The first week of October is Mental Illness Awareness Week.
In support of that, UL scheduled events on campus in hopes of bringing notice about mental health.
The university also announced a half day of classes on Thursday, November 9 with Caemon Scott being the brains of the initiative.
“We often hear of mental health, but not too many people are doing anything about it,” Scott said. “I’m going to be the change, and this is one of my chances to be that change.”
Not only is Scott a sprinter for the Cajuns track team, but he also serves as president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
The Lafayette Christian alum thought to bring the idea to Lafayette in 2022 and put his vision into motion.
Scott created a survey to gauge students interest and in four days he received 700 responses.
“If everybody beneath agrees and says yes, how could the president say no,” Scott said.
UL president Joseph Savoie agreed and on October 9 of this year, Scott made the announcement.
“That whole year was worth it because the university backed and supported me 100%,” Scott said. “All the advertising and how they’re letting people know, that just shows how much they have my back.”
The next focus for Scott is to present this same plan to the state’s board of education in hopes of being ahead of the curve.
“In the South, mental health isn’t talked about as much as it should be,” Scott said. “This is the way to be first in something. If the state does this, we’d be the first to implement this at every college.”
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