Describe your program and how it enhanced student life at OSU.
According to a recent national study, nearly half of all college students have felt so depressed in the past year that they were unable to function. As a way to combat this startling statistic and communicate a student-led movement, we created the project held on Tuesday, April 22nd titled, “Best Day of Your Life” with the tagline, “Make every day the best day of your life.”
The mission of “Best Day of Your Life” was to present to the campus community a day-long series of random events that appeal to students’ intrinsic values of happiness, in an effort to enhance the mental climate of the University. Unfortunately, most students become turned off as soon as they hear the word ‘depression’ or are approached by a professional. The strategy of “Best Day of Your Life” was to provide a channel of communication that is not stigmatizing or complex, but rather simple and inherent. Happiness is something that everyone has the ability to understand.
Although a majority of our project is carried out through mini-activities that are fun and energetic, these are simply the vehicle through which we delivered our message to the student body: reflect on what it is that makes you happy and be sure to include those things in your life. We tied the event together with an informative website (which had over 3,000 hits on the actual day of the event), a powerful Youtube video, and a variety of pamphlets and other public relations strategies. Our ultimate goal was to help students remember the ‘little things in life’ and remind them that life is a beautiful thing.
“Best Day of Your Life” Activities:
Music (DJ) Stations:
Throughout the day, there were three music stations set up at different, non-academic locations across campus. The stations featured a variety of upbeat, energizing, and happy music, as well as information regarding depression and Coca-cola products, and other treats!
Campus Dining Services Collaboration:
We partnered with Campus Dining in a variety of capacities throughout the event. Throughout campus there were carts handing out free smoothies and the Union staff even helped us out with wearing “Ghostbusters”-style jetpacks filled with iced coffee and lemonade which they used to serve students walking across campus. Also on “Best Day of Your Life,” each dining hall had celebrated “Comfort Food Day” featuring students’ nostalgic favorites including macaroni and cheese, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, pizza, tater tots, and much more. That day the PAD gave away every 50th pizza for free, and ALL pizzas served had the toppings arranged in smiley-faces.
Swag Mobiles:
Volunteers staffed an Ohio Union GEM-car labeled “Smiles for Miles” and drove around campus surprising hundreds of students with free gifts, granting us the opportunity to instantly brighten someone’s day. Everyone loves free stuff. Examples include CFL Light Bulbs with the message, “Add light to your life!”, Lip balm promoting that the New Ohio Union would be “lip-smacking good,” rubber duck-shaped stress-relievers, gift certificates and free meal vouchers from Columbus businesses, and giant BUCK-ID checks distributed to unsuspecting students Publisher’s Clearing House-style.
Giant Inflatable Duck:
As made evident in our giveaway items, we utilized the image of a rubber ducky as a recurring symbol of this campaign. Thus, for that day, we erected a 25ft inflatable yellow duck on the Oval, in an effort to make a visual impression on campus and get students both curious and excited about the day’s events. This was rented through the company Inflatable Images located in Brunswick.
Morning Energizer:
In an effort to get things kicked off as early as 8am, coffee-flavored smoothies, high-energy volunteers, and powerful “town-crier”-type speakers worked to get students off to a great start. This activity was located at the DJ Stations.
Transportation & Parking Collaboration:
In support of this initiative, Transportation & Parking also implemented several collaborative efforts. On Tuesday, they changed the headers on the buses to reflect the "Have a Great Day" theme; told the drivers to greet all passengers with a smile (and we've allowed them to wear "casual Friday" clothes to help THEM have a great day and be friendly; and the officers refrained from citing minor violations and distributing cards explaining that while they are technically in violation, we are not citing - just calling attention to it to support your efforts. See card design below:
OSU Celebrities:
Both Brutus Buckeye and President Gee came to the Oval to support our initiative, greet students, and help us pass out free prizes around campus during the morning. President Gee gave away two free President’s Club football tickets to one unsuspecting student.
Ice cream truck:
CD101 brought their ice cream truck to the South Oval, distributing free ice cream to all students.
Bubble Wrap:
Everyone loves bubble-wrap! So, in an effort to both do something extraordinary and give students the chance to “pop until they drop,” small carry-away sheets of bubble-wrap were distributed at the DJ stations.
Honk if You’re Happy:
At 15th Ave and High Street, signs and volunteers got cars to ‘honk if they’re happy.’ This was an opportunity to involve commuters, faculty, and members of the Columbus community.
Why is this program the most outstanding at OSU? How does it actively involve students, embrace the university initiatives of diversity and/or collaborate with other organizations or university departments?
As an Ohio Staters, Incorporated project, “Best Day of Your Life” began as an initiative solely coordinated by members of the organization. However, upon realizing the full potential of the mental health campaign, the project rapidly expanded, promoting social interaction and establishing strong partnerships with faculty, staff and students. Members of multiple student organizations volunteered their efforts, including Student-Alumni Council, Undergraduate Student Government and the Campus Suicide Prevention Program.
Above all, “Best Day of Your Life” reached a wide audience of students, as many of its campus-wide activities and messages are two-sided. By creating multiple channels for students to reflect on happiness, the project intended to both remind students to appreciate the things that bring light to their lives and to encourage them to incorporate more of these things into daily routines, working toward a balanced life. Additionally, it is understood that some students may realize throughout these interactions that they have a particularly difficult time finding things that make them happy. It is in these instances that the project works to direct “lost” students to resources run through the Student Wellness Center, Counseling and Consultation Services and other non-University mental wellness initiatives. Without a doubt, the Ohio State student population’s experience is enhanced through both “Best Day of Your Life” and similar initiatives that seek to reform the alarming mental climate surrounding this University and those around the nation.
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