On Wednesday, Milligan University shut down for the day in order to give its student body a much needed mental health day. The announcement for the closure came out on Oct. 8 via a mass email sent out by President Bill Greer himself.
The day off came as a much welcomed relief to the community of Milligan. The year of 2020 proves to be a time of great turmoil, with the development of the pandemic and its impact on daily life. Greer commented on the need for such a day.
“The campus community needed a break in the midst of the additional stress and anxiety that has come along with working our way through the semester in the midst of the pandemic,” stated Greer, “Our faculty, staff, and students needed a day to recharge and gear up for the remaining few weeks of the semester.”
The mental health day coincides with a global holiday, World Mental Health Day. The holiday occurs on Oct. 10 and celebrates mental health education, advocacy and fighting the social stigmas surrounding mental illnesses. Lee Harrison, vice president for marketing and enrollment management, further discussed the role of COVID-19 in the planning and the intention to line the day up relatively close to World Mental Health Day.
“COVID-19 has brought additional pressures and stress to everyone for a variety of factors. Plus our fall semester calendar had to be modified to eliminate Fall Break, and it became obvious that everyone on our campus needed some time to rest,” Harrison stated. “We also noted that it coincided with the timing of World Mental Health Day/Week, which was appropriate.”
The course of action for the day came with guidance of Milligan’s own cabinet along with input from the Response Team. Harrison discussed the planning that went into making this day a reality.
“The Response Team and Cabinet discussed the possibility of offering some kind of opportunity for rest and rejuvenation for several weeks. The Dean of Students also talked with the Resident Directors to determine how students were doing and determine the need,” Harrison said. “And the Academic Dean talked with the Academic Committee (Associate Deans) about it.”
The day off had been discussed since the month of September and any events that took place during the day followed COVID-19 regulation safety rules. Such events that took place during the day were a showing of the popular Pixar movie “Inside Out” and the visitation of at least two food trucks.
Other educational Institutions have been monitoring the situation as well and have offered a “fall break” since normal fall breaks had been cancelled. As for a second day for mental recovery, that is still being discussed. The situation is being monitored for further consideration if another mental health day should be taken again or not.
Headline photo by Max Andrey from Pexels.