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Amid conversation on mental health, University announces recreational day for late October

A student is sitting on a chair in Cannon Green with his bike next to him.
Students spend time unwinding on Cannon Green. 
Louisa Gheorghita / The Daily Princetonian

Content Warning: The following article contains discussion of death and suicide.

University Counseling Services are available at 609-258-3141, and the Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24/7 at 988. A Crisis Text Line is also available in the United States; text HOME to 741741. Students can contact residential college staff and the Office of Religious Life for other support and resources. For employees, Carebridge counseling services are available 24/7 by calling (800) 437-0911.

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The Office of the Vice President for Campus Life has announced that it will host the first dedicated day for student wellness on Friday, Oct. 27.

Community Care Day “encourages the entire campus to focus on rejuvenation, mindfulness, and community-building.” The day includes a number of activities focused on rest and well-being, including yoga, postcard writing, and an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for “Roar Like a Tiger.”

As part of the event, other organizations and groups are encouraged to consider alternative scheduling for their events or programming. Currently, the Office has not specified whether or not classes will be held on Oct. 27.

The Community Care Day comes among ongoing conversations about mental health and student wellbeing on campus, with the deaths of four students and one staff member by suicide in the past two years.

“Ultimately, this idea arises in memory of the community members we have lost these past few years — Kevin Chang ’23, Justin Lim ’25, Jazz Chang ’23, a University custodial supervisor, and Misrach Ewunetie ’24 — but have not forgotten,” wrote Chioma Ugwonali ’24, one of the organizers of the event, in an email to the Daily Princetonian.

Many students have complained that the University’s response to the student mental health crisis has been inadequate.

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“This is the reality: Princeton does not adequately show students that it cares about our mental health,” wrote Maria Luisa Vieira Parada ’26 in an column for the ‘Prince’ in April.

In a ‘Prince’ guest contribution, Justin Lee ’26 expressed a similar sentiment. “The stigmatization of mental health and stress coupled with an inadequate support network creates a perpetual cycle of worsening mental health, in which students need help but are unable to access it,” he wrote.

In addition to the Office of the Vice President for Campus Life, the initiative was organized by a working group of students and administrators, one of whom is Med Coulibaly ’25. 

In an email to the ‘Prince,’ she wrote, “We fervently hope that Community Care Day becomes an eagerly anticipated annual tradition.”

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Allison Lesser is a News contributor for the ‘Prince.’

Miriam Waldvogel is an assistant News editor for the ‘Prince.’

Please send corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.