Photo by Jai’Den Smith
Jaiden Smith
Managing Editor
This Valentine’s Day, the College of Liberal Arts partnered with the Department of Criminal Justice & Sociology, the Latasha Norman Center and the Interdisciplinary Alcohol & Drugs Studies Center to present the Love Yourself Community Safety & Health Fair.
Sponsors of the event want students to love themselves enough to avoid the typical dangers teenagers and young adults face, including: sexually transmitted diseases, driving while intoxicated, and self-harm due to poor mental health.
The event was funded by the Mississippi Office of Highway Safety and hosted in the Student Center ballrooms on Feb. 14.
Michelle Young, a youth occupant protection education program prevention specialist with the Interdisciplinary Alcohol & Drugs Studies Center was one of the participants at the many booths at the event.
Many organizations that specialize in substance abuse, domestic violence, and STD awareness also had tables set up to spread information to the student participants.
Young wanted to bring awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving.
“For us, Hinds County does have a high rate of teen death from car accidents and dealing with underage drinking and things of that nature. That’s basically what our booth was about, we just tried to promote that as much as we could and to get to as many students as we could so they can do what they need to do to increase the chances of them being able to live out the rest of their lives,” said Young.
Young knows that underage drinking is a common occurrence on a college campus and the chances of Jackson State students driving intoxicated could be high. The desire to help young teens and adults avoid this simple mistake that could lead to detrimental consequences is what motivates Young in her field.
“I travel across the state of Mississippi setting up presentations or informational lunches to reach as many 16-20 year olds as we can to increase their awareness and decrease their fatalities,” Young stated.
Zaria Miller, a junior sociology major from Detroit, Mich., was one of the students who attended the event.
“I enjoyed the event. It was nice to celebrate Valentine’s Day with our LNC Center. I was happy to participate. I was not aware of the support system that we have regarding substance abuse. You can tell the Metro Jackson Community Prevention Coalition really cares about the health of our student body,” said Miller.
Miller knows the importance of spreading awareness to her classmates and wants more events like this one to occur.
“The University needs to host more events like this because it makes having the hard conversations so much easier to discuss. I also want to say that we as a student body need to encourage each other. It all starts with one decision and we need to be able to pause and reflect. It’s okay to prioritize yourself, You Matter,” Miller emphasized.
Jaleesa McGee, a representative with the Latasha Norman Center, was also present at the fair. McGee wanted to bring awareness about the resources the Latasha Norman Center has to offer.
“Some people or students may not know that we are here and are open 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. If they need anything. We handle couples, individual therapy, and we also have a lot of resources. We just focus on brief therapy so if they need additional help, we have resources to connect them with other resources that can further assist them,” said McGee.
McGee elaborated on the issues students on campus typically face that they can get help with at the center. Burnout was one of the number one reason for visits.
“Most of the time, leaving home and coming to a campus, students are struggling with scheduling and being more organized. They start feeling overwhelmed because they are here trying to figure things out on their own without their parents and they don’t have the support system they are used to, so they come here sometimes to vent and talk about things,” said McGee.
McGee gave three tips for students to follow to avoid burnout.
“Give yourself grace, create a schedule and make time for yourself. Find ways to relax, if you like to play sports, play sports. If you like to do yoga, do yoga. Just find a way and take an hour out of your day to just focus on yourself,” advised McGee.
McGee also stated that the lack of discussion and awareness surrounding mental health in the black community is the reason for her passion in this field.
“In our community, the African-American community, I think we stray away from our emotions, and express ourselves. It’s important to bring awareness to our community on mental health and how your mental health can even affect you physically,” McGee stated.
This annual event is strategically held on Valentine’s Day in hopes of opening students to the ideas of protecting themselves because of self-love.
