Izzie Mintz

Contributing Writer

ESU enters a new school year with the newly appointed president of The Hidden Opponent (THO), a mental health advocacy movement that has a branch here at ESU. Natalie Ruffus, a senior on the women’s lacrosse team, has just been selected to lead the ESU Hidden Opponent branch.

“My goal is to maintain the status THO has, grow connections among campus captains [other teams], create more consistent productive conversations and be present and vocal to bring more awareness to THO,” said Ruffus when asked about the goals she’s striving for as president.

Ruffus joined THO her freshman year after seeing it on social media. She began talking to the founder of the ESU branch who was a women’s basketball player and joined the club. Her involvement has grown each year she has participated.

When she became a senior, she was asked to become president and considered it a no-brainer because of her passion for the topic. Ruffus finds the topic of mental health advocacy for athletes to be a close-to-heart issue, which made her want to be more involved in THO.

“Mental health among athletes is an issue that is prevalent across all competitive levels and THO strives to advocate and give athletes an on campus resource,” said Ruffus.

THO does most of their work through social media or dedication games. Dedication games are athletic competitions that bring awareness to THO where athletes wear neon green accessories while playing as a method of support for athlete mental health. Neon green is the brand color that symbolizes THO.

The lacrosse team is doing a suicide prevention dedication game Sept. 27 and will talk about how THO can help save a life. Field hockey is also having a THO dedication game Oct. 20.

The Hidden Opponent at ESU is completely student run. The club’s funding comes from their own fundraising. The members consist mainly of athletes on campus who believe in the message so most teams on campus have the resources available within the team.

The dynamic of the ESU branch of THO is that members can participate as much as they can and put effort where needed. Since the club is mostly made of different athletes that have different commitments, THO remains to be flexible with members’ time. This is something that Ruffus wants to maintain in her leadership because she has always appreciated the flexibility.

Ruffus strives to maintain the positive presence of THO. Her goals reflect progress as a club that doesn’t overrule the flexibility that is valued amongst members. There are more dedication games in the works and social media is always being used to share THO values.

Ruffus invites any interested members to contact her through the THO instagram page “tho_east.stroudsburg.”