2008 Woodie Awards
Active Minds at YU
Making a Difference One Event at a Time
Asher Morris
Issue date: 2/11/08 Section: News
On February 5 at 8pm, Active Minds at YU commanded the attention of nearly seventy students at their first event of the semester called "Perspectives on Suicide: Mental Illness on College Campuses." The program opened with a short, but very powerful documentary film released by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention called "The Truth About Suicide: Real Stories of Depression in College." According to the facilitator's guide for the DVD, the documentary features "real students, family members and friends, not actors, who express real and often painful feelings of fear, confusion, grief, regret and loss in recounting their experiences."
Immediately following the film, Yeshiva University Dean of Students and well-known New York psychiatrist Dr. Victor Schwartz spoke to the audience, reflecting on the global and medical aspects of mental illness in college students discussed in the film.
Next, Alison Malmon, Executive Director and Founder of Active Minds, Inc., discussed her very personal story about her brother's death by suicide. She explained how this tragic event drove her to create the only national organization dedicated to utilizing the student voice for purposes of promoting awareness and education about mental health issues on college campuses. The organization, now only a few years old, has 111 chapters in colleges around the country and is currently working to establish its first high school chapter, according to Ms. Malmon.
Finally, Dr. Chaim Nissel, the Director of the Counseling Center at Yeshiva spoke briefly about the confidential and anonymous services offered by the counseling center. He too, examined aspects of the documentary in explaining how the stories presented in the DVD pertain to every student at YU.
According to their website, some of the major goals of Active Minds at YU are to "increase awareness of mental health issues, provide information and resources regarding mental health and mental illness, encourage students to seek professional help as soon as it is needed, serve as a liaison between the students and the mental health community, work to remove the stigma associated with mental illness, and work to remove the stigma associated with seeking professional help for a mental illness." All of these goals were easily accomplished throughout their very compelling and informative forum.
Not only were many students present for the program, but several staff and faculty made appearances as a measure to support the fledgling organization, to gain information, and to support students who might be in need of help.
Overall, the event was well received and considered successful not only by the students and the Active Minds' board members present, but also by the three panelists who were thrilled with the excellent turnout and attentiveness of the students in the audience.
For more information about Active Minds at YU, visit their website at www.activemindsatyu.wordpress.com or join their Facebook group ACTIVE MINDS YESHIVA UNIVERSITY.
Immediately following the film, Yeshiva University Dean of Students and well-known New York psychiatrist Dr. Victor Schwartz spoke to the audience, reflecting on the global and medical aspects of mental illness in college students discussed in the film.
Next, Alison Malmon, Executive Director and Founder of Active Minds, Inc., discussed her very personal story about her brother's death by suicide. She explained how this tragic event drove her to create the only national organization dedicated to utilizing the student voice for purposes of promoting awareness and education about mental health issues on college campuses. The organization, now only a few years old, has 111 chapters in colleges around the country and is currently working to establish its first high school chapter, according to Ms. Malmon.
Finally, Dr. Chaim Nissel, the Director of the Counseling Center at Yeshiva spoke briefly about the confidential and anonymous services offered by the counseling center. He too, examined aspects of the documentary in explaining how the stories presented in the DVD pertain to every student at YU.
According to their website, some of the major goals of Active Minds at YU are to "increase awareness of mental health issues, provide information and resources regarding mental health and mental illness, encourage students to seek professional help as soon as it is needed, serve as a liaison between the students and the mental health community, work to remove the stigma associated with mental illness, and work to remove the stigma associated with seeking professional help for a mental illness." All of these goals were easily accomplished throughout their very compelling and informative forum.
Not only were many students present for the program, but several staff and faculty made appearances as a measure to support the fledgling organization, to gain information, and to support students who might be in need of help.
Overall, the event was well received and considered successful not only by the students and the Active Minds' board members present, but also by the three panelists who were thrilled with the excellent turnout and attentiveness of the students in the audience.
For more information about Active Minds at YU, visit their website at www.activemindsatyu.wordpress.com or join their Facebook group ACTIVE MINDS YESHIVA UNIVERSITY.
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YU Alum
posted 8/31/08 @ 1:47 PM EST
Thanks for the reporting. It's good to know that great events like this are still going on at YU!
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