On November 30th, student wellness and basketball were united in Wellness Night at the Basketball Game. Students were able to access the different student health services and health information right at the Island Federal Credit Union Arena during the Seawolves game against Loyola University.
Student wellness is a top priority at Stony Brook University and with finals coming up soon, it is very important that students remember to stay healthy. Wellness Night at the Basketball Game took place for the first time at Stony Brook, allowing health and prevention services to become more available to students.
During the basketball game, representatives from the Center for Prevention and Outreach (CPO), Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), and Student Health Services set up tables where they provided students with health and prevention information, along with free flu shots for undergraduate students.
Among the students who received the flu shot at the game was Erica Ferer ’17, who mentioned why she thought Wellness Night was such a success, “I take my health seriously and don’t want to put my body at risk when there is technology and medicine available for me. I am so lucky and grateful to have these options available to me and for free.”
In addition, peer education programs such as CHILL, Red Watch Band, Green Dot and Student Health Advisory Committee (SHAC) were also present with information tables. These peer educators provided information to students regarding mental health, healthy sexual behavior and toxic drinking.
When asked why the decision was made to bring these services to students outside of regular locations and hours, Dr. Marisa Bisiani, Assistant Vice President for Student Health, Counseling and Outreach said, “The wellness event at the basketball game provided access to influenza vaccinations and bystander prevention programs to students that may not have accessed these services from their ‘usual’ locations. This event was about bringing services to the student rather than the student having to seek the service.”
During one of the media time-outs, the student peer educators were invited onto the court for a quick recognition and to distribute some fun giveaways to the crowd.
The event was very successful with a distribution of more than 100 World AIDS Day testing packets by SHAC, over 100 CAPS “CAPS After Hours” palm cards, and seven students were vaccinated against the flu. Throughout the night, more than 150 students stopped by the information tables to learn about the services offered by these clubs.
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