During exam periods, student organizations put together events called Stress Busters for students to take study breaks and relieve some tension. The counseling center also offers services for students who wish to have one-on-one help during exam time.
This year, University Activities Board is running a week-long event called Finals Fun Week.
” This is the first year that we are doing a week’s worth of Stress Busters events. We, as a board, thought it was strange that UAB didn’t put on events during finals, so we figured it was important to start a new tradition,” Erinn Wofford-Allen , senior in applied psychology and UAB diversity chair, said.
The events include a promotional movie put on by the Films Committee, a dub-step dance party put on by Issues and Issues, a karaoke night put on by the Black Students Board, an origami night put on by the Diversity Activities Board Committee, and ultimate bingo put on by the Leisure and Entertainment Committee.
“The idea was to have each committee create a fun event to showcase all the committees and the UAB as a whole. We all knew we would be stressed around finals and figured that this would be a perfect short break for students during finals,” Allen said.
The counseling center offers appointments for one-on-one sessions with counselors as well as workshops students can sign up for through the counseling website, including a weekly Friday Stress Meeting. Last year, there were 191 workshops throughout the semester, with 8,611 students in attendance.
There was an increase in both offered workshops and attending students, so the center tries to offer something for everyone.
The workshops vary by organization, including athletics, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, College of Education, First Year College, and the University Honors Program, and are run by the counseling outreach program. There are topics such as study skills, stress management, test taking, procrastination and time management. Coming up Nov. 30 is a test anxiety workshop, a healthy cramming workshop Dec. 1 and a stress management workshop Dec . 5 .
According to Lee Salter, director of counseling and licensed psychologist, student appointments increase significantly during exams. Despite the high demand, they still take walk-ins. He also says starting early is best. The counseling center is open and the workshops run all semester.
However, Salter offered some simple advice any student can follow. He recommends organization of tasks, getting enough sleep, eating healthy, exercising, limiting parties to after all exams are done and not pulling all-nighters .
Matthew Adams, senior in computer science, attended Carmichael Gym’s Exam Jam a few times.
“The event was decent. Free food is always a boon to students. It’s nice near exams to be able to take a moment away from your work,” Adams said.
Adams said he thinks the University offers a reasonable amount of programs for managing stress, but he wishes the information and resources were easier to find.
Derin Alabi , senior in computer engineering, attended the Pet-A-Pooch event last year.
“I liked [Pet-A-Pooch]. It really was a nice break from the constant scrambling during dead week,” Alabi said.
For more information on stress relief, there are pamphlets available at the counseling center, and a collection of virtual pamphlets linked on the counseling center website.
