Two TCU seniors launched Frog Speak in March, a student-run blog for students to anonymously post their stories on mental health struggles.
Logan Webb, senior supply and value chain major, and Emily Sivak, senior accounting major, came up with the idea while brainstorming ideas for their senior impact project as a part of the BNSF Next Generation Leadership Program.
Students in BNSF are required to complete an impact project prior to graduation where they have to pick a topic they are passionate about and impact a community, Webb said.
Together, they teamed up to tackle the stigma surrounding mental health on campus.
Sivak said that they want to encourage students to talk to others and start the conversation about mental health.
“The tagline is ‘U Are Not Alone,’ because the idea is to share with others that they are not alone,” Webb said. “Mental illness is topic not talked about, but so many people deal with.”
Webb said that there are two ways they plan to tackle the stigma: through Frog Speak and educational magnets.
The educational magnets will be implemented in residence halls in the fall, Webb said. The magnets will feature the three of the most common mental illnesses, anxiety, depression, and eating disorders. Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Kathy Cavins-Tull is funding the magnets.
Frog Speak will be featured on the new R U OK? website, a suicide awareness and prevention campaign on campus, said Sivak.
Cortney Gumbleton, suicide prevention outreach coordinator for the Counseling and Mental Health Center and leader of the R U OK? Campaign, said that it was “great” that Webb and Sivak took the initiative to create Frog Speak, because it provides another outlet for students struggling with mental health to share their stories.
New blog posts are posted every Wednesday. They will post more often as soon as the website receives more traffic and contributors, Webb said.
They have already gotten a lot of great feedback from contributors and readers, Webb said. “Reading the blog has made students more open to sharing their own stories.”
Last week, Webb and Sivak wrote a bill and presented it to the Student Government Association, where they unanimously voted to fund the blog with $1,300 for promotional use, Sivak said.
Sivak said they have ordered promotional items including mood changing cups, lip balm, and decals with their design on them.
Webb said students can submit their own stories via the website, or email. All entries are posted anonymously for students to share their honest feelings.
To submit or read stories, visit tcufrogspeak.blogspot.com.
