the Informer

Healthy living in the university community is a priority for the Student Wellness Awareness Team, SWAT.

SWAT is “an organization, sponsored by the Connections Health Education and Wellness Center,” according to its Web site. “It is committed to enhancing the health and well-being of the community, including students, faculty and staff.”

SWAT’s slogan is “Be Healthy. Be Well. Be Connected.” Furthermore, the SWAT Web site states, “in conjunction with The Bacchus Network, a national student health education organization, and the American College Health Association’s Healthy Campus 2010 Initiative, SWAT provides educational programming and prevention information for the University of Hartford community.”

Namely, SWAT engages in programming through workshops, classroom presentations, informational tabling in Gengras and large-scale campus-wide events.

SWAT’s mission, as the organization’s director Patricia McKenna-Grant explains, is to “actively promote student and community-wide leadership on healthy and safe lifestyle decisions, specifically focusing on four main areas; alcohol and other drug prevention, sexual health, violence prevention and body-image and self-esteem.”

McKenna-Grant also said that “SWAT promotes the Connections Health Education and Wellness Center’s mission and in addition, this peer education program promotes the center’s central health and wellness campaign, ‘Love Your Hartford Body,’ focusing on the four main areas… under this theme.”

McKenna-Grant notes that SWAT also “engages in various forms of programming and events ranging from informational tabling to large scale events pertaining to specific health and safety issues.

“Some of our largest events are K.I.S.S. [Keep It Safe and Sexy] Week, promoting good sexual health and healthy relationships; Love Your Hartford Body Week, promoting positive self-esteem and providing education about eating disorders; Safe Break Week, promoting safety surrounding spring break vacations and other high risk behaviors that accompany spring break; Alcohol Awareness Week, promoting awareness on high risk behaviors involving alcohol and other drugs such as binge drinking and drinking games; and Sexual Assault Awareness, promoting awareness on prevention of sexual assault.”

The SWAT site notes that the organization was once known as “The Network.” While still called “The Network,” according to the Web site, SWAT “received various student leadership awards and was honored with national recognition from The Bacchus Network for outstanding leadership.”

The Web site goes on to describe SWAT members as “students who promote healthy lifestyle awareness and educate other members of the University community throughout the school year.” The Connections site urges students to visit or contact the office for more information.

SWAT exists as part of the Connections Health Education and Wellness Center, which is located on the lower level of University Commons in room 116.

The staff can also be reached at (860) 768-5433 or by e-mail at wellness@hartford.edu.