Eastern Michigan Univeristy offers many resources for its students, but the three prominent resources are the Office of Wellness and Community Responsibility (OWCR), the LGBT Resource Center and the Center for Adaptive Technology Education Lab (CATE Lab).
One of the many reasons EMU has an Office of Wellness and Community Responsibility is because students say they are experiencing an above average level of stress.
According to the American College Health Association, 45% of college students surveyed said they experience levels of stress above the average amount, and 87% said they felt overwhelmed by all the things they had to do at least once in the prior year.
The mission of OWCR is to help students with their well-being. Whether it is to set financial goals, mental or physical targets, or just to learn some time management skills, the office is available and accessible for students.
Nick Pomante, wellness coordinator at OWCR, said he believes an Office of Wellness and Community Responsibility at EMU is important.
“There has never been a harder time to be a college student than right now,” Pomante said. “Students have jobs, have to carry the weight of family and friendship problems, and balance college life on top of that. We offer many opportunities that students can take advantage of.”
The Office of Wellness and Community Responsibility offers financial consultations, wellness consultations with a professional wellness coach, conflict mediation programs, free credit checks and health insurance programming.
Pomante encourages EMU students to spread the word about OWCR and attend its events.
“Come to our events and share your experience with us and your friends on social media,” he said.
To learn more about The Office of Wellness and Community Responsibility and upcoming events, visit emich.edu/responsibility/index.php.
Eastern Michigan ranks 4.5 out of 5 stars, acording to the Campus Pride Index, a national listing of LGBTQ-friendly colleges and universities. These astounding results most likely come from the fact that EMU has an attentive and welcoming LGBT Resource Center for students who identify as a member of the LGBT community.
Ariana Khan, the LGBT Resource Center’s Queer and Trans People of Color Collective coordinator, outlined the importance of having a safe place on campus for LGBT students.
“Our purpose is for queer empowerment on campus,” Khan said. “We want to provide safe spaces for people on campus.”
Located in room 354 of the Student Center, the doors of the LGBT Resource Center are always open.
“Whether they want to come in to chill, have lunch or just talk, our doors are always open,” she said.
This October, the center will be hosting OUTtober, which is a series of LGBT-friendly events on campus, including an LGBTailgate on Oct. 9 and Remembering Stonewall on Oct. 14. Khan encourages students to come to these events to spread awareness about the queer community.
The center provides many resources for students, including “resources to deal with home security and mental wellness, free contraceptives and staff that can answer questions with a personalized lens.”
Khan’s advice for incoming LGBT students is to “extend a hand to everyone on campus and know that there are safe spaces and resources for them.”
To learn more about the LGBT Resource Center and upcoming events, visit emich.edu/lgbtrc.
The Center for Adaptive Technology Education Lab (CATE Lab) is an extension of EMU’s Disability Resource Center (DRC). Its mission is to assist students with disabilities registered with the DRC by providing them with resources, evaluations and training in adaptive technology.
Jenny Clark, CATE lab’s coordinator, touched on a few of the resources CATE Lab provides for its students.
“We provide training on adaptive technology,” Clark said. “The goal is to find apps and software that students can use after graduation that are reasonably priced and can follow them into their future career. We offer accommodations that can’t be provided in the classroom.”
Some of this technology includes text to speech, which allows students to have exams or textbooks read to them, and screens that allow print to be enlarged for students with visual impairments.
Clark believes having a Disability Resource Center on campus is a necessity.
“The population of students with disabilities is ever increasing,” she said. “Our program allows more people to be able [to] participate in a classroom setting and levels the playing field.”
The Disability Resource Center is always looking for volunteers and is even offering paid positions to students.
“We offer a variety of note-taking positions for students with impairments,” Clark said. “This job entails going to class with said student and providing notes for them.”
Clark encourages those with questions about the DRC and CATE Lab to email drc@emich.edu.
Eastern Michigan offers a wide variety of other resources that students may be unaware of. Please visit emich.edu/studentcenter/resources/index.php to learn more about what EMU has to offer.
