Soothing Jhené Aiko and Erykah Badu songs were playing as students gathered in Rigoberta Menchu Hall for an evening of painting, making body scrubs and building community on Thursday.
Black Residents United in Housing (B.R.U.H.) hosted its second event of the semester, “Time to Self-Care,” with approximately 20 attendees. The event was focused on building community while educating attendees about ways to practice wellness.
“Right now, around this time — holidays, wars, just a lot going on right now, midterms,” said Ibory Moore, former B.R.U.H. president from 2019 to her graduation at the end of Spring 2024. “I just want people to have a space to come relax, destress, and not think about it, and also leave with healthy tips to better take care of themselves.”
Stress is high among college students. According to a survey published by Inside Higher Ed in 2023, 56% of college students reported chronic stress or feeling pressured over a long period of time.
Nathan Ezenwa, the current B.R.U.H. president and a third-year psychology student, said the idea for the event came from a board meeting three weeks ago, where they discussed what would allow students to decompress as they enter a new semester.
Ezenwa said he felt a little stressed since it was his first semester at SFSU.
“I’m from community college, so being here and doing this away from home, and kind of figuring out the semester by myself without that family support, it can be a bit stressful,” said Ezenwa, who’s from Sacramento and transferred from Sierra College.
Jasmine Moore, a third-year art student and B.R.U.H. secretary, was also feeling stressed.
“I’m working two jobs and I’m doing this and I’m going to school,” she said. “I’m going to class two days a week, but I have all these projects, so there’s a lot of things going on, but just trying to find a balance.”
Simran Kaur is the B.R.U.H. treasurer and double majoring in biology and chemistry.
“It’s a lot of work and this is also my third year, so I’m planning to take my med school exams,” Kaur said. “I have one coming up next week actually, so I have a lot of stress about it so I think this event is a great opportunity to just relax.”
According to Kaur, Associated Students funded the event. Customized keychains designed to look like license plates with “SFSU BRUH” written on them were purchased for the event, along with different kinds of chips, sliced fruit, drinks and pretzel roll sandwiches.
“Honestly, I didn’t have any food at home, so I came here for the food, and also connecting with other people. It was one of the best things ever today,” said Mac Tappan, a fourth-year Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts (BECA) student.
“I got to talk about some of the feelings and work out a lot of things,” Tappan said. “We talked about imposter syndrome and self-care and mental health.”
Kali Porter, a third-year international business student, was looking through GatorXperience to look for clubs to join and events to attend when she found out about this event.
“I thought it was really well-organized. Everybody was nice and it was very nice to find a community of my peers,” Porter said. “It was very eye-opening when it comes to understanding more about my mental health and how to take care of myself whilst being a student here at SFSU.”
The event was really intimate, with people getting to know one another and creating community, according to Eden Olweny, a fourth-year interior design and architecture student and president of the African Student Association.
“I learned that everyone is going through similar struggles in their university journey and that we’re not alone,” Olweny said.
