Tri Sigma Foundation

The Delta Pi Chapter at Winthrop University recently held its third annual event titled, “Sigma Breaks the Stigma,” which is a week-long effort towards raising awareness about mental health and suicide.

Three years ago, a sister of the Delta Pi chapter recognized a need on the campus that needed to be met in a big way–the ability to be heard and to fight against the stigma surrounding mental health disorders, such as anxiety, depression, and eating disorders, as well as suicide. It became a priority for the chapter to assist this member in breaking the stigma that surrounds mental health and suicide on the campus.

The chapter tables each day in the center of campus then holds an educational event at the end of the week.

The schedule for the week includes:

Monday – Delta Pi focused on anxiety and stress by passing out light blue ribbons, which represent general anxiety disorder. The chapter also had materials such as stress balls, bath salts, and coloring pages for people to come by and create their own stress kit.

Tuesday – Members focused on suicide awareness and prevention by passing out yellow ribbons, which represent suicide awareness. Sisters also passed out “semi-colon” temporary tattoos in recognition of the semi-colon project, a national initiative. The semi-colon is used when an author could have ended a sentence but chose not to, and represents people being the author of their own lives.

Wednesday – The chapter focused on positive body image and eating disorders by passing out light purple ribbons, which represent eating disorders. Delta Pi also had two large mirrors that they invited people to write on with positive messages about themselves.

Thursday – Delta Pi focused on mental health awareness as a whole by passing out green ribbons, which represent mental health awareness. The chapter also had a large chalkboard which read “One day I will…” at the top and they invited people to come by and write goals for their lives, whether short term or long term.

Thursday night, the chapter hosted an educational event where a panel of students and a professional counselor spoke about their experiences with mental health and suicide.