Wellness

Body Positive Jayhawks is a workshop series for KU students, who experience eating and body image issues &/or who seek tools to radically love themselves. 

This series of workshops, based on the Be Body Positive Model, will teach you five powerful Competencies to help you develop resources and a renewed energy to take care of your body:

• Reclaim Health
• Practice Intuitive Self-Care
• Cultivate Self-Love
• Declare Your Own Authentic Beauty
• Build Community

These core Competencies are fundamental skills we practice on a daily basis to live peacefully and healthfully in our bodies. When we become proficient at using these skills, we are able to care for ourselves in body, mind, and spirit from a place of self-love and appreciation. Each session, students will come back together to share their triumphs and their struggles.

Body Positive Jayhawks is facilitated by Charlotte Rooks, a Be Body Positive Licensed Facilitator and Graduate Assistant with the Emily Taylor Center for Women & Gender Equity. 

Please see the KU Calendar for information on Fall 2024 sessions of Body Positive Jayhawks. 

Got the winter blues?

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a mental health condition that causes sadness or depression when the seasons change. It most typically occurs during the fall and winter, when days become short and exposure to sunlight decreases. It is most common among women and young adults. 

Light boxes, also referred to as SAD lamps or light therapy lamps, work by replicating natural daylight. Using a light box may reduce symptoms and provide relief from seasonal affective disorder. 

In our space in the Burge Union, the Emily Taylor Center (Suite 1040) has a light therapy lamp that is available for student use. Our Flamingo Floor Lamp from Northern Light Technologies provides 10,000 lux of full-spectrum UV-free, LED light. 

Please email us in advance at emilytaylorcenter@ku.edu to make a 20-minute appointment. 

Students United for Reproductive & Gender Equity (SURGE) works to alleviate period poverty at KU through its Period Pantry located at the Emily Taylor Center in Burge Union, Suite 1040.

The Period Pantry is a free resource for KU students seeking access to menstrual and other reproductive health care products including:

• Disposable Pads
• Reusable Pads
• Liners
• Tampons
• Menstrual Cups
• Condoms
• Emergency Contraception (i.e. Plan B, Julie, My Choice)
• Pregnancy Tests
• Ovulation Tests

Donations to the SURGE Period Pantry are encouraged. 

Walk-in assistance and appointments are available Monday - Friday between 9:00 am - 5:00 pm. Please email emilytaylorcenter@ku.edu with any questions.

The Emily Taylor Center is committed to supporting the health and wellness of pregnant and parenting students at The University of Kansas. We acknowledge and recognize that material resources are essential to the success of caregiving students. The ETC Pregnant & Parenting Resource Pantry is available to currently enrolled KU students.

The pantry provides access to a myriad of free products for parenting young children. The product list includes:

• Bottles
• Diapers (sizes vary)
• Baby wipes (sensitive & natural)
• Similac (instant formula)
• Baby care (including lotion, bath time items, diaper rash products, towels, changing pads, washcloths, bibs, food utensils, pacifiers, potty-training needs, safety-first kits, and more)
• Onesies (sizes newborn-24 months)
• Socks (sizes 0-36 months)
• Pregnancy tests and ovulation tests
• Caregiver support (items include stretch mark lotion, comfort pillowcase)

Students seeking support should fill out the resource pantry request form. You will be notified when your items are ready for pick up at the Burge Union, Suite 1040.

Walk-in assistance and appointments are available Monday - Friday between 9:00 am - 5:00 pm. Please email emilytaylorcenter@ku.edu with any questions or to schedule a time to visit the pantry.

If interested in contributing to the Pregnant & Parenting Resource Pantry, you may donate by accessing the Emily Taylor Center's wish list.

Faculty and staff who need access to the resource pantry should email Nikita Haynie, Director, at nhaynie@ku.edu.

Sistah Circle is a monthly space dedicated to centering the health and wellness of Black women and femmes. Rooted in the wisdom of bell hooks, who wrote "choosing wellness is an act of political resistance," Sistah Circle sessions explore practices and strategies that enhance the well-being of Black women and femmes. Co-sponsored by the Emily Taylor Center for Women & Gender Equity and G.E.M.S. (Gifted Empowered Motivated Sisters), sessions are facilitated by Nikita Haynie, Director of the Emily Taylor Center. For Fall 2024 session information, please visit our Events page.