Students looking to promote health on campus can now submit ideas to be implemented through Healthy Monday.

Healthy Monday, a national campaign founded to increase student health awareness, gives awards of $50 to $500 to students, faculty and staff to put into action their own programs promoting health, nutrition and fitness.

Currently, the Healthy Monday program offers free fruit, massages, fitness classes and Zen meditations every Monday. The mini-programs – designed by students and faculty – are a way for the students to have control over some activities on campus, said Rebecca Langford, a media studies graduate student and program manager of Healthy Monday.

‘We partner with faculty and students to put these projects into motion,’ Langford said. ‘The whole idea is grassroots programs to get people involved. It can be a good learning experience.’

Students can submit their own application for a mini-program by Oct. 21, including a description, timeline and the amount of funding needed for the project.

Upcoming Healthy Monday-sponsored events:

What: Syracuse University 5K Fun RunWhen: SaturdayWhere: The Quad

On a rainy day last October, Mark Lucaj ran five kilometers around the Quad in SU’s annual 5K Fun Run. He remembers how motivated the other runners were and said finishing was the most memorable moment for him.

‘It brings a lot of different groups and clubs together,’ said Lucaj, a sophomore civil engineering major and member of SU’s Army ROTC. ‘It’s not simply a competitive event, but it shows school spirit as well.’

SU’s Army ROTC and Healthy Monday’s mini-program contest sponsor the annual event. Now in its third year, the run raises funds for the Tracy Halpin Memorial scholarship.

Daniel Fitzpatrick, a sophomore in The College of Arts and Sciences and a member of the ROTC program, organized the Fun Run and said he thinks the earlier date this year will bolster attendance.

‘It functions as a way to promote the battalion as well a healthy living lifestyle,’ Fitzpatrick said.

Thomas Wichman, a fellow ROTC member and senior television, radio and film major, originally proposed the mini-program idea and delegated the responsibilities to Fitzpatrick this year.

‘(Wichman) wanted to ensure that the Fun Run continued,’ Fitzpatrick said. ‘It’s something that he really got into, and he just wanted to make sure that it went off to somebody who could keep it going for years to come.’

What: Wii Fitness ProgramWhen: MondayWhere: Kimmel and Marion Learning Communities

The newest mini-program funded through Healthy Monday was proposed by Dessa Bergen-Cico, a health and wellness professor, and is now managed by Susan Scholl, an internship coordinator in the Department of Health and Wellness.

Beginning Monday, students living in the Kimmel and Marion health and wellness learning communities will have access to a Wii Fitness program in their residence halls.

‘Students could easily keep track of their fitness progress, whether it be their weight or flexibility or endurance,’ Scholl said. ‘The notion is to use this really fun piece of technology so that students can endeavor in fun activities that are really geared toward wellness.’

Scholl said students and resident advisors are really looking forward to the program being implemented.

‘This is a way to get people to be more active and take a more consistent role in their own health and wellness,’ Scholl said. ‘It’s a really cool combination of technology and the exercise that we know is so important for us.’

What: Monday for MuttsWhen: Monday, Oct. 20, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.Where: The Quad

Brenda Wrigley, a public relations professor and manager of the Monday for Mutts event, has seen her once-annual event turn into a monthly event, aimed to get dogs and their owners active by walking through the Quad on the fourth Monday every month.

‘If we could get people to go for a walk with their dogs, it may not be like going to the gym for an hour, but it’s still getting them active,’ Wrigley said.

Wrigley allowed her public relations class to plan the whole event, and she plans to let students continue with the project this year.

Students and faculty who decide to bring their dogs to this event must bring a leash, make sure their dogs are up to date on their vaccinations and remember to clean up any gifts their dog may leave behind.

What: Quick and Easy CookingWhen: Monday, Oct. 20Where: Lyman Hall Kitchen 229, 5-8 p.m.

Quick and Easy Cooking provides students the opportunity to learn to cook in the second of three free cooking seminars offered this semester, sponsored through Healthy Monday and the Office of Orientation and Off-Campus Programs.

The classes in 2006 were sponsored by the Office of Orientation and Off-Campus Programs. But, when they gained popularity, Darya Rotblat, the department’s assistant director, decided to submit a proposal for funding of the program to the Healthy Monday mini-program contest.

‘It would be great for (students) to learn how easy it is to cook and feel comfortable in a kitchen so they can save money and learn to live healthy,’ Rotblat said.

The upcoming seminar is offered to SU students only, and follows last month’s course, ‘Cooking for Beginners.’ The third installment, ‘Cajun and Creole’ will take place in November.

Mini-program proposals can be submitted to healthymonday@syr.edu.

blbump@syr.edu

Published on October 8, 2008 at 12:00 pm