With only two weeks left of school, tensions are high. I don’t know about you, but I’ve got numerous tests, papers and presentations due before the end of next week. I had almost reached a breaking point yesterday, when I was sitting in the Smaug and suddenly felt like the yellow walls were slowly closing in on me, but then I was given a handful of bubble wrap.
This timely and helpful gift was a part of Anti-Stress Fest on Tuesday afternoon in East Hall. The event brought in a collection of clubs from around campus, but was hosted by Winona State’s Active Minds club. They had a table with club information, more bubble wrap and anti-stress rocks in the middle of the room. Around them, there was a half circle of tables with hula-hoops, free Chartwells apples and a station for making stress balls.
RunnerUp Comedy Troupe performed around 11:30 and, when I arrived around 2:30, Anime Club was dancing. There were also Health and Wellness advocates present, along with representatives from Bedsider and SEMAC to promote safe sexual behavior. There was even a collection of beanbag chairs set up around a movie for those who just needed to sit for awhile.
Overall, the event was both fun and relaxing, and Active Minds co-presidents, Gretchen Haga and Alex Paulson, were pleased with the event’s success. Active Minds has only been around for one semester, so they were happy to see that so many clubs and individuals came to support them. But if you weren’t fortunate enough to make Tuesday’s event, don’t fret! Active Minds meets once a week and focuses upon mental health awareness. Though their meetings have been on Monday evenings at 6pm, contact Gretchen at
gh*****@wi****.edu
or like their Facebook page for more information about next semester’s meetings.
Although tensions are running high at this point in the semester, I walked away from Anti-Stress Fest feeling a little bit better. Perhaps it was because of the information I learned about stress management. Or, perhaps, it was because I was destroying a sheet of bubble wrap as I returned to conquer the walls of the Smaug and my homework.
For more information about the national Active Minds organization, please visit: www.activeminds.org.
