Mercer's second annual Fresh Check Day checked in with Mercer students on Cruz Plaza on March 26, bringing with it opportunities to talk about mental health.
The event, which featured interactive booths, free food, food trucks and opportunities for giveaways and prizes, is hosted by the Jordan Porco Foundation. The foundation seeks to bring awareness to mental health struggles and the stigma around them.
The mission of the Fresh Check Day program is to “create an approachable and hopeful atmosphere where students are encouraged to engage in dialogue about mental health,” according to the foundation website.
Since 2012, the foundation has held Fresh Check days all across the country, covering 45 states and over 350 campuses with over 1,400 events held.
Many Mercer clubs, both mental health and non-mental health related, set up booths around Cruz Plaza, advertising their events and sharing pamphlets detailing Fresh Check Day’s messages.
“It was a really great time, and I thought the theme was important,” Savannah Browning ‘25, who worked the Mercer Wrestling Club booth during the event, said.
Other setups around Cruz included tents staffed by programs such as Project AWARE, an initiative and grant run by the Bibb County School District, with the goal to “increase awareness of mental health issues among youth,” as well as providing training for school personnel and connect school-age youth and their families to mental health services, according to the Bibb County School District website.
Additional stations were scattered around the plaza that offered students a relaxing break from the stress of studies such as the Follow Your Art arts and crafts opportunities and tables where students could make and draw mental health posters and boards.
Jacob Hossler '28 is majoring in Biology with a potential English minor. In his free time he enjoys photography, writing, and playing tennis and soccer.
