- NAMI is hosting U Matter Week from April 6-10
- The Hope Walk will serve as the culminating event, taking participants around campus
- NAMI is accepting new members
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is hosting a series of campus events from April 6-10 called U Matter Week. Events include a Mario Kart tournament in the UCO Co-op building, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday; goat yoga and caricatures on Buddy’s Lawn, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday; a speaker lunch in the NUC Cherokee Room 213 at 11 a.m., followed by a sports night at the West Hall volleyball courts, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.; stress paws and journal decorating on the library’s first floor, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.; and a Hope Walk beginning at the blue tent at Broncho Lake, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
The week will conclude with the Hope Walk, which Emma Valgora, a senior, said is the culminating event. Valgora has worked for the NAMI state branch for three years and worked closely with NAMI President Kalyn Delaney to open the campus branch at UCO. She described it as “We’ll be gathering students at the blue tent, and we’ll have ribbons, signs and face paint. We’ll be walking around campus in support of mental health awareness, and it’ll be the big ending of the week.” The event is similar to the national program NAMIWalks.
NAMI describes itself as the nation’s leading voice on mental health and works with more than 650 affiliates and 49 state organizations. It offers programs and support groups for those struggling with mental illness. Students can join through the NAMI website or find the campus chapter on UCORE.
