classic counterpart
      Ben Wheatley’s adaptation of “Rebecca” fails to deliver compared to its classic counterpart
    • “Dash & Lily” Find Love, Stranded
      “Dash & Lily” Find Love, Stranded
    • Arts In The News
    • Reviews
    • Music Peek
  • Health and Wellness
    • No image
      Athletic impacts of Covid-19
    • No image
      A new kind of PE
    • No image
      Maintaining wellness as the cold sets in
    • Athlete of the Week
    • Boston Sports Update
    • The Vegan Digest
    • The SHE Corner
  • Miscellanea
    • No image
      Remote students experience existential crises; change class years in email signatures
    • President’s Column: The Butterfly Effect
      President’s Column: The Butterfly Effect
    • Your next on-campus romance isn’t going to work out
      Your next on-campus romance isn’t going to work out
    • The Artichoke
    • The Dose
    • The Olive Branch
    • Multimedia
      • Galleries
      • Infographics
      • Videos
By Shreya Parjan Sports and WellnessMarch 16, 2018

Third annual Fresh Check Day initiates wellness conversation on campus

Last Wednesday, March 7, the Wellesley College Counseling Service and the Stone Center sponsored their third annual Fresh Check Day in Tishman Commons. Despite inclement weather, 107 students enjoyed activities ranging from prize giveaways and healthy snacks to mental health screenings and massages.

Held at schools nationwide, Fresh Check Day is part of the Jordan Porco Foundation, an organization founded by Ernie and Marisa Porco in 2011 after their son, Jordan, committed suicide while in college. Today, it offers high schools, colleges and universities educational programs to initiate conversations concerning mental health and build a network of resources accessible to students.

At the center of the event was the Nine out of Ten pledge, a larger campaign supported by the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. After participating in activities and games to educate themselves about mental health issues on Wellesley’s campus and beyond, students were called upon to take the pledge to support and be an advocate for the one out of every 10 college students that contemplate suicide, which is the second leading cause of death among college students.

Director of the Counseling Service and Dean of the Office of Intercultural Education Robin Cook-Nobles served as one of the lead organizers of the event. She explained that “the goals of Fresh Check Day are to increase awareness, reduce stigma, empower others to be gatekeepers and to increase willingness to ask for help. It is a different way of programming for mental health and suicide prevention awareness.”

At the event’s check-in table, participants received stamp cards and were able to visit a variety of tables covering a broad array of both physical and mental wellness issues. By partaking in activities at each station and getting their cards stamped, students were entered for a raffle for a television, provided by the Jordan Porco Foundation. Although one of Fresh Check Day’s highly anticipated events, the petting zoo, was cancelled due to harsh weather conditions, Cook-Nobles reassured students that it will be rescheduled for later in the spring semester.

Taylor Balfour ’21 visited several tables at the event, including the Nine out of Ten, Athletic Training Room (ATR), alcohol consumption and positivity stations. Balfour applauded how the event made starting conversations about wellness more accessible to students through its interactive activities. “I liked the ATR table’s games and the Nine for Ten bingo game because I actually learned something through the interactive exercises. I think events like these help to raise awareness about mental health. For instance, through the bingo game, I learned that one in 10 college students have suicidal thoughts, which was really startling,” she said.

Cook-Nobles elaborated on this phenomenon, pointing out that the interactive nature of the event “engages the community and provides information in an atmosphere of fun and collaboration that de-stigmatizes mental health.”

However, Balfour believes that the event could have gone even further in supporting the needs of students in the long term. “While I think these events are valuable, I see them as very disconnected from the Stone Center, and they appear more as pop-ups than as tied into a greater network of resources,” she explained.

It seems that Fresh Check Day was successful in its mission to “create an approachable and hopeful atmosphere where students are encouraged to engage in dialogue about mental health,” as the national website explains, but the connection between its events and the resources that are available to Wellesley students could be further emphasized. For more information on Fresh Check Day, please visit www.rememberingjordan.org or freshcheckday.com.

Share on

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Google +
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
Previous articleWellesley Tennis rallying into its 2018 campaign
Next articleWellesley Lacrosse stresses growth in its 2018 campaign

You may also like

Athletic impacts of Covid-19

A new kind of PE

Maintaining wellness as the cold sets in

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Email Newsletter

Sign up to receive our weekly digest in your inbox

* indicates required

Top Articles

Sorry. No data so far.

Recent Tweets

Tweets by @Wellesley_News

The independent student newspaper of Wellesley College since 1901.

Sign up to receive our weekly digest in your inbox

* indicates required

  • About
  • Editorial Board
  • Advertise
  • Join Us
  • Archives
COPYRIGHT © 2021 THE WELLESLEY NEWS
Back to top