Light the Night Vigil

UNCG students showed their support for classmates dealing with mental health issues on Tuesday by constructing luminaries for the “Light the Night” vigil, held on the lawn in front of the Elliott University Center. The luminaries, on which students wrote messages such as “You are loved for who you are,” were lit at sundown.

According to Andrew Mails, executive director at Wesley-Luther, the campus’s Lutheran and United Methodist ministry and one of those helping students construct luminaries, there has been an increase in the number of UNCG students dealing with mental and emotional issues.

“I’ve seen an uptick in the students needing help this semester,” said Mails, whose organization reaches out to students via service projects such as the campus food bank. The ministry also provides a safe space for LGBTQ students, who are more likely to seek help for mental health issues according to a recent RAND Corporation study.

Light the Night is part of the Department of Recreation and Wellness’s Mental Health Month programming. Other events include an appearance by Melody Moezzi, author of “Haldol and Hyacinths: A Bipolar Life” on September 26 and a “Stomp Out Stigma Step Show” on September 28, both at the Elliott University Center.