Maria Dondiego Torres
CONTRIBUTOR
The stressful end of the semester has descended upon University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) students.
The library is open later and students all over campus can be seen working on their final projects, tests and assignments. You can feel it in the air, finals week is coming.
For many students, the last couple of weeks leading up to finals can be some of the most stressful in the whole semester. Students often find themselves studying for hours on end for one class without breaks and continuing that cycle for rest of their classes.
Sophomore Journalism student, Christopher Rios, said this time of the year can become very overwhelming because many students lose themselves in their study and classwork. This can be very harmful for those that do not find the time to relax and take a break, which is where the Destress-fest comes in.
Destress-fest is held at the end of the fall and spring semester. The Office of Spirit and Traditions sponsors this semi-annual fest that features a variety of events that cater to all students and their relaxation needs.
This Spring semester’s fest will run from April 24 through May 1 with a range of events from “Crafternoon” in the library to paddleboard yoga in H & K.
Bill Pickett, director of the Milo Bail Student Center and Spirit and Tradition, said the variety of events is intentional to help students with all types of destress needs.
“Every student is different, so we try to provide a variety of events that will help them relieve stress,” Pickett said. “And everyone relieves stress in different ways.”
For some students, relaxation is found through exercise. This year’s fest hosts 10 different events to sweat out the stress, from Glow Zumba to a Belay Day at UNO’s Rock Climbing wall.
If sweating is not for you, there is a plethora of other events to enjoy. Rios relieves stress by spending time with family and friends, playing video games and sleeping. For students like him, there will be an Escape Reality Event on April 25 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the UNO Criss Library. Students will get to play Beat Saber, a Virtual Reality (VR) game, and other VR games produced by UNO students.
Destress-fest also holds a Mav Necessities event in the MBSC Atrium on April 29 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. for students in need of supplies for finals week. They will be giving out supplies, as well as walking tacos!
Every year the Office of Spirit and Traditions tries to incorporate new events but always holds an animal, food, and exercise event, so that there is an event for every student to enjoy.
Pickett recommends going to “Goats at the Library” on April 25 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. where students can relieve stress by hanging out with baby goats from Joy Acre Farms. Another event he recommends is the is “Relaxation Station” on April 28 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the University Clubhouse. Students will get the chance to play board games, get an essential oils kit, free Fazolis and enter a giveaway for branded Mav pillows.
The Destress-fest is all about taking your mind off of work and relaxing, so do as the events page banner says and “take a break.”
