Chapter 2: Wellness
It all starts with you!
Congratulations for deciding to invest in yourself and making it to the second week of classes! You chose to be a part of Eastern and now the university is here to support you as you grow academically, professionally, and personally. At EKU you will not just obtain the skills and knowledge needed to be successful in your desired career path through the classes you take; you have joined a community of staff, faculty, and other students who want to help you become the best version of yourself. In this section, we invite you to consider your own health, learn about healthy practices and different components of wellbeing, and explore what steps you can take to take care of yourself and others as a way to succeed at EKU.
Learning Objectives
This chapter will:
- Explain the dimensions of wellness and why wellness is important for students
- Provide tips for communicating with professors, especially when stressed
- Describe what personal and social wellness campus resources are available to you as an EKU student
Why college?
When asked, most students say they’re in college primarily for the job they want after graduation. And they are correct that a college education pays off enormously in terms of future earnings, job security and stability, and job satisfaction. Decades of research shows that people with a university education will make much more in their lifetime on average and be much happier with the work they do.
Yet, career issues are only a part of the big picture. A university education results in many other personal benefits, and these also should be part of your motivation for doing well and continuing with your college plans. Here are a few additional, not-so-obvious and long term benefits of a university education:
- You will have a fuller life and a better understanding of the world around you
- You will gain decision-making and problem-solving skills
- You will meet a diversity of people and have a richer social life
- You will gain self-confidence
- You will gain learning skills that can continue for a lifetime
- You will make more informed decisions about lifestyle issues and live healthier
- You will make wiser economic decisions the rest of your life
- You will be better equipped to navigate and interact with other people, organizations, and governmental agencies
- You will feel more fully a part of your community, the larger culture, and history
Sadly, however, it’s important to recognize that some students do not succeed in college and “stop out” within the first year. Sometimes it’s because of an unsolvable financial problem or a personal or family crisis. Yet, two other big reasons for why students don’t complete their course work are: (1) motivation and focus and (2) mental health.
{create infographic of data about risk factors from the sallie mae report}
A class like GSD 101 helps you stay motivated when things get tough, but it can’t necessarily give you motivation to start with. That’s part of what you yourself have to bring to EKU. What we can promise you is that you can learn the skills for succeeding in college and we can provide the opportunities for supporting your success.
What is wellness?
Well-being is an overall state of happiness, health, and the sense that your life is going well. It encompasses many different aspects of your life such as your physical health, relationships, career, and environment. All of these aspects of your life are connected and affect how happy you are.
It is crucial to understand that wellness is not merely the absence of illness or distress. Wellness is a lifelong process of making decisions to live a more balanced and meaningful life. A good way to enhance your wellness is by evaluating your current state and establishing systems to guide you towards a fuller sense of well-being.
The Global Wellness Institute defines wellness as “the active pursuit of activities, choices, and lifestyles that lead to a state of holistic health.”
Why Does Wellness Matter to Students?
Students’ health and well-being contribute to your ability to learn in all disciplines including health and physical education. This learning, in turn, contributes to overall well-being. Learning the skills to research and analyze knowledge is key to making healthy choices and informed decisions. As a result, you may recognize and change your own behaviours as you become critical consumers of health information.
Health and wellness are foundational to student success. Yet we do not always have control over our own wellbeing: social environments, personal background, economic status, geographic location, and belief systems all have an impact on our health, for instance. Leading a healthy life can be particularly challenging for college students as you navigate new academic and personal challenges and increased responsibilities. Between classwork, jobs, and family obligations, it’s often hard to get enough rest or eat a healthy meal. You, like many of your peers, may deal with anxiety, mental health conditions, or chronic illness, and may wonder how to achieve a healthy and balanced lifestyle.
Figure X: The Wellness Wheel (Wellness wheel handout).
Physical wellness: Taking care of your body through physical activity, nutrition, sleep, and mental well-being. For example:
- Engage in some form of physical activity every day for at least 30 minutes
- Eat a variety of healthy foods
- Get an adequate amount of sleep every night (7–9 hours)
Emotional wellness: Making time to relax, reduce stress, and take care of yourself. Paying attention to both positive and negative feelings and understanding how to handle these emotions. For example:
- Practice mindfulness
- Start a gratitude journal
- Pay attention to self-talk and shift toward positive self-talk
- Track emotions daily to look for patterns and possible triggers
Academic/career wellness: Expanding your knowledge and creating strategies to support continued learning. For example:
- Set up academic goals
- Create a study schedule and plan ahead
- Form a study group
- Connect with a mentor to further your understanding of career ideas
- Review your short and long-term career goals regularly to make sure you are on track
Social wellness: Taking care of your relationships and society by building healthy, nurturing, and supportive relationships and fostering a genuine connection with those around you. For example:
- Make an effort to keep in touch with individuals who are supportive
- Practice active listening skills
- Join a club or an organization to meet new people
- Be mindful of commitments you make – know your limitations (don’t spread yourself too thin)
Creative wellness: Valuing and actively participating in arts and cultural experiences as a means to understand and appreciate the surrounding world. For example:
- Play an instrument or make music
- Engage in the visual arts
- Try creative writing
- Engage in creativity through movement (dance)
Spiritual wellness: Taking care of your values and beliefs and creating purpose in your life. For example:
- Volunteer
- Meditate
- Express gratitude
- Practice forgiveness and compassion for yourself and others
Environmental wellness: Taking care of what is around you. Living in harmony with the Earth by taking action to protect it and respecting nature and all species. For example:
- Spend time in nature
- When possible, travel by walking, riding your bike, or taking public transportation
- Recycle and compost
- Use reusable water bottles and shopping bags
Stress and College
We all live with occasional stress. Since college students often feel even more stress than most people, it’s important to understand it and learn ways to deal with it so that it doesn’t disrupt your life. Stress is a natural response of the body and mind to a demand or challenge. The thing that causes stress, called a stressor, captures our attention and causes a physical and emotional reaction. Stressors include physical threats, such as a car we suddenly see coming at us too fast, and the stress reaction likely includes jumping out of the way—with our heart beating fast and other physical changes. Most of our stressors are not physical threats but situations or events like an upcoming test or an emotional break-up. Stressors also include long-lasting emotional and mental concerns such as worries about money or finding a job.
Since many stressors are unavoidable, the question is what to do about the resulting stress. A person can try to ignore or deny stress for a while, but then it keeps building and starts causing all those problems. So we have to do something. Consider first what you have typically done in the past when you felt most stressed. Here are a few examples of how college students have responded to stress.
- Drinking alcohol
- Drinking lots of coffee
- Sleeping a lot
- Eating too much
- Eating too little
- Smoking or drugs
- Having arguments
- Sitting around depressed
- Watching television or surfing the Web
- Overly complaining to friends
- Exercising, jogging, biking
- Practicing yoga or tai chi
- Meditating
- Using relaxation techniques
- Talking with an professor or counsellor
What’s wrong with the first ten stress-reduction behaviors listed first? Why not watch television or get a lot of sleep when you’re feeling stressed, if that makes you feel better?
While it may feel better temporarily to escape feelings of stress in those ways, ultimately they may cause more stress themselves. If you’re worried about grades and being too busy to study as much as you need to, then letting an hour or two slip by watching television will make you even more worried later because then you have even less time. Eating too much may make you sluggish and less able to focus. Alcohol, caffeine, smoking, and drugs all generally increase one’s stress over time. Complaining too much to friends? Over time, your friends will tire of hearing it or tire of arguing with you because a complaining person isn’t much fun to be around. So eventually you may find yourself even more alone and stressed.
Yet there is a bright side: there are lots of very positive ways to cope with stress that will also improve your health, make it easier to concentrate on your studies, and make you a happier person overall. The last five items on our list are more positive ways to cope.
Change of Routine and Homesickness
For many students, college marks a shift in your routine. High school students and workers have their days highly structured for them. College students have much more autonomy over their day to day lives. Therefore, it’s critical that you create a routine for yourself so that you build a strong foundation that sets you up for success.
Tips for Building a Routine
- Make a list with all the things you need to do
- Structure your day – morning, midday, evening – according to priority
- Get specific
- Have buffer time for flexibility
- Put it into motion and reevaluate every so often
Tips for Homesickness
It’s extremely normal to feel adrift when you’re away from home, wherever that may be. The kneejerk reaction to homesickness for students is often to go home. However, by going home you’re missing out on the different chances for you to build a routine, establish and deepen relationships on campus, and attend events. Here are some things you can do to help work through homesickness:
- Set regular calls with loved ones
- Plan a visit to have something to look forward to
- Bring things from home as reminders
- Acknowledge your feelings and know they are normal
- Talk to a friend, family member, or counselor
- Join a registered student organization
- Dive into your coursework
- Attend events on campus
Communication with Professors and Stress
College students are sometimes surprised to discover that professors like students and enjoy getting to know them. The human dimension of college really matters, and as a student you are an important part of your professor’s world. Most professors are happy to see you during their office hours or to talk a few minutes after class, especially if you’re facing obstacles with your coursework.
Active participation in learning is a key to student success. Talking with your professors often leads to benefits beyond simply doing well in that class.
- Talking with professors helps you feel more comfortable in college and more connected to the campus. Students who talk to their professors are less likely to become disillusioned and drop out.
- Talking with professors is a valuable way to learn about an academic field or a career.
- You may need a reference or letter of recommendation for a job or internship application. Getting to know some of your professors puts you in an ideal position to ask for a letter of recommendation or a reference in the future when you need one.
- Because professors are often well connected within their field, they may know of a job, internship, or research possibility you otherwise may not learn about. A professor who knows you is a valuable part of your network. Networking is very important for future job searches and other opportunities. In fact, most jobs are found through networking, not through classified ads or online job postings.
- Think about what it truly means to be educated: how one thinks, understands society and the world, and responds to problems and new situations. Much of this learning occurs outside the classroom. Talking with your highly educated professors can be among your most meaningful experiences in college.
Tips for Success: Talking with Professors
When you have a question, ask it sooner rather than later.
Be prepared and plan your questions and comments in advance.
Be respectful but personable and communicate professionally.
Be open minded and ready to learn. Avoid whining and complaining.
There is no such thing as a “stupid question.”
Emailing a Professor Best Practices
E-mail has a critical role in education and has become an important and valuable means of communicating with professors. Especially when it is difficult to see a professor in person during office hours, e-mail can be an effective form of communication and interaction with professors. E-mail is also an increasingly effective way to collaborate with other students on group projects or while studying with other students. Students who text with friends have often adopted shortcuts, such as not spelling out full words, ignoring capitalization and punctuation, and not bothering with grammar or full sentence constructions. This is inappropriate in an email message to a professor, who expects a more professional quality of writing. Most professors expect your communications to be in full sentences with correctly spelled words and reasonable grammar.
Follow these email writing guidelines:
- Use the subject line to label your message effectively at a glance. “May I make an appointment?” says something; “In your office?” doesn’t.
- Address e-mail messages as you do a letter. Include your full name if it’s not easily recognizable in your email account.
- Get to your point quickly and concisely. Don’t make the reader scroll down a long email to see what it is you want to say.
- Because email is a written communication, it does not express emotion the way a voice message does. Don’t attempt to be funny, ironic, or sarcastic, Write as you would in a paper for class. In a large lecture class or an online course, your e-mail voice may be the primary way your professor knows you, and emotionally charged messages can be confusing or give a poor impression.
- Don’t use capital letters to emphasize. All caps look like SHOUTING.
- Avoid abbreviations, nonstandard spelling, slang, and emoticons like smiley faces. These do not convey a professional tone.
- Don’t make demands or state expectations such as “I’ll expect to hear from you soon” or “If I haven’t heard by 4 p.m., I’ll assume you’ll accept my paper late.”
- When you reply to a message, leave the original message within yours. Your reader may need to recall what he or she said in the original message.
- Be polite. End the message with a “Thank you” or something similar.
- Proofread your message before sending it.
- With any important message to a work supervisor or professor, it’s a good idea to wait and review the message later before sending it. You may have expressed an emotion or thought that you will think better about later. Many problems have resulted when people sent messages too quickly without thinking.
Student Success Resources at EKU
At EKU, we’re dedicated to creating opportunities for students to reach their full potential. We understand that for you to reach your full potential you need wrap around support services that welcome you, provide you accurate and timely information, and impart the special skills needed to thrive in college. In this section, you will be introduced to the different offices that exist at EKU to champion your personal health and wellness.
Mental Health and Wellness
As just noted in the section above, mental health challenges are a leading cause for why students don’t complete their course work. Many people understand that their physical health – how your body feels and how it is functioning – is important. People know on some level they need to eat, sleep, and attend to their everyday life tasks. However, your emotional and mental health is just as important as your physical health. If you’re unhappy, distressed, and overwhelmed much of the time, you will not do as well as in college because your ability to engage with your classes, classwork, and social activities can be clouded. Moreover, research shows that your emotional and mental health has direct impacts on your physical health, leading to a potentially difficult cycle to break out of.
EKU’s Counseling Center (Whitlock Building, 5th Floor)
To help you with the stressors of college life you can visit EKU’s Counseling Center. The Counseling Center not only focuses on mental health, but motivation, academic performance, and strategies for improving overall happiness. The office is staffed by trained mental health clinicians. Anything you share is held in the strictest confidence, and there is no charge for care. Whether you wish to better your mental health or need help with working through past or current struggles, the Counseling Center is here to help.
EKU’s Psychology Clinic
EKU’s Psychology Clinic is another resource that is free for EKU students. The EKU Psychology Clinic is an outpatient integrated behavioral health care facility operated by the Department of Psychology at Eastern Kentucky University.
EKU Psychology Clinic Services:
- Individual Therapy
- Assessment, Evaluation, or Testing Services for different behavioral health diagnoses and disorders
- Consultation Services
- Couples & Family Therapy
- Therapy, Processing, & Support Groups such as the African American Specialty Clinic, the Autism Clinic, La Clínica, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression Clinic and the Trauma and Suicide Prevention Clinic
- Outreach Services
- Tele-psychological Services
Services are provided by doctoral students working on graduate degrees in clinical psychology. All clinicians have received specialized graduate training and are closely supervised by a licensed psychologist faculty member.
Wellness Rooms & Sensory Spaces
- EKU Counseling Center Relaxation Room – Whitlock 567
- Student Stress Management Center – interactive space for sensory support & a place to rest – Rowlett 145
- El Centro’s Decompression Room – McCreary 219
Bobby Verdugo & Yoli Ríos Bilingual Peer Mentor and Tutoring Center aka “El Centro” (Library 106)
El Centro offers bilingual tutoring and mentoring for students interested in multilingual and multicultural community building and scholarship. Tutoring is offered in a variety of languages including Spanish, German, Japanese, etc. Additionally, El Centro also offers tutoring in subject areas such as social work, public health, sciences, anthropology, sociology, etc. El Centro provides a space to apply the skills learned in language and culture classes in real-world settings through volunteering or service-learning community engagement.
El Centro also offers mentoring services where students meet once a week with a peer mentor. Each student is assigned a mentor based on major, academic, or personal needs. Within each mentoring session, students can receive help with navigating college, class advising, schedule building, networking, interview skills, email best practices, applications, essays, resumes, cover letters, scholarships, etc.
EKU Honors Program
The EKU Honors program makes innovative, hands-on, and thought-provoking classes and resources available to motivated and creative students who want an in-depth college classroom experience with a strong grounding in an interdisciplinary, liberal arts education.
No matter the major, students in the Honors Program benefit from small, innovative classes that can fulfill general education and university requirements. Before graduating as an Honors Scholar, each student completes an honors thesis on a topic of their choice. Current EKU students are welcome to apply to the Honors Program, even if they did not start in it as incoming freshmen.
If interested, visit the EKU Honors program website to learn more about honors and apply to honors.
Center for Inclusive Excellence and Global Engagement (Powell Ground Floor)
The Center for Inclusive Excellence and Global Engagement (CIEGE) is a student-centered campus hub in the lower level of the Powell Student Center.
Through programming, mentorship, and co-curricular engagement, the CIEGE works to celebrate, support, and provide a sense of belonging for students at Eastern Kentucky University. CIEGE imagines and supports a campus environment where students will be inclusive thinkers that are confident, responsible, global minded with a strong sense of belonging from admission to graduation and beyond.
Center for Student Parents (Turley House)
The Center for Student Parents is a place to feel supported, accepted, and prepared for life as a parenting college student. Through guidance, academic support, advising, workshops, referrals, and employment opportunities, student parents can graduate and meet educational and personal goals. At the Center for Student Parents Richmond location there is a:
- Computer and study lab
- Family friendly study spaces
The Richmond office is located in the Turley House. The Corbin office is located in Room 117.
Office of Military and Veterans Affairs (Powell Middle Floor)
The Office of Military and Veterans Affairs (OMVA) offers a variety of services and opportunities for students who have served in the United States Military, including targeted tuition rates, priority registration, adventure programming, and a textbook lending program. OMVA also houses a VA certifying official who assists with the completion of important paperwork each semester. This office also facilitates a number of opportunities for vets to connect with fellow vets through peer-to-peer mentoring and tutoring, adventure programming, and special workshops designed to meet the needs of our vets. The staff also serves as advocates for our valued service members and their families.
Student Life and First Year Experiences (Powell Middle Floor)
Being an EKU Colonel means building upon what you learn in the classroom by embracing the opportunities and experiences EKU offers. Foster your intellectual, physical, and social development through programs and services which challenge and support you as you develop attitudes, abilities, and skills for life-long learning within an ever-changing global environment.
Your college experience is what you make of it. Make the most of your time at EKU.
- Follow your passions and make a difference by volunteering.
- Make memories that last a lifetime through Student Life & E3 events.
- Develop your leadership skills and abilities with our leadership programs.
- Embrace your hobbies and interests through hundreds of student organizations and clubs.
- Join a community of dedicated and supportive students who share your goals and values by joining a fraternity or sorority.
You can check out events on campus through the Engage website here: https://eku.campuslabs.com/engage/.
Physical Health and Wellness
Similar to mental health and wellness, physical health and wellness is critical to your success as an EKU student. If you’re sick, hurt, or too stressed out to move your body around that feels good to you, it is inevitably going to impact your ability to attend class, pay attention, and participate in on and off events.
EKU’s Student Health Services (Rowlett Building 103)
Student Health Services is an outpatient, acute care clinic located on campus on the first floor of the Rowlett Building. All enrolled EKU students are welcome to use Student Health Services for free. Some of the services provided are:
- Evaluation and treatment of illnesses and injuries
- Physicals
- Gynecological care and birth control
- Rapid testing for flu, strep throat, urinary tract infections, mononucleosis, anemia and blood sugar
- Continuation of allergy injections
- TB skin testing
- Mental health services by a psychiatric nurse practitioner
- Evaluation and treatment of sexually transmitted infections and diseases
To be seen you need to make an appointment. To schedule an appointment call 859-622-1761. Please arrive on time for all appointments. Hours of operation are Monday through Friday 8 am – 4:30 pm.
Campus Recreation
Campus Recreation’s mission is to enhance campus and community life by providing excellent service, programs, and experiences that encourage holistic well-being. They are here to develop students, be inclusive, and bring fulfillment to student’s college experience. They offer an array of opportunities to get involved and find community on campus.
Access to the facility and their programs is included in your student fees as long as you are taking 5 or more credit hours on the Richmond campus. They are also the largest student employer on campus, and there are 20 different Camp jobs where you can gain career building skills!
Check out the mobile app “EKU Campus Recreation” and follow their social media accounts to stay in the know.
Food on Campus
Case Dining Hall aka “Upper Case”
“Upper Case” features full access for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, with international entrees, grill, deli, salad bar, and more. The dining style is an all you can eat buffet where you “swipe” or “tap” using your TransAct App to get in. All full-time undergraduate students under the age of 21, having earned fewer than 60 credit hours, or less than four academic semesters living on campus, are required to live in University residence hall facilities and must choose one of the residential meal plans. This means that more than likely you have the option to eat at Upper Case for a majority of your meals.
If you do not enroll in a meal plan, the minimum plan will be assigned to you at the beginning of the academic term (5-Day All Access with 300 flex).
Lower Case
Lower case hosts food establishments where you can use traditional forms of payment or your flex dining dollars. Currently, there is Moe’s Southwest Grill, Panda Express, Subway, Chick-fil-A, and a POD Express. Depending on your meal plan status, you could use a VIP swipe during certain hours. Find out more here: https://www.eku.edu/campus-dining/.
The Corner
Located on the 1st floor of the Powell Building, The Corner offers burgers, fries, pizzas, and more. They accept traditional forms of payment or your flex dining dollars.
Stratton Café
Stratton Café may be EKU’s best kept secret with a full salad bar, grilled items, a deli, and a home cooking station. The Café is located in the Stratton Building.
Registered Dietician
Did you know EKU has a registered dietitian who is available to support you with your dietary needs?
Jillian Cupp is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University where she completed her undergraduate degree in General Dietetics, she then went on to complete her dietetic internship in Riverdale, Georgia at Southern Regional Medical Center. Jillian has had previous experience as a clinical dietitian at Northside Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, and was a part time diet tech in an eating disorder clinic. Jillian believes in a health at every size and all foods fit philosophy and wants to assist in busting nutrition myths to college students.
Jillian is available to help students with food allergies/intolerances and find foods in Case Kitchen to accommodate students.
If you would like assistance, please contact her at cupp-jillian@aramark.com
Colonel’s Cupboard
The Colonel’s Cupboard at Eastern Kentucky University provides a variety of resources to students as part of the university’s commitment to ensuring students have what they need to succeed.
These items are available at no cost to students:
- Fresh foods: dairy, eggs, vegetables, various frozen and refrigerated items
- Pantry foods: canned foods, boxed foods, snack food items
- Toiletry items: soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, menstrual products
- Clothing: available through Colonel’s Closet (located within the cupboard)
Please be sure to check our hours before visiting, or submit a request through Engage to confirm when the cupboard is available. During walk-in hours, students may go directly to Powell 215 to visit the cupboard. Appointments MUST arrive at Powell 152 to be escorted to the cupboard.
University Support and Wellness Resources
Some student support units on campus are about making sure you get what you need administratively. That is, they are about making sure you have what you need at the university level to be successful in your classes, your dorms, and your favorite places to eat.
Big E Central (Whitlock 2nd Floor or bigecentral@eku.edu)
Big E Central is your primary resource for navigating financial aid, scholarships, billing, payment plans, and registration assistance.
If it is outside of our operating hours, submit a request through their online form.
Walk-In Availability – Mon-Thurs: 8 am – 4pm and Phone Availability – Mon-Fri: 9 am – 4 pm
Center for Student Accessibility (Whitlock 3rd Floor)
The Center for Student Accessibility (CSA) assists students by coordinating campus and program accessibility and providing support in attaining educational goals. Students requesting services, including deaf and hard-of-hearing students, must submit a completed application for services and current health-related documentation.
Applications, documentation guidelines, and additional information are available on the CSA website.
Appointments are made by calling (859) 622-2933 or emailing accessibility@eku.edu.
Office of Advising and Career Services (Whitlock 468)
The Office of Advising and Career Services (OACS) assists students in achieving their academic and career-related goals, from navigating their first year of college and choosing an inspiring major/career to pursuing experiential learning and preparing to target a variety of job opportunities. Services include academic advising, career counseling, co-op/internship search and assistance, job search preparation, employer events and a Part-Time Job Program.
Card Services and Meal Plans (Powell Ground Floor)
Your Colonel Card serves as your official EKU identification and is used for services on campus like meal plans (meal swipes and flex dollars), building access, athletics, events, Colonel Cash, mail and package collection, and borrowing materials from EKU Libraries.
Click here for a Colonel’s Card FAQ guide.
Housing
Eastern Kentucky University has a two-year residency requirement because we strongly believe that living on campus provides both immediate and long-term benefits. National studies and those specific to EKU both confirm that students who reside on campus:
- Tend to remain in school at a higher rate and have higher GPAs than those who never lived on campus.
- Come into contact more often with their peers and may be exposed to different ideas and cultures that strengthen communication and interpersonal skills.
- Tend to be more involved in campus activities and have more contact with faculty, university staff members, and other students, which results in deeper, more meaningful relationships that often continue beyond their time at EKU.
You’ll read more about housing and navigating potential opportunities for growth later in the semester. For more information about EKU’s housing, please visit: https://www.eku.edu/housing/
Office of Equal Opportunity and Title IX (Jones Building 416)
The Office of Equal Opportunity and Title IX performs the following four functions in service to the University community: Policy on Discrimination and Harassment, Recruitment and Selection Practices, Trainings and Educational Programs, and Equal Opportunity. Sexual harassment and sexual assault are forms of sex discrimination that are prohibited by Title IX and may include off campus conduct of such nature. The Office of Equal Opportunity and Title IX is charged with the University’s compliance with Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. File a report here: Equal Opportunity and Title IX Reporting Form
EKU Police Department (701 Vickers Drive, Richmond KY 40475 | Phone: 859-622-111)
The Eastern Kentucky University Police Department provides 24-hour patrol of campus buildings, parking lots, residence hall exteriors, and campus grounds. Patrol is by motor vehicle, bicycle, and on foot. The department does not provide patrol services to the regional campuses, but may provide other services to include investigations and crime prevention programs. File a report here: Campus Security Authority Incident Form
Summary
- Pay attention to, rather than ignore, things that cause you stress and change what you can.
- Accept what you can’t change and resolve to make new habits that will help you cope.
- Get regular exercise and enough sleep.
- Evaluate your priorities, work on managing your time, and schedule restful activities in your daily life. Students who feel in control of their lives report feeling much less stress than those who feel that circumstances control them.
- Slow down and focus on one thing at a time—don’t check for e-mail or text messages every few minutes! Know when to say no to distractions.
- Break old habits involving caffeine, alcohol, and other substances.
- Remember your long-range goals and don’t obsess over short-term difficulties.
- Make time to enjoy being with friends.
- Explore new activities and hobbies that you enjoy.
- Find a relaxation technique that works for you and practice regularly.
- Get help if you’re having a hard time coping with emotional stress.
- The college and its staff want to see you succeed, but you have to ask for the help you need to succeed.
- Using Student or Campus services is not a sign of weakness, but seen as a trait of successful students.
- Participating in your learning by respectfully talking with professors. The benefits of active communication with professors often leads to benefits beyond class grades.
Resources, Licenses, and Attributions:
Liberated Learners Copyright © 2022 by Terry Greene et al. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
A Guide for Successful Students 2nd ed. Copyright © 2023 by Irene Stewart, Aaron Maisonville, and Nicolai Zriachev, St. Clair College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.