If you're stressed or upset, you're not alone.
That's the message of the Me Too Campaign, launched by Duke junior Deepika Ravi this past March as an effort to remind students that their peers are dealing with many of the same problems.
In addition to handing out 370 T-shirts with the phrase "Me Too" written on them, campaign leaders hung banners and flyers around campus, held a barbecue to raise awareness and created a Me Too blog for students to post their stories, feelings and experiences.
The idea behind the campaign came from Gary Glass, a psychologist at the Duke University Counseling and Psychological Services center, who joked that if he ever won the lottery, he would buy every student a T-shirt with the words "Me Too" on it.
Even though students often feel isolated when they face difficulties, they need to remember that "they really are not alone," he said.
Launched on March 19, the blog - metoocampaign.blogspot.com - already has more than 700 submissions.
Blog posts range from eating disorder confessions and complaints about classes to stories of unrequited romance.
Readers are encouraged to comment on the posts by simply writing "me too" where it is applicable.
User submissions are anonymous, and in order to ensure that students do not post derogatory or inappropriate comments, Ravi reviews all of the posts before she submits them to the Web site.
"The goal of the campaign is dispel the myth of effortless perfection at Duke," Ravi said.
According to Glass, the campaign in general, but especially the blog, has done just that.
"Students have often commented that they feel less alone and more supported knowing they have peers with similar experiences," Glass wrote in an e-mail. "Hidden struggle can be very isolating."
Penn Psychology professor Robert DeRubeis agreed that the blog could be helpful for students who have minor psychological distress.
For students, the blog could dispel the mistaken impression that "some behavior that seems odd or different is unique to them."
According to DeRubeis, "the most private thing we do is having thoughts in our head, and it's easy to imagine that others don't have those same concerns."
While technically anyone can post on the blog, it was intended for Duke students only.
But "we want to branch out, hopefully to other colleges," Ravi said. No such site has been started at Penn as of yet.
According to Ravi, the Me Too campaign is not a response to recent negative feedback about the gossip Web site JuicyCampus.com, which was also launched by a Duke graduate.
