Aloha Yellow Jackets,

For those returning to Georgia Tech: welcome back!  For those who are new Yellow Jackets, congratulations on joining the Ramblin’ Wreck family! I can hardly believe summer is over and another academic year is upon us. I’m excited to share the many new things happening in Student Engagement and Well-Being as we continue to support you as students both in and out of the classroom!

This is the inaugural issue of a new monthly newsletter my office will be distributing. In this issue I want to cover information to help you start the semester with all the right tools!  These include:

• Opening of the John Lewis Student Center
• Launching the Cultivate Well-Being Action & Transformation Roadmap
• Celebrating 100 Years of the Dean of Students
• Starting the Semester Successfully & Safely
• Protecting Yourself from Monkeypox
• Reminder of Health and Reproductive Services on Campus
• Voter Registration Information
• Closing Thoughts

Opening of the John Lewis Student Center and Stamps Commons

One of the most exciting events this semester – in fact this DECADE! - is the grand opening of the John Lewis Student Center.  John R. Lewis was a formidable leader in the movements for social justice and equality; his spirit will certainly inspire the programs and places that we plan to offer from this amazing new Center. This project was almost 10 years in the making, and I’m grateful to the staff from the Student Center, Tech Dining, and construction teams who have worked diligently over the summer to make the building ready in time for Fall opening. 

The renovated building includes a new home for our Center for Student Engagement, a brand-new dining hub with 11 different food concepts, Tech Rec, Graduate Student lounge, Burdell’s, and many meeting and reflection spaces to accommodate all of your academic and social needs.  I’m most looking forward to grabbing some yummylicious rolls at Bento Sushi for lunch!

A formal Opening Celebration will be held at the end of September. I hope to see you there!

Launching the Cultivate Well-Being Action & Transformation Roadmap

After spending the last year carefully listening to students, faculty and staff in a variety of venues, we have developed an updated Institute Strategic Plan for Well-Being.  The original plan offered some key steps for change; this new plan builds on that to make sure our goals and objectives lead to the culture change that many have passionately expressed is needed at Georgia Tech.

The Cultivate Well-Being Action & Transformation Roadmap for students identifies four priority goals, supported by 26 action strategies in total. The Roadmap is based on a philosophical assumption that health, wellness, and well-being are the outcomes of a complex, complicated and sometimes unpredictable interplay between numerous conditions and factors at the individual, community, organizational and societal levels. As such, this Roadmap advances a cultural change model - one which requires the interest, investment, involvement, and innovation of all members of the Georgia Tech community - or collective impact – most importantly of you as the students!

Georgia Tech enrolls a student body that is deeply committed to activism and advocacy so as to improve quality of life for themselves and the surrounding Atlanta community; we have a legacy of unquenchable optimism, tenacity and can-do attitude that pave the way for success. So look for ways you can become involved in advancing the Roadmap in the coming weeks and months!

Celebrating 100 Years of the Dean of Students

After 100 years, the purpose of the Dean of Students office remains the same – to be a source of steadfast support and advocacy for students during all times of their academic career at Georgia Tech.  The position has only been held by five different Deans and has evolved into a team of staff and resources deeply dedicated to student success. No matter the reason, students can find a friend where they can seek guidance, counsel, and direction to navigate all of life’s challenges. As a reminder, you can access services from the DOS by going to this referral link. Be sure to check keep an eye out for an upcoming schedule of events to celebrate this milestone with us!

Starting the Semester Successfully

I want to encourage you to be mindful of your personal health and wellness in all dimensions from the beginning of the semester by starting self-care practices today before the stressful points of the semester begin.  Georgia Tech offers a vast array of health and wellness services to support you on your academic journey but starting your year with mindful self-care and healthy habits will prepare you for those more challenging moments in the semester and hopefully make them easier to navigate.

In addition, it’s important to build and sustain a network of social support, which can include friends, family members, fur babies and anyone or anything else that helps to rejuvenate and restore you! Research shows that having just 1-2 close friends can have a measurably positive impact on an individual’s mental health.  For me, a weekly phone call with my mom, regular Bitmoji exchanges with my sister, a Sunday night gaming session with my brother, and daily pet therapy with my cat and new Siamese kitten do wonders for my spirit!

Finally, start practicing how to ask for help: nobody can make it at Georgia Tech alone: we all need help at some point during the academic journey. So, don’t hesitate to reach out to faculty, staff, student service offices, or community organizations when you start to feel anxious or overwhelmed – or just need to talk things through.

Campus Safety

I recognize that campus safety may be on the minds of many students given the multiple active shooter events that have occurred across the US. Georgia Tech has a Crisis Management Team, and key personnel engage in training exercises to prepare in the event our community is targeted for violence. Students can also participate in active shooter trainings or self-defense courses offered by the GT Police Department. 

I encourage you to download LiveSafe, a free safety app for mobile phones. The app features include “GoSafe,” which invites roommates, friends, and family to virtually follow students as they travel from one location to another (particularly helpful after a late-night studying session).

I also want to raise awareness about the “Red Zone” – those first 12 weeks of the Fall term when the incidents of sexual assault on campus tend to be the highest.  Georgia Tech participates in a nationwide initiative known as Culture of Respect. It incorporates a community-based approach to preventing sexual and intimate partner violence, in which each of us can please a role to challenge and change culture that historically normalizes and encourages sexual violence. Everyone has a responsibility to look out for each other, support each other, and hold each other accountable for their actions. Risk reduction behaviors on the part of potential victims should not be conflated with primary prevention, where potential perpetrators are stopped before violence occurs. Bystander intervention – whether by speaking up or by stepping in - is one powerful way to foster change. For more information about sexual violence prevention, bystander intervention strategies, and victim support visit Health Initiatives.

Protecting Yourself from Monkeypox

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), monkeypox is a rare disease caused by infection with the monkeypox virus and can spread to anyone through close, personal, often skin-to-skin contact.

Stamps Health Services can evaluate students who are concerned they may have monkeypox, including facilitating testing. Providers at Stamps can also work with the Department of Public Health to provide treatment if that is indicated. Students can call 404.894.1420 or go to health.gatech.edu to make an appointment. At this time, a vaccine is available through the Georgia Department of Public Health through local health departments but not currently at Stamps Health Services.

Anyone diagnosed with monkeypox should follow guidance from Stamps, their healthcare provider, the CDC, or Department of Public Health regarding isolation.  For more information about monkeypox, visit cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox.  

Reminder of Health and Reproductive Services on Campus

One of our primary goals in the Division of Student Engagement & Well-Being is to protect and support the health and wellness of all our students – regardless of political affiliation or personal beliefs. We remain committed to sustaining an inclusive community in which we aim to reduce health disparities and foster gender equity.

The US Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization this summer decision will have a resounding impact on the Georgia Tech community -   in particular on women, trans and nonbinary people, people of color, those who are economically disadvantaged, individuals who are disabled, and survivors of gender-based violence. Stamps Health Services provides medical care for all students who can become pregnant; available services will not be affected by the Supreme Court ruling in the short term. What we offer may be affected if/when the state of Georgia enacts legislation in response to the ruling. At the present time Stamps will continue to do the following:

• The Stamps Health Services Women's Clinic will continue to provide a full slate of contraceptive options.  We also offer free condoms.
• We will continue to offer emergency contraception. 
• Women's Health will continue to offer free pregnancy testing and options counseling.  
• We do not provide termination services on-campus but Stamps Health Services, the Women’s Resource Center and VOICE Advocates can assist in locating nearby, reliable resources.
• And for students in need of emergency financial support for medical care, the Dean of Students Emergency Fund is available.

Voter Registration Information

This year US federal and state elections will be held on Tuesday, November 8th. College students should be registered to vote in the county and state where you plan to vote, whether that's at school, home, or somewhere else. That will allow you to vote in person or by mail. Registering to vote when you are in college means you have lots of options: you just need to decide what is best for you.

Visit this link for the most up-to-date US voter registration information.  Additional information for registering to vote in the state of Georgia, as a college student, can be found here.

Closing Thoughts

Let me end this newsletter with a quote from Vivian Greene: “Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass. It’s about learning how to dance in the rain.” #ComeDancing

The Division of Student Engagement and Well-Being remains committed to providing resources, referrals, advocacy, services, and support regarding a wide range of issues impacting students’ lives throughout their time here at Georgia Tech.  I ask each of us to offer grace and treat one another with compassion as we start a new Fall semester together. As always, please do not hesitate to reach out if my office or our division can provide the assistance you need to be successful.

Go Jackets!