Florida Senate - 2024                            (NP)    SR 1812
       
       
        
       By Senator Boyd
       
       
       
       
       
       20-02006-24                                           20241812__
    1                          Senate Resolution                        
    2         A resolution encouraging higher education institutions
    3         in Florida to recognize an annual “Sunshine Day”
    4         focused on the mental and physical well-being of their
    5         students.
    6  
    7         WHEREAS, mental and physical health problems impact all
    8  aspects of society, including this state’s educational system,
    9  and
   10         WHEREAS, as a vulnerable population, college students are
   11  susceptible to an increased risk of anxiety, depression,
   12  suicide, and distress, and the development of other mental
   13  health-related issues, and
   14         WHEREAS, such mental health challenges on the part of
   15  college students predate the COVID-19 pandemic, with observed
   16  rates of anxiety and depression increasing for this population
   17  throughout the 2010s, and
   18         WHEREAS, college students continue to face significant
   19  psychological impacts from the lingering effects of measures
   20  taken during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as lockdowns and the
   21  transition to online courses, and
   22         WHEREAS, in a study published in 2020 by the National
   23  Institutes of Health, 138 of the 195 college students surveyed
   24  said that the COVID-19 pandemic had increased their stress and
   25  anxiety levels, and
   26         WHEREAS, navigating the stressors of college can be
   27  overwhelming, and a student’s success is often determined by his
   28  or her mental and physical well-being, and
   29         WHEREAS, setting aside a day for students to reflect on
   30  their well-being and to participate in campus activities
   31  emphasizing the importance of mental health may improve student
   32  success and enhance their quality of life as they enter young
   33  adulthood, NOW, THEREFORE,
   34  
   35  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
   36  
   37         That higher education institutions in Florida are
   38  encouraged to recognize an annual “Sunshine Day” focused on the
   39  mental and physical well-being of their students.