On Wednesday, the MU Counseling Center held the Tigers Take Action Carnival in Kuhlman Court behind the MU Student Center.

The event — which was held in collaboration with various student groups including the Women’s Center, the Triangle Coalition and the LGBTQ Resource Center — featured various games and activities such as a tricycle race, a “Sink a Shrink” dunk tank, tailgating games, a button-making booth and a station that let people play with rescue dogs.

All of the activities were designed to either raise awareness for mental health issues or to make students feel more comfortable around counselors and psychologists.

The carnival also featured relaxing activities, such as short yoga lessons taught by the counseling center and the Student Health Center every 20 minutes.

Those in attendance who visited three of the booths received free T-shirts and Jimmy John’s sandwiches.

The event was designed to reduce stigmas about psychologists and invite students to a fun event to promote health, MU Counseling Center Outreach Coordinator Christy Hutton said.

“About 50 percent of Americans will experience a mental health issue in their lives — that’s a lot,” Hutton said. “The sooner you recognize your problem and get help, the sooner you can go back to a full life.”

Hutton said she also wanted the carnival to teach people about the MU Counseling Center, which she said helps people deal with all kinds of issues, including depression, grief, loss and anything else that gets in the way of one living a full life.

The event, which centered on mental health awareness, focused on showing students it’s OK to go to counseling for help with any problems they might encounter.

The dunk tank, in particular, was supposed to introduce students to psychologists and show them “shrinks” are normal, fun people who have a passion to help others.

“It definitely shows that they like to have fun,” said freshman Connor Dee, who attended the carnival.

Some students, such as freshman Ellen White, said they had various misconceptions about psychologists. White said she thought psychologists were know-it-alls.

Other students said the fair helped them learn about counselors.

“It seems like they’re open and friendly,” freshman Tony Ngassi said.

Despite White’s initial misconceptions, she said she enjoyed the event.

“You can’t go 25 feet without seeing something outrageous,” she said while watching a tricycle race. “It’s pretty awesome.”