By Anijah Franklin

Bwell Bison Wellness Day 2024 took place two weeks before Howard’s finals week, offering wellness activities to the Howard community. 

Bwell Bison Wellness Day featured activities and resources for students, faculty, staff, and administrators focused on physical fitness, mental health, and nutritional habits. This year, the event took place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on April 17. 

“I was like, ‘I can’t wait for this school year to be over and be done,’” said junior TV and Film major, Naadira Johnson. “And then I came over here for a while, and I actually forgot I was stressed about school and supposed to be working on an assignment.”

For the academic year at Howard, the last day of formal classes is on April 26. Many students, like Johnson, are getting ready for finals week, which begins three days after classes end. 

While some students prepare for finals, they also mourn the loss of freshman Mohamed Samura, who died after being hit by a faculty member’s car.

“I think everyone’s been so stressed, additionally sad, and I think for a moment during this time, people really forgot. People were laughing and people were smiling,” Johnson said.

The event was led by Dr. Kelechi C. Fluitt, executive director of student outreach & engagement. Fluitt said the event is intentionally held in April. 

“I think that it is really important to note that this season does bring a high-level of stress. And so there was some intentionality on my end to have it scheduled during April,” she said. 

The student outreach & engagement office opened in January 2023.  After the pandemic and her seven years as a staff psychologist at the university counseling services, Dr. Fluitt said she felt the campus could benefit from engagement and outreach.

“I really just felt like the campus could benefit from a space where we can gather together, do something on one accord, engage with one another outside of screens, in person,” Fluitt said. 

The event offered free access to health screenings, relaxation activities, group fitness, food trucks, haircuts, a bouncy house, and raffle giveaways. In addition, special wellness sessions included sound healing, chair yoga, and trap yoga. 

Participants in the raffle and dance contest could win a Yeti mug, AirPods, an Apple Watch, a Meta Quest VR set, or a Mophie charging pad. 

Students who got a meal ticket utilized it by grabbing a complimentary meal from three food trucks: Rice on Wheels, Pakos Takos Grill, and AR Seafood.

HealthFairs Plus Massages also gave free massages, and Wheely Good Smoothies gave away bike-powered blended smoothies.

Students bikes to blend a smoothie with Wheely Good Smoothies while they wait in line for drinks. Students are enjoying the festivities on Howard University’s Yard. (Anijah Franklin/HU News Service)

Like many other students, Parisia Hutchinson, a junior honors human development major and Spanish minor, biked to power the blender for her smoothie with Wheely Good Smoothies. 

“In order to get your smoothie you do have to blend it yourself,” Hutchinson said. 

This event marked the second Bwell Bison Wellness Day, Hutchinson said she couldn’t attend the first one. 

“We had one last year as well but I wasn’t able to attend due to class. So this is my first time actually getting to experience one,” she said.

The event’s campus partners included HU counseling services, the office of human resource management, the office of chapel, the HU Care Cart, and others.

Ericka Byrd,  administrative coordinator in the Office of Student Services, was a representative of HU Care Cart.  The cart is a function of the student pantry called Nourish HU.

“We know that food insecurity on campus is real and on the rise as well as other needs, and so we wanna make sure that Bison know this resource is available,” Byrd said. “Wellness is all-encompassing. Of course, if you’re hungry, you may not feel well and you may not be well. So we’re here to spread love and spread word about that.”

 Fluitt says that she hopes participants walk away knowing that Howard is committed to helping students’ mental health. 

“So my hope is that people walk away from this event noting Howard University’s commitment to wellness and mental health. And to the importance of just taking a deep breath. Not just for students but for faculty, for staff, for administrators. I think the whole entire community can benefit from a deep breath,” Fluitt said.