Each day of Wellness Week includes events that fall under the general theme, such as Tuesday's theme of nutritional awareness, Wednesday's spiritual health theme and Thursday's message of physical fitness. Friday will feature an alcohol-free party with mock tails at Sigma Nu fraternity in order to raise awareness of substance abuse and how student partying habits affect wellness.
Palaeopitus, a group of 20 seniors who span a wide demographic, is primarily charged with serving as a liason between students and the administration. According to Palaeopitus member Kirsten Murray '07, however, the Palaeopitus mission statement is open to re-interpretation and revision each year as that year's delegation sees fit, allowing room for the society to serve the student body in other capacities it feels are appropriate.
"Everything we do is in service to the students in some way," society member Sam Routhier '07 said. "We try to respond to what we feel are major campus issues. This year, we decided that one thing that is under the rug on campus is the issue of mental health. There's a lot of pressure to stay healthy, but students don't always know how to do so."
The week's events include talks by Dartmouth nutritionist Claudette Peck and 2007 Class Dean Lisa Thum, swim lessons from former swim team captain and society member Shane Foster '07, and the free hug booth.
In addition to serving as a vehicle for publicity, the hugs are meant to remind students of the importance of social interaction.
"We're all stressed," Murray said. "Palaeopitus wants to let people take a second to be friendly and open, to make someone else feel better. Your health in relation to other people is so important. We want to remind people to stop for a second, smell the roses, and take a deep breath."
According to Murray, the ultimate goal of Wellness Week is not only to educate the campus about wellness, but to inform students about the health resources available to them.
"We, as seniors, realized how stressed we were," Murray said. "We wanted to try to help students develop healthy habits that stick."
Wellness Week, though new, is not out of the scope of Palaeopitus' activities. The most commonly hosted Palaeopitus events are the themed "coffee talks" hosted each term, where members of the administration are invited to talk to students about relevant Dartmouth issues and events.
In addition, the senior society generally hosts at least one large event each year, such as last year's senior-freshman dinner.
"Palaeopitus is in a very advantageous position to host events such as Wellness Week," Murray said. "The students benefit because of our ability to work closely with the administration. Our role as liaison helps us delve deeper into issues, both in terms of the topics we cover and the resources available to us."
Palaeopitus will have succeeded in its goals for Wellness Week if campus awareness of health issues is raised, Routhier said.
"Palaeopitus will never be able to reach the entire campus with one theme or event," he said. Routhier said that by organizing an events that the majority of campus knows about, Palaeoptius could reach out to as many people as possible.
"If people leave a Wellness Week event having a discussion about the role of any type of health at Dartmouth, taking away the idea that we need to prioritize it, then we've done our job," he said.
