{"id":65154,"date":"2025-01-15T19:36:44","date_gmt":"2025-01-16T00:36:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/?p=65154"},"modified":"2025-01-15T19:41:42","modified_gmt":"2025-01-16T00:41:42","slug":"shaping-change-utc-students-tackling-mental-health-with-solutions-journalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2025\/01\/shaping-change-utc-students-tackling-mental-health-with-solutions-journalism\/","title":{"rendered":"Shaping change: UTC students tackling mental health with Solutions Journalism"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The UTC Solutions Journalism kickoff event will take place on Wednesday, Jan. 22, in the Lupton Hall common area. Photo by Angela Foster.<\/p><\/div>\n

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Department of Communication will celebrate the launch of its new Solutions Journalism initiative with an event starting at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 22, on the first floor of Lupton Hall. The event will feature a town hall discussion, a panel presentation with experts and opportunities for student journalists to collaborate on impactful story ideas.<\/p>\n

Supported by a grant from the Solutions Journalism Network (SJN), the initiative aims to empower student journalists to go beyond reporting on societal problems by highlighting actionable solutions being implemented to address those challenges. Solutions Journalism stories all contain four elements: a response to a problem, evidence of the effect of this response, limitations to the response that still need to be addressed, and insight into what can be learned from the response.<\/p>\n

\"\"The SJN\u2019s Student Media Challenge highlights UTC\u2019s dedication to fostering impactful journalism and creating a platform for student voices. By using the Solutions Journalism lens, this project aims to address some of the most pressing issues facing the community while inspiring actionable change.<\/p>\n

The Jan. 22 event will serve as a launch party for the project and will focus on mental health, a critical issue affecting students both on campus and beyond. The program aims to provide a platform for students to share their experiences with mental health challenges while generating story ideas for student journalists to explore throughout the spring semester\u2014such as the challenges of balancing academic responsibilities with self-care or accessing mental health resources on campus.<\/p>\n

These firsthand accounts will help create a foundation for meaningful conversations and guide student journalists in crafting stories that resonate with the community.<\/p>\n

A panel of campus experts will provide their perspectives on the challenges students face and the potential solutions being implemented at UTC and in the broader community. Panelists include:<\/p>\n