Official newspaper of The University of Texas at Austin

The Daily Texan

Official newspaper of The University of Texas at Austin

The Daily Texan

Official newspaper of The University of Texas at Austin

The Daily Texan

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The intersection of identity and mental health

The+intersection+of+identity+and+mental+health
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].

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About the Contributors
Lucero Ponce, Editor-in-Chief
Lucero Ponce is a third-year student from Laredo, Texas studying journalism and Mexican American & Latino studies. She currently serves as the Texan's Editor-in-Chief and was previously the Texan en Español Director.
Tommy Wan, Forum Editor
Tommy is a freshman civil engineering and plan II major from Houston, Texas. Currently, he is a forum editor and opinion columnist. He is a legislative aide at the Texas Legislature and competes on the Texas Mock Trial Team.
Schuyler Burke, Illustration Coordinator
Schuyler is an Arts and Entertainment Technologies Sophomore from Austin, Texas. Currently she works as an Illustration Coordinator for the Opinion Department at the Texan. She was previously an opinion Illustrator. Schuyler loves to create and read in her free time.