Logger Wellbeing Week returns to the Sept. 29–Oct. 3, featuring events centered on a core idea: that health is a community endeavor, not just an individual pursuit.
“What I'm really hoping is that students who participate in this week start to understand that our wellbeing is part of our environment, our community, and within a larger system that we all are part of, and that it's something that we create collectively as a community,” said Danielle Bus, Puget Sound’s wellness education and prevention specialist.
The week is designed to connect students with a variety of campus resources and highlight the 10 dimensions of wellness: physical, intellectual, cultural, environmental, spiritual, social, professional, emotional, creative, and financial.
The schedule for the week is as follows:
- Sept. 29: Joyful Movement Monday! Kick off the week with recess on the Slab from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., or attend Yoga on the Lawn from 12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m. on the Event Lawn in front of Thomas Hall.
- Sept. 30: Take a break Tuesday! Visit the Wheelock Lobby from 2 to 5 p.m. for mindfulness activities, mental health resources, and get the creative juices flowing with some coloring.
- Oct. 1: Logger Wellbeing Fair! Stop by the Rotunda from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. to check out booths from various campus departments, each focusing on a different dimension of wellness. Participating groups include the Center for Health and Wellbeing Services (CHWS), Chaplaincy, Collins Memorial Library, Experiential Learning, Student Involvement and Programs (SIPS), Career and Employment Services (CES), Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity (OIED), MEd Counseling students, Student Success Coaches, Public Health Student Association, and the Student Occupational Therapy Association. Students who visit and participate in activities at a minimum of four booths will be entered into a drawing for prizes.
- Oct. 2: Breakfast with CHWS. Start your day with CHWS staff from 8:30 to 10 a.m. in the Wheelock Lobby to get a nutritious breakfast and meet your counseling and medical providers.
- Oct. 3: Fun AF Friday. The week concludes with “Fun Alcohol-Free Friday” in the Wheelock Lobby from 1 to 3 p.m., featuring education on alcohol misuse prevention and ideas for alcohol-free fun in Tacoma.
The week’s activities also serve as a lead-in to October’s Substance Misuse Prevention Month. The university's approach to substance use is based on a framework of harm reduction and prevention, with the goal of increasing safety for the entire community.
“We know based on research that the less a community drinks, the safer that community is," Bus said. “So, this isn’t just an issue about an individual's choices, but about the wellbeing of our entire community.”
For parents and families wanting to support their student, new materials called Parent KITE Chats are being piloted to assist in conversations about alcohol use with their students. These materials, which include talking points and basic facts on college drinking, are accessible and will be supplemented with reminder postcards and emails in late September and late October. Bus hopes this framework can help students and parents identify gaps in well-being and find support.
“The bottom line is to just encourage parents to talk about these different dimensions of wellness with their student and check in ... to help them find their footing... and get some more support,” she said.
To learn more about Logger Wellbeing Week, visit the university’s events page.
