Several student organizations joined together on Thursday, Dec. 2 to host an 11-hour stress relief event: Stress Less Day. The event took place from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. at various spots in and around the Oakland Center (OC). All students were encouraged to participate in different activities to help relieve stress associated with the last week of classes and exams.

The event was put together by several organizations at OU, including: the Office of Student Involvement (OSI), Student Video Productions (SVP), Student Program Board (SPB), The Tutoring Center, Residence Life Association (RLA), Hillel — a Jewish student organization and the Leadership and Volunteer Center (LVC).

Stress Less Day began with a blood drive in O’Dowd Hall sponsored by the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine (OUWB) and OSI. Other activities at the start of the event included multiple coloring stations in The Habitat and crafts for service projects, which were sponsored by LVC, in the garage across from the OSI office.

Snacks were provided by several different organizations inside the OC throughout the course of the event. The OSI had set up a long table in The Habitat stocked with chips, popcorn, Blaze Pizza coupon kits and OU reusable lunch boxes.

Afternoon activities included therapy dogs, string art and massage chairs sponsored by SPB, two movies sponsored by SVP — “Elf” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” — and holiday crafts sponsored by RLA. There was also the continuation of an all day elf-on-the-shelf hunt sponsored by the OSI.

SVP sponsored a booth outside of the OC near Elliott Clock Tower from 12 p.m. until 3 p.m. called “Smash Station.” Students were able to throw ceramic plates at a wall inside the booth as a means of getting their anxieties and frustrations out as they approach final exams.

Hannah M., freshman, hoped activities like the “Smash Station” would relieve her anxieties before her finals next week.

“I’ve just been really stressed out because of all my exams and work,” she said. “I smashed some plates earlier and it was really fun, and actually kind of helped.”

With the last week of instruction and final exams fastly approaching, students can easily get overwhelmed with final coursework and studying. To help students check in on themselves and each other during these rigorous weeks, there were posters displayed throughout The Habitat encouraging students to take care of their mental health.

Stress Less Day provided an engaging and creative outlet for students to take a step back from the pressure of school. Charlie L., senior, was excited about the chance to distract himself from coursework for a few hours.

“I’m happy that I had something to do between my classes that wasn’t homework,” he said. “It’s cool that this is all day and there’s so many things I could be doing [at the event].”

As the fall semester comes to an end, campus events put together by these organizations will start back up in January with the beginning of the winter semester. Students interested in diving back into campus activities during the new semester should keep an eye out for posts on GrizzOrgs and flyers around campus for events being put on by these organizations.