Students discuss important political topics and their impact on mental health at the Political Climate Cafe.
Jade Ciezak, Assistant Photo Editor
On October 3, four registered student organizations (RSOs) partnered to host a Political Climate Café in honor of Western Michigan University’s Mental Health Awareness Week. The event provided students with a confidential space to speak freely about how global conditions are impacting their mental health. These RSOs included Planned Parenthood Action (PPGA), Students for a Sustainable Earth (SSE), University Democrats, and Students for Palestine Justice (SJP).
The purpose of the event was not about action, but rather focused on how the current political situation, including upcoming elections, genocide, and climate change, is impacting students’ mental health. Marysol Miller, a WMU senior and cafe facilitator, emphasized the importance of students being able to grieve together.
“We are people who have moved away from door-to-door operations and back to an indigenous sense of community care,” Miller said.
This year, many students will be eligible to vote in a presidential election for the first time in their lives. WMU student and Michigan RSO President Damaris Potter, who is voting for the first time this year, said after the climate cafe that she feels a mixture of fear and optimism about the election.
“I’m nervous because elections are at the heart of our country right now and everything these candidates are doing is impacting many other places around the world. ,” Potter said.
WMU freshman Morgan Fredevorgd also shared her feelings about the election after the cafe.
“I’ve felt a lot of conflict emotionally,” Fredevogd said. “I’m getting used to campus life and meeting new people, and I’m still paying attention with big things coming up, because if I don’t, who else will? “Who else is going to make a difference? I have to be involved. ”
Vredevoogd is majoring in education and plans to become a high school teacher after graduation. She spoke about the complexities of learning how to be an educator during a time when gun violence in schools is on the rise.
“I’m going to protect my students and myself from any threat that comes my way, no matter who I am,” Fredevogd said.
SJP President Marissa Wagner encouraged students who are passionate about social justice to stop and take a moment to think about their mental health.
“It’s important to take care of yourself, not only for your work, but also for your growth as a person. Because when you grow as a person, and when you celebrate and embrace others’ moments of vulnerability, , because we lift ourselves up,’ making us stronger as a community and that’s the most important thing,” Wagner said.
For more information about these RSOs and upcoming events, visit our Instagram pages: @wmucollegedemocrats, @wmu_sse, @ppga.wmu, or @sjpwmu.
