Throughout May, Dartmouth Student Government, the Student Wellness Center and Wellness at Dartmouth will host a series of mental health-related events in honor of Mental Health Action Month. MHAM programming intends to improve the mental health and wellbeing of all members of the Dartmouth community, according to SWC director Caitlin Barthelmes.
Mindfulness at Dartmouth, which organized a Mindful May calendar, scheduled events every weekday this month including meditation, yoga and journaling, according to its website. The events are geared at fostering “community” and “feelings of connection and belonging,” Barthelmes said. She explained that mindfulness can help reduce the stress of Dartmouth’s “fast-paced environment.”
“Those [mindfulness] skills can help us reduce stress and anxiety [and] increase focus, attention and memory recall,” Barthelmes said.
DSG mental health committee co-chair JJ Dega ’26 also said Dartmouth can be a “struggle” for mental health because its “fast-paced” quarter system can be a source of stress. According to Dega, MHAM responds to the community’s challenges and stressors by spreading the word about College resources.
“The goal of Mental Health Action Month is to help students carve out mindful moments in their day and highlight the resources that Dartmouth offers to help them do so,” Dega said.
Many of the events on the Mindful May calendar happen year round, Barthelmes said.
“This isn’t just a one time only event,” Barthelmes said. “Mental Health [Action] Month allows us to shine a light on the things that are already happening in a consistent way here at Dartmouth.”
This April, the Plum Village monastics visited campus to lead mindfulness activities and meditations, according to past reporting by The Dartmouth. Barthelmes said she hopes that Mental Health Action Month maintains similar levels of attention to mindfulness and wellness as during the Plum Village monastics’ visit. Approximately 1,100 students in total attended monastic events, according to Barthelmes.
DSG is also distributing green ribbons for students to visibly display on their clothing or backpacks in honor of Mental Health Action Month, according to a campus-wide email. In the email, DSG wrote that the ribbons are intended to “destigmatize” and “encourage” using mental health resources.
“Just signaling to others that you’re a mental health ally boosts support … and shows that you’re a safe resource,” Dega said.
Dega added that DSG will continue advocating for more mental health resources on campus, including outdoor wellness spaces, standing desks, walking desks and sleep pods in the library.
In addition, Barthlemes said faculty will be trained on skills to address mental health challenges. According to Barthelmes, organizers are hosting a mental health first-aid training for faculty on May 14 led by a member of the SWC and Dartmouth Athletics.
“[The training] equips participants to recognize when someone may be experiencing a mental health challenge and respond appropriately,” Barthelmes said.
According to Dartmouth Mental Health Union co-president Benjamin Singer ’27, Dartmouth is a "unique" environment for mental health because personal information can move quickly on a small campus. The College’s high academic expectations can also create stress, he added.
“There are a lot of people who are … having a tougher time than they should be having … [because they are] tricking themselves into [thinking], ‘Oh, that’s just how it is,’” Singer said.
Singer said Mental Health Action Month can spread information about existing resources, explaining that the College has sometimes struggled with “disseminating mental health resources to students.”
“It’s really a shame that the College is not telling you, ‘Hey, you have access to this. You can do this for yourself,’” Singer said.
