2023-11-17 12:37:47
With the purpose of contributing to a sustainable comprehensive well-being of the students of the University of Santiago de Chile, the reconditioned offices of the Department of Healthy Living Promotion, belonging to the Vice-Rector’s Office for Student Support, were opened.
Inhabited by those who work in the administrative management of the Department and the Food Services and Promotion of Student Psychological Well-being units, it also allows professional practice aimed at protecting the mental and emotional health of students. “This is a long-awaited remodeling that will allow us to adequately meet the needs of our students, a fundamental pillar of the University’s work,” said the rector, Dr. Rodrigo Vidal Rojas.
“Quality of life, healthy nutrition, the fight against a sedentary lifestyle and mental health support are fundamental aspects to promote the necessary comprehensive well-being that our students require, to function adequately and meet the demands of their respective academic training,” added the rector.
The highest authority Usach also had words for the team of the Student Psychological Wellbeing Promotion Unit (current BPE ex UPS), which during the coronavirus pandemic continued with psychological care virtually. “I take advantage of this opportunity to recognize all the people who work in this Department and who, with vocation, dedication and effort, continued to provide this important service, in critical moments for each and all of our compatriots,” she emphasized.
In the same ceremony, Dr. Mauricio Guerra Velásquez, vice chancellor of Student Support, indicated that it was a great privilege to be part of this reopening, a milestone that represents years of dedication to the quality of student life. “This achievement not only symbolizes an improvement in the infrastructure of our facilities, but also a continuous commitment to promoting an environment that favors the quality of life of the student body,” he pointed out.
Likewise, the vice-rector referred to well-being from the perspective of sports practice, academic workload management, healthy eating, prevention of violent behavior and alcohol and drug consumption that can affect academic development. “As an institution we have been pioneers at the national level in many aspects, advancing in coverage and structural complexity and the reopening of these dependencies marks a precedent that reinforces our conviction that this is something that we must assume with high preeminence,” he assured. .
The new facilities of the Healthy Living Promotion Department include: 15 care rooms; a multipurpose room for various workshops; a mirror room for teaching work – named after José Rojas Michell, a beloved VRAE official who recently passed away – as well as offices; reception; and a meeting room for optimal administrative functioning.
Healthy Living Promotion Unit
Karolyn Funke Gómez, head of the Department of Healthy Living Promotion, referred to the challenges that this unit has overcome: “In 2007, the Department of Psychological Health was created, which became a reference at the level of state universities, being invited from various institutions to transmit their experience (…) During the years 2020 and 2021, arduous work began under the pandemic, adapting in-person care to telepsychology, with our professionals being the ones who were at all times supporting the students, supporting daily situations of high complexity,” he stated.
The social worker referred to the importance of integrating the sense of urgency, ethics and collective and tri-state institutional responsibility. “It is not just one class that takes care of the other, but we take care of each other. “Move forward with a sense of social justice incorporating a perspective of comprehensive well-being as a human right, with a sense of the ethics of care in a transformative perspective and not paternalistic or assistance, but in a critical sense of improving public education and society,” held.
In the same way, Loreto Hernández Arce, student of Educational Psychology and former Executive Secretary of the Federative Board 2022-2023, expressed that this ceremony was a moment to celebrate, because this Unit (current BPE), a pioneer in the national university field, plays a crucial role in bridging the gap in access to quality mental health care. “As a former student representative who was closely associated with this work, I ask you: Do you believe we can live better? At my young age, I have observed that as a society we have become accustomed to feeling bad, to living with high levels of stress, we consider that little sleep is a spirit of productivity and that leisure should be avoided,” she noted.
He also referred to student interest in the topic, where mental health has been in demand in recent decades. “I see with optimism the work of the current BPE, the VRAE and the Student Federation (…) The Usach, as a pioneer in research and social responsibility, must lead the change in the educational model towards well-being and a quality public university experience, as its ultimate goals,” the student concluded.
Watch the video of the ceremony here:
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