A new student-led proposal at Columbia University is looking to place stickers on student ID cards that display contact information for sexual and mental health resources.
The student proposal is working with Columbia’s Community Health House, to print some 8,000 stickers that list the contact information for Sexual Violence Response and Counseling and Psychological Services. The stickers are designed to fit on the back of existing Columbia student ID cards.
As reported by the Columbia Spectator, the project was inspired by a poster containing the contacts for these organizations that was placed on the back of a bathroom stall. The idea of the stickers is to make those resources more accessible for students, placing it in their pocket, rather than in a static location.
The backs of the Columbia student ID card already features the contact information for university emergency medical services, but there is just enough unused white space for the additional emergency contacts.
Once the stickers were designed, the student proposal went to Columbia’s Residential Life, who sponsored the purchase of the stickers – a grand total of $90 as the stickers cost just a penny each.
While the current proposal is focusing solely on adhesive add-ons for student ID’s, future plans include working with Columbia’s card office to print the information for Sexual Violence Response and Counseling and Psychological Services directly onto each new ID card.
With sexual assault and mental health conditions on the rise on college campuses, making the appropriate resources readily available to students when they need them most can be a vital service. As demonstrated by the efforts of Columbia students, these efforts can be as simple and cost effective as penny stickers on the backs of IDs – a minor cost when it comes to securing the health and safety of students.
