By DEVYN LANSDEN, Senior Reporter
Northwestern’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee brought a mental health awareness project to the campus in March to promote the well-being of students.
The Bandana Project aims to spread self-awareness of mental health resources, convey the importance of mental health and show support for those who may be struggling.
The project was founded in 2016 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Northwestern students wearing green bandanas have taken a pledge to listen to people who approach them and are struggling with mental health issues, participants say. The students will also direct people toward counseling resources and support them by letting them know they’re not alone.
Megan Patel, associate director of athletics for compliance and Student Services, is the adviser for the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. She and the committee’s president, senior health and sports science major Emilie Brown, are overseeing the project.
Patel and two Northwestern student athletes attended the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee convention in Chicago in November. That’s where they learned about the project.
Patel said that, the more they talked about the idea, the more she and the other Northwestern students thought they should bring it to Alva.
Patel said stigmas surrounding mental illness may keep some students from seeking help. The point of the project is to help break down that stigma.
“It [the green bandana] is a signal to show how OK it [mental health] is to talk about,” Patel said.
“And people wouldn’t think less of you if you need to go get help, because it’s that important.”