FALL 2019
We continued our Comet Confessions and Roundtables into the new year, with plenty of meetings and events sprinkled throughout. Our first General Body Meeting (GBM) of the year was September 12th, 2019 - 6:30 pm to 8 pm. We started with an M&M icebreaker before delving into a discussion about school-related stressors, with the beginning of the new semester upon us.
Above are a few art canvases from a social we had on 10/2/19. We had our second GBM on October 10th, 6:30-8 where we talked about thought reframing, mindfulness, as well as letting members know about the events we had lined up for the semester.
We held a fundraiser through Nothing Bundt Cake on 10/17/19, setting up a booth in the Student Union and handing out Active Minds pins. On Halloween, we also hosted a pumpkin painting social. Below are some of the pumpkins that our members painted, as well as a bundt cake purchased from the fundraiser.
Our third GBM was held on 11/7/19, 6:30-8. We introduced the Honorary Member Board, open to all members and designed to have about 5 people, to serve as a system to help us stay on track with what members want to see and to transition smoothly into the next year. Alanna Carrasco, who is part of the UTD Counseling Center and also our chapter advisor, was a guest speaker at the meeting.
We held a series of Roundtable events throughout the semester as well, covering a variety of mental health topics on Wednesdays from 11am-12:30pm.
We finished out the semester with a bang with our Comet Confessions event on 11/21/19 6-9. We encouraged people to write anonymous confessions on a notecard and stick them onto a board, as seen below. It was a great way for everyone to get things off their chest after a long semester, with finals just around the corner.
SPRING 2020
We kicked off the semester with a GBM on 2/6/20, welcoming back our members and listening to a few guest speakers.
For Eating Disorder Awareness Week, we had a series of events planned for the week. On 2/24/20, we had a chalkout, where we wrote out messages in chalk on campus, so that people might see them while walking to class.
On 2/26/20, we launched our project called Operation Beautiful. Similar to the chalkout, we wrote empowering messages on sticky notes and stuck them all around campus so that students could see.
Our second GBM was on 3/5/20, where we focused on how to survive university. College is difficult, and we wanted to share ways that we can all get through the stress in a healthy way.
For the rest of the semester, we had planned a Women's Empowerment Event on 3/25, a Men's Mental Health Event on 3/26, Comet Confessions on 4/2, and another GBM on 4/9. Unfortunately, all of these events were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but we strove to stay connected with our members through our GroupMe and virtual events, such as a movie night that we held near the end of the semester! Though it may have been an anticlimactic end to the year, we stayed strong and adapted for the next year. Check out the virtual projects we launched for the 2020-2021 year on the 2020-2021 Looking Back page if you're curious!