This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

FDU Volleyball Goes Green for Mental Health Awareness

FDU Student-Athletes host a week of awareness surrounding mental health issues including a green out at the Volleyball game on Friday

Madison Townley, Neighbor

Posted Thu, Sep 26, 2019 at 9:19 am ET|Updated Thu, Sep 26, 2019 at 9:27 am ET

Nearly one in five adults in the United States are affected by a mental health issue every year. The statistics for student-athletes are approximately equal, however due to the competitive nature of athletics there is a stigma causing student-athletes to be less likely to seek help (“For Student-Athletes”, 2019). Suicide in college students is the number two cause of death (Active Minds). Because of this, the Northeast Athletic Conference (NEC) started an initiative to bring awareness to mental health issues. They are utilizing #coNECcted to have all of conference schools stand in support of each other in an effort to show the students they are not alone.

Fairleigh Dickinson University’s (FDU) Student-Athlete Advisory Committee spearheaded the initiative for FDU Athletics. They dedicated each day of the week, which runs from September 23rd to September 27th, to one of the top five mental health issues affecting college students. The week will culminate in a green out (the national color for mental health awareness) at the FDU Women’s Volleyball game on Friday versus conference school Bryant at 6pm. The FDU student-athletes will have a banner for members of the FDU community to sign showing that they stand #FDuKnighted in bringing awareness to mental health issues.

Come out and support the Knights at 6pm on Friday September 27th at the Rothman Center.