By Charlotte Dulany

Student volunteers presented the annual Me Too Monologues performance April 12.

The monologues bring awareness to mental health and acceptance of all facets of identity, and are commissioned by the College Park Scholars program and Scholars Promoting and Revitalizing Care (SPARC).

Students and faculty are encouraged to anonymously submit their stories, which students then write, produce and perform as a monologue-style theatrical production.

“Friends of mine started Me Too Monologues at other universities,” senior bioengineering and film double major Maryam Ghaderi said. “And with the help I had here through the Scholars Advisory Board, I was able to first coordinate the show here three years ago.”

Me Too Monologues originated at Duke University in 2009. Since then, the list of schools participating in the project has expanded.

The monologues touch on intimate, personal experiences and explore narratives that would otherwise be silenced on campus, according to their website.

The performance encourages “call-and-response,” where audience members can snap, stomp and hum to support the performer and the writer’s story.

“It is nice to hear these stories not from my voice — to know that others are going through similar troubles and that I am not alone,” sophomore public policy major Cydnee Jordan said.

As part of the performance, senior psychology major and SPARC co-president Anthony Sartori read from the 30 written letters in response to the #30DaysTooLate campaign, which was launched Feb. 14 in an effort to raise awareness for mental health call for an increase in counseling resources at this university.

The 30 letters addressed to University of Maryland President Wallace Loh, strongly encouraging university administration to expand and improve mental health resources on campus. One detailed the story of a student who had waited an entire month for a counseling appointment after struggling with mental health issues.