PATRICK MADDEN & VIKA BAMBARA, Special to The Denisonian-—
On November 3, members of the Denison community were asked to sign the foundation of a new mental health and wellness facility that will transform student life.
The Hoaglin Center signals a new attitude in Denison University’s commitment to mental health and overall well-being. Sharpies were passed around, as well as many conversations with fellow classmates and the Denison admins. The hopes and dreams of this future building bounced off the steel foundations.
Associate Vice President of Student Life Julie Tucker ‘09 has been heavily involved in the planning process and vision of the new building since day one.
“I think it represents Denison’s commitment to wellness. And I think one of the things that we are intentional about the design process is that there’s space to gather. It’s not like you have to go in there with a specific purpose. You can go in there and just talk with friends.”
Tucker called attention to the spontaneity that comes with wellness. Students are constantly overwhelmed with their over packed schedules. Nonetheless, the Hoaglin Center will hopefully foster new conversations that will benefit everyones’ well-being.
Design consultants from REDcorp and numerous pulse surveys from students have been very helpful to hear while implementing ideas, especially how the new center can address academic challenges when it comes to college.
Tucker said, “I think some perceive that there are high expectations or we’re expecting a lot of students to [perform well] and that that means we don’t care about their well being. And I think that that’s not true at all. I think it’s figuring out how those things coexist,” Tucker said.
After COVID-19 caused everyone to adjust to a new type of college experience, the collective student body seemed confused on how to balance everything. Now Denison argues that it is not enough to treat stress and ill health, but to also provide prevention tactics and foster habits to learn for healthy, well-rounded lifestyles.
The past year and a half has brought with it unwanted and abrupt change. The COVID-19 crisis has been a bigger punch than people have expected, so Denison as a community will reiterate what it means to actually live healthy, especially under unprecedented conditions.
With mental health decline at its peak right now, the new Hoaglin Center is proof of the difference schools can make to change their current trajectories.
The effects of Covid on young adults, particularly students, have been widely discussed in the past year. Experts have touted school-based interventions as a great way to mitigate these effects.
Tamar Mendelson, the director of the Center for Adolescent Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, discussed this emphasis for children and young adults.
She said, “this may be a much easier gateway to mental health care for many young people, and if there is screening and consultation or services available at schools, many more children are going to be able to connect with those.”
While free counseling sessions and services have been offered at Denison for some time now, the new space will ensure it’s accessible to everyone and offer even more.
The development of the center is coming at a critical time. Seth Chin-Parker, Chair of Psychology, believes there will still be some who won’t go to the wellness center. It is all about choice and whether people want to use the Hoaglin Center to their advantage.
He said, “Regardless, I think it is important that the possibility is there. Students should understand that there is a lot about their personal well-being that is impacted by the choices that they make. You can do things that negatively impact your well-being. You can do things that positively impact it. Part of being in college is recognizing that those choices exist and how to best navigate them as you learn to live your life.”
It is always good to know that help is not out of reach.
The Hoaglin Center is all about maintaining a balance of wellness, but wellness comes in many different forms.
Tucker said, “That’s I think the thing to like about a community. So there’s your mental well being, your physical well being, your financial well being, and the first like community well being as a part of that too.”
“And so, how are students able to connect with one another? How are they able to have conversations like this? Students want to be understood. The main goal is to have students feel healthy, feeling like they matter, and feeling like they can understand themselves better on campus.”
The open and accessible nature of this center will hopefully help it become a central part of every Denison student’s time on campus, where classes in the future can use it and know no other way. As time goes on, the center’s flexibility will be instrumental in its hopefully long tenure.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, people have learned to get outdoors frequently.The Hoaglin Center will prioritize outdoor space as well.
Tucker said that there’s research to support the link between being outside and good mental health. To that end, the new center will include an indoor/outdoor fireplace and a mindfulness garden.
Hannah Bradvica ‘22 said that it is refreshing to see Denison taking the initiative to focus on community and student well-being. She said, “At the core of everything, students are the
foundation.”
And that’s where this building will begin–with the names of Denison students and community members, forever etched into the concrete.
Students who need mental or physical assistance can continue to reach the current wellness center at any hour at 740-587-6647.
Primary medical care is offered Monday and Wednesday from 12:00-4:00 pm, Tuesday from 8:30 -4:00 pm, Thursday from 8:30 -7:30 pm and Friday from 9:00-4:00.
Individual counseling hours are offered by appointment from 8:30-4:30 and walk-in hours are 11:30-12:30 and 3:30-4:30.