During finals week, members of a student group used an alternative method of stress relief, placing a picture of the actor Morgan Freeman on their computer desktops to calm their nerves.

Ted Cotter, a sophomore in business management, created a group on Facebook called “Finals featuring Morgan Freeman.”

The picture reduced stress from upcoming exams and increased his ability to concentrate and study, according to Cotter.

Freeman acted in films such as Glory and The Shawshank Redemption and played God in Bruce Almighty.

Andrew Bradley, a junior in biological sciences, said he originally found the picture of Freeman on an Internet search engine and placed it on his desktop. Cotter later saw the picture and became inspired to create the group, according to Bradley.

Bradley said the picture helped him relax.

“Late at night, I’m like, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’ Then I look in [Freeman’s] face and just imagine him saying, ‘Come on, Andrew, you can do this,'” Bradley said. “It’s a very calm picture.”

The group began with intentions of humor, according to Cotter.

“The group’s original intentions were just to mock Andrew because I thought it was so ridiculous and I was mocking him at first,” Cotter said. “That’s when the idea started to take off.”

The group grew to more than 200 members within 3 days of its formation, according to Cotter. He said he wanted to measure the effects of the picture on students’ grades.

Of the 100 student participants from whom he gathered data, a majority of students claimed the picture did improve their grades or study skills, according to Cotter.

“I got their GPA,” Cotter said. “The peoplewho did this did do better [on exams].”

Cotter said the experiment is unique to N.C. State and a graduate student could do further research on the reasons behind the effects of the picture.

Although the results showed grade improvements, the method of the data collection was not scientific, Cotter said.

Tori Renz, a junior in technology education, said she did not understand the reasoning behind the choice of Morgan Freeman as a computer background and inspiration during finals week.

“I don’t want to look at Morgan Freeman for a week,” she said.

Renz said the experiment proves students resort to “acts of desperation” for help during finals week.

Stephanie Morgan, a sophomore in animal science, said she felt the picture was not her “saving grace” during exams, but it was beneficial.

“The picture itself was the reminder to study,” Morgan said.

Morgan said she thinks students look for anything to help them during finals week and the group was “an outlet that is much needed during that time.”

Duy Nguyen, a sophomore in mathematics, said he joined the group because of its originality.

Nguyen said he did not place the picture of Freeman on his desktop this past semester, but said he plans to participate during spring semester exams.

“I’m convinced that this Morgan Freeman experiment is meant to act as a placebo by college students,” Nguyen said. “If they naturally think that this Morgan Freeman [photo] will help them study, then they probably try a little harder.”

Diane Hagan, a junior in textile technology, said she did not think the photo would be helpful to her studies.

“I would put my [pictures of my] friends [on my computer desktop],” Hagan said. “They are pretty encouraging.”

For students like Bradley, the picture “worked wonders,” and he said he recommends more students use it.

“Some of the time, you don’t think you’re going to make it, [and you] just look into [Freeman’s] eyes and get a calm feeling,” Bradley said. “Like someone looking after [you].”

The group has been discontinued, but Cotter said he will start it again at the beginning of dead week spring semester.