An OCU student helped make sensitive topic resources more accessible to students.
Oliver Nguyen, piano and violin performance senior, posted a picture of a flyer hung in the library on the OCU Facebook page. The flyer lists sensitive subjects and where books about them can be found in the library.
The flyers were put out last August as a way of helping students educate themselves on sensitive subjects without having to ask a librarian where to find the materials. The list includes birth control, pregnancy, abortion, women’s health, death and grief, depression, trauma, anxiety, eating disorders, finances, gun violence, homelessness, LGBTQ+ issues, mental illness, perfectionism, failure, success, race issues, sexual assault, rape, and suicide.
Dr. Kristen Burkholder, access services librarian, developed the flyer based on one she saw from another library online, adding in a few categories to fit the needs of college students.
“I created this flyer because if you are in a space where things are going wrong and you are not quite sure what to do, you might also be nervous about talking to someone about them and not feel comfortable coming up and asking someone for the information. But as a librarian, I am all about helping someone get the information that they need, and so this seemed like a good way to make that information available that would be very safe and more anonymous,” Burkholder said.
Burkholder chose to include perfectionism and failure in the flyer for students who are struggling with test anxiety, especially since the Learning Enhancement Center is in the library as well, as a way to connect students with resources on campus. She also included the campus counseling services on the flyer for the same reason.
“I wanted to include that information in case there was someone that needed more than just books on the topic, so you can actually talk to someone else on the topic,” Burkholder said. “We have also had a lot of the tabs taken off as well, so I think students have found it helpful as well, but it’s hard to really measure how much it is being used, but it is nice knowing it’s there if someone needs it.”
Nguyen, who posted about the flyer on Facebook, said he noticed it leaving a class in the library one day and thought it might be helpful to share it.
“I know that there probably are some people on the campus who are going through these issues, so I thought it would be a good idea to take to social media and spread awareness about it with a simple post,” Nguyen said. “So what I did was I took a picture on my phone to take a photo of the reference guide as well as the campus counseling center number. I then posted both pictures on the OCU facebook page in case someone there might need it or for people who didn’t know that resource was there.”
Nguyen also said he sees the tool as a great educational source for those who may not personally connect with the issues listed on the flyer.
“Like I said, I am not and have not experienced these struggles, so I am not well educated about these issues, so for someone like me, this tool would be a great resource to educate myself or other people,” Nguyen said. “It is important to be aware and educated about this stuff because it’s kind of easy to be misconstrued in discussions about heavier topics, so learning about it and being educated is just a really good choice.”
Campus counseling services are free, and an appointment can be made by calling (405) 208-7901 or emailing croby@okcu.edu or mbwindholz@okcu.edu. University Counseling is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. If students need assistance over the weekend, they can call campus police at 405-208-5911.
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