Schuyler Burke

More than ever, a mental health crisis faces our country, and the UT community is no stranger to such struggles. Though mental health is a prevalent subject, this public health issue doesn’t affect everyone the same. Certain groups may deal with additional challenges and be more at risk for mental health issues, given a multitude of social factors. 

By calling attention to these unique struggles and furthering our knowledge about how this crisis affects different groups, we as a community can better understand the way that mental health challenges affect our peers and how to best support them. 

In this forum project, we asked members of different UT communities to discuss the culture around mental health within their community and the specific challenges that may come with membership.

Rivers A, a student athlete at UT, reflects on the atmosphere around mental health in the athletic community.

Joey Benton, president of Pi Kappa Alpha, opens up about the mental health experience of men in Greek life and calls on his community to help further the already changing culture.

Nur Sarah Hizam, president of the Muslim Mental Health Organization, addresses the cultural barriers for Muslim students receiving proper mental health support.

Jessica Ramos, academic excellence coordinator for a minority academic engineering society, discusses the effect of being a minority on mental wellness in an academically rigorous environment.

You can find the entire forum project on our website. 

The forum team consists of forum editors Ellie Monday, Tommy Wan and editor-in-chief Lucero Ponce. As always, if you have any thoughts on this topic or any other, please feel free to reach out to us at [email protected].