Springtime is one of the best times to be a Husky at the University of Connecticut. During basketball season, campus seems to be more alive than ever. As the women’s team progressed into the Final Four and the men took home the National Championship, you could feel the school spirit in the air. Are there benefits to this positivity?
While celebrating your school pride can be extremely enjoyable and exciting, some sources show that having school spirit can have even more positive effects. It has been observed throughout the experiences of college students that a sense of belonging and connection can increase positive mental health. When you feel proud of and connected to your campus, as well as the peers around you, your mental health can improve. While it is true that our grades and courses are a vital part of higher education, it is also true that social events and peer interaction are equally large parts of the college experience.
Attending school events, such as sports games, club fundraisers and campus-wide initiatives, can lead to a stronger sense of community and belonging. When we feel more connected to our peers and the community around us, our mental health is likely to improve. Connection is the cure to loneliness, and so it makes sense that when we connect with others, we tend to feel better than we did before.
In an article written by Honor Society, a resource for navigating the higher education system, the author states that having a sense of school pride and connectedness in college can help lead to higher levels of student engagement and academic success. The more connected that students feel to their campus, the more successful they will be in their other pursuits.
It is no secret that mental health has become a growing crisis within the youth of today. Especially on college campuses, the mental health of students is becoming a growing concern. According to “The Healthy Minds Study,” a study on the mental health of college students by the University of Michigan, about 40% of college students experience depression. In addition to this statistic, it is estimated that 36% of students that were surveyed tested positive for an anxiety disorder. While these statistics are less than ideal, there are solutions that can be implemented. It is widely known that mental health can be improved and better dealt with through increasing the connections we have with the world around us. This includes our fellow peers in academic spaces, such as on campus. In an article by the National Alliance for Mental Illness, psychologist David Kraskyoutlines how fostering social connections and engaging in activities on campus can increase positive feelings of self-worth and interconnectedness with others.
There are many factors that you can implement into your campus life to improve social connectedness and mental health. Going to sports games, school and club events and joining clubs can all increase the connection between you and your peers. With the basketball teams being as successful as they are, there are many chances across the Storrs campus to celebrate your school and connect with others. Go Huskies!