Under pressure

Activities designed to relieve stress of finals

While the thought of preparing for exam week can be overwhelming, there are many activities available on campus to help ease the tension. 

The University Center and FLITE will be accommodating the study needs of students with “Plan for the Exam” activities Sunday, April 29, to Tuesday, May 1. 

“The goal of this is to create small breaks to help them deal with the stress of the week. We don’t want them to burn out, so we’re trying to give them some good releases but also not create an event where it’s distracting them from their studies,” Ferris reservation specialist Shana Beisiegel said. 

Both buildings will be adjusting their hours during this period, with the UC and main library staying open until 2 a.m. and the FLITE deck staying open until 7:30 a.m. 

The UC will be providing an array of snacks as well as 15-minute massage sessions. Students must sign up for the massages on a sheet that will be posted outside of UC Rooms 123 and 124 one hour before the first time slot on Monday, April 29. 

FLITE will be hosting their own set of activities, one of the most popular being therapy dogs, which will take place under a tented area in the North Quad on Thursday, April 26, from 6:30–7:30 p.m. 

“If [students] have ideas about things they’d like to see, let us know. We have a suggestion box and they can email us things they would like to see for an exam week de-stress that we haven’t thought of,” Ferris outreach librarian David Scott said. 

Many students feel increased amounts of stress during exam week with final projects, exams and presentations. 

“I feel pretty stressed because I’m a huge procrastinator, so I wait until the end and all these group projects that are due at this point, I’ve barely started,” Ferris accounting sophomore Anna Love said. 

“Plan for the Exam” activities take place each semester leading into final exam week and are entirely free for students. 

For students to further improve their study habits, the coordinators of the activities have partnered with the tutoring center to offer computers and study rooms for rent, as well as free index cards. 

“It sounds nice, for sure. I think I’ll definitely do it. I’ve recently been coming across issues from my lack of ability to eradicate stress,” Ferris graphic media management freshman Shannon Corbett said.


Plan for the Exam Fun

In the University Center:

  • Snacks including puppy chow, trail mix and fruit
  • Soft pretzels with cheese (Tuesday, May 1, only)
  • Hydration stations with infused water
  • Relaxation rooms
  • Quiet zones
  • Weekly planners
  • Video games
  • 15-minute massages

In FLITE:

  • Nap room with sleeping bags, pillows, beanbags and soft lighting
  • Free coffee in the FLITE deck
  • Stick Together activity 
  • Therapy dogs (Thursday, April 26, only)