MTSU spreads mental health awareness with the Green Bandana Project – MTSU Sidelines

The Green Bandana Project is a new organization at MTSU aiming to raise mental health awareness and connect students with resources.

MTSU Counseling Director Mary Kaye Anderson began working on the Green Bandana Project at MTSU in summer 2025, but the project originated in 2014 as “Dan’s Bandana Project” at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls by Betsy Gerbec, following her son and UWRF student Daniel Gerbec’s suicide.

In 2016, Conlin Bass expanded the project to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 2022, SAVE acquired the program.

Students who join the Green Bandana Project are trained in mental health resources and aid, and carry a resource card with them. Participants also tie a green bandana to their backpacks in reference to Daniel Gerbec’s signature headwear: a green bandana. 

Channing Phillips, an MTSU Counselor and the director of the Green Bandana at MTSU, said the aim is to connect students with one another.

“This is a student-led program; the goal is to help reduce the stigma revolving around mental health,” Phillips said. “I feel like students typically reach out to other students versus reaching out to faculty and staff, and it’s a way to make a connection with others.” 

Christian Williams, another MTSU counselor, agreed that students tend to reach out to and respond to each other, rather than professionals.

“I see The Green Bandana Project (TGBP) as an important initiative that gives students a platform to support their peers,” Williams said. “Students are often more likely to seek out informal sources of support, such as peers, rather than formal sources like professionals.”

The program is new at MTSU, and counseling services are still looking for students to get involved.

“This is brand new; we are still gathering student members to be a part of the program,” Phillips said. “They must go through a QPR 90-minute training and a Green Bandana orientation, which talks about what it is, what students’ roles are, and then they sign the waiver and then they get their Green Bandana.” 

QPR training, or Question, Persuade, Refer, is a suicide prevention tactic. 

To connect to the Green Bandana Project, students can visit the MTSU Counseling Service Offices in KUC 329 or go to their website. 

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