WKU student hosts mental health table talk on campus

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) -Students at Western Kentucky University attended their second day of classes on the hill Tuesday and one student decided it would be important to bring attention to mental health.

Shikira is a junior at WKU and along with her mom, she put together a mental health table talk for students. She asked students to answer questions about their concerns for their personal mental health that they maybe were too uncomfortable to say out loud to someone else.

”Mental health to me is really big in my family. It is a struggle, especially in the Bowling Green black community and I feel like it is something people try and run from. They don’t want to speak about it. So I really want to bring mental health awareness here on campus, so we can try to figure out something as a community and as a college. So we can try to figure out how we can help the students that are struggling with mental health, that are scared to talk to somebody or they know someone who is struggling with it,” said Shikira Tunstill, WKU student.

The table talk began at 8 AM on campus Tuesday morning and within an hour almost all of her questionnaires were filled out.

”I was shocked that it went as fast as it did. I was trying to prolong it for about 4 or 5 hours but it was great. I saw some students that had run off from the questions and that was like a red flag to me. That is why I am trying to bring it to campus because a lot of people are afraid to just talk about it,” added Tunstill.

Shikira also added that now more than ever it is important to focus on students’ mental health.

“Especially during COVID, and just this year alone 2020, and just being a college student it can be all the around just be very stressful. I know a lot of people are dealing with a lot of challenges that are hard right now during COVID, so I felt like this was a perfect time. I do know that May is the mental health awareness month but I feel like just this whole year needs to be really focused on mental health. Especially with everyone dealing with this pandemic right now,” added Tunstill.

Shikira plans to have more mental health talks and wants to team up with the counselors at WKU in the future.

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