Reba Beaudry-

It’s October and for some, that means changing leaves and pumpkin-spiced lattes, but for many students, that means budding stress as midterms creep up. As stress and anxiety start to pile up, students tend to lose priority over their physical well-being, such as intentional movement and healthy sleep. Walktober is a series of events that happen on Thursdays throughout October to raise awareness of this and to get students moving.

Walktober and its events are put on by the GustieWELL and the PAs. Their job is to coordinate and plan events around campus that benefit students and their health. The main goal of Walktober is to get students intentionally moving, more than just walking to classes.

These events are happening on Thursdays Oct. 3rd, 10th, 17th, and 31st. Each event is targeted towards getting students to move about campus. These events will begin at the GustieWell and travel to different spots on campus. If students go to at least three of the days, they are then eligible to win a pair of Minnesota Vikings tickets or a 200-dollar gift card to the Bookmark. These “incentives”, as PA Event Coordinator and Senior Bryn Archambault put it, are a motivator to get students to take part in these events.

It is known that movement actually “improves memory, sleep, and mood” Coordinator of Wellness Education, PAs, and the GustieWELL Justine Schultz said. These factors actually benefit students in their academic and social lives. This movement to bring “awareness to physical activity and mood” Schultz noted, is a way that students can learn to prioritize their health and wellness.

Walktober has been going on for at least four years, which has helped with planning. The planning process for Walktober takes part of August and almost all of September, but is generally much shorter due to all of the past events. This year, Schultz decided to mix it up a bit to try and drive up engagement. This year’s events are “entirely new” Schultz said, hoping to target other interests. Because of that, it has taken slightly longer to plan this year’s Walktober.

This year’s events are all brand new. To start off Walktober on Thursday, Oct. 3rd,  the GustieWELL and the PAs hosted a Walking Taco event. This event was Schultz’s favorite, she got the idea from last year’s Movement and Nutrition event. It seemed like a “good way to kick off the event, in a very intentional way of movement” Schultz said. The following event, which took place on Thursday, Oct 10th, was a scavenger hunt via pictures.

The second event is one way that people can easily get out and move because they are searching for something specific. Archambault’s favorite event is Trick or Treat because she is helping to organize it. The second to last event is on Thursday, Oct. 17th, and is an awareness walk for breast cancer. For this event, participants go to the GustieWELL and pick up a pink flag where they can write a supportive message, then walk the flag to its designated location.

The last event is scheduled for Halloween (Thursday, Oct. 31st). As mentioned above, it is a Trick-or-treat event where you go to different stations and get education on holiday harm reduction. “The last event is about chemical health, harm reduction strategies, and how to stay safe,” Archambault said. Halloweekend (the weekend closest to Halloween) is notoriously a heavy party and drinking weekend, especially for college kids. That is why the PAs want to raise awareness on how to stay safe and how to reduce the chances of being in a dangerous situation.

The GustieWELL and the PAs decided to change up this year’s events due to low attendance in years past. Based on the first event, Walking Tacos, their numbers have already increased a significant amount. “Within the first hour of the event, 290 students had scanned their IDs,” Schultz said.

Despite the low turnout last year, 98 percent of students, Schultz said, commented that their mental health had improved by at least one point via survey. This means that even the slightest change in our routines to increase movement can make a difference, which is the whole point of Walktober.

Based on the evidence provided above, hopefully, more students will be convinced to take part in Walktober and to continue small, but intentional movements. This can be as simple as going for a walk in the Arb to take in nature or joining a club sport. So, get out there and participate in Walktober!