On March 17, 20,000 blank postcards were distributed to students’ mailboxes with instructions to “write a secret you’ve never shared with anyone and express it in a creative way.” After students drop the card in a box, secrets that were never shared with anyone will be shared by thousands when they are displayed at Warren, West and Myles on April 2.
It is all part of the Post Secret
project at BU, which was started by Becky Gordon and Laura Marcucci, co-presidents of Active Minds, a group that raises awareness about mental health issues on campus. Gordon said she heard about taking Post Secret to BU when she attended a conference for Active Minds and started the project in October.
Post Secret originally began with Frank Warren, who has been updating his blog with new secrets every Sunday for five years. Warren has now published four books of post secrets and came to BU in the fall to speak.
The goal for the post secret at BU is to provide students with an outlet for expression and to bring the BU community together, Marcucci said.
“We want students to look at a card and say, ‘I feel that way,’” she said. “Students can feel very isolated on campus and we want to show them that they are not the only ones.”
Another goal is to break down the stigma of mental health issues and to make them easier to talk about, they said.
Since then the endeavor started, Gordon, Marcucci and Active Minds have gone through “about every department at BU” to make the project happen, including Legal Services and Risk Management.
“When people see secrets, they think it could cause trouble for the university,” said Gordon.
They worked with Legal Services to develop a review process for the postcards. They will first go through a team of students to determine if any card could be considered a threat or too offensive and then they pass through a team of four behavioral health professionals.
“We understand that secrets by definition are going to be taboo so we fully understand that some of these could be offensive,” said Gordon.
A wide range of secrets are sent in: Some are funny and others are beautiful pieces of art, but many include a message of depression or self-harm and are anonymous calls for help.
That is why they decided to include a sticky note with the card that lists three places where students can go for help with mental health issues. Students are often confused about where to go for issues like depression or an eating disorder or are just reluctant to do so because they think they can solve their problems on their own, said Gordon.
The Behavioral medicine clinic, located at 881 Commonwealth Ave. next to Student Health Services, is the first place a student struggling with anything from a break-up to serious mental health issues should go, said care coordinator Mitzi Kane. All services are free and the clinic receives over 10,000 visits a year, said Kane.
The event also holds special significance in light of three students who committed suicide last month.
“It just shows that even if a college has a firm hold on these things, the issues are still there,” said Gordon.
Students have until March 31 to return their secrets at drop boxes at the GSU Link and Warren, West and Myles dining halls during dinner time. There will also be a celebration with live music, hosted by Active Minds, where more secrets will be displayed at BU Central on April 3.
On March 17, 20,000 blank postcards were distributed to students’ mailboxes with instructions to “write a secret you’ve never shared with anyone and express it in a creative way.” After students drop the card in a box, secrets that were never shared with anyone will be shared by thousands when they are displayed at Warren, West and Myles on April 2.
It is all part of the Post Secret project at BU, which was started by Becky Gordon and Laura Marcucci, co-presidents of Active Minds, a group that raises awareness about mental health issues on campus. Gordon said she heard about taking Post Secret to BU when she attended a conference for Active Minds and started the project in October.
Post Secret originally began with Frank Warren, who has been updating his blog with new secrets every Sunday for five years. Warren has now published four books of post secrets and came to BU in the fall to speak.
The goal for the post secret at BU is to provide students with an outlet for expression and to bring the BU community together, Marcucci said.
“We want students to look at a card and say, ‘I feel that way,’” she said.“Students can feel very isolated on campus and we want to show them that they are not the only ones.”
Another goal is to break down the stigma of mental health issuesand to make them easier to talk about, they said.
Since then the endeavor started, Gordon, Marcucci and Active Minds have gone through “about every department at BU” to make the project happen, including Legal Services and Risk Management.
“When people see secrets, they think it could cause trouble for the university,” said Gordon.
They worked with Legal Services to develop a review process for the postcards. They will first go through a team of students to determine if any card could be considered a threat or too offensive and then they pass through a team of four behavioral health professionals.
“We understand that secrets by definition are going to be taboo so we fully understand that some of these could be offensive,” said Gordon.
A wide range of secrets are sent in; Some are funny, others are beautiful pieces of art, but many include a message of depression or self-harm and are anonymous calls for help.
That is why they decided to include a sticky note with the card that lists three places where students can go for help with mental health issues. Students are often confused about where to go for issues like depression or an eating disorder or are just reluctant to do so because they think they can solve their problems on their own, said Gordon.
The Behavioral medicine clinic, located at 881 Commonwealth Ave. next to Student Health Services, is the first place a student struggling with anything from a break-up to serious mental health issues should go, said care coordinator Mitzi Kane. All services are free and the clinic receives over 10,000 visits a year, said Kane.
The event also holds special significance in light of three students who committed suicide at Cornell University in the last month.
“It just shows that even if a college has a firm hold on these things, the issues are still there,” said Gordon.
Students have until March 31 to return their secrets at drop boxes at the GSU Link and Warren, West and Myles dining halls during dinner time. There will also be a celebration with more secrets displayed as well as live music at BU Central on April 3.
