Starting May 8, the University Student Union (USU) will be hosting an event called “It’s Crunch Time” which aims to help students alleviate stress during a time that is very taxing for most students – finals week.  Best of all, this event is free.

The event is being held at Plaza Del Sol, USU and the Satellite Student Union and will have stress-relieving crafts, on-the-go snacks, test kit handouts, games, and massages to help ease the pressure of test taking.  The USU has been holding this event since Fall 2001.

“Dealing with finals myself, it just feels like everything is being thrown at you and you have so much to do,” said Iris Pupo, an event assistant at the USU.  “We are here to help them [students] and encourage them through finals.”

According to Pupo, there will be three themes running through the week before finals; Cereal Day, Superhero Day, and School House Rock.

“We chose these themes so we can relate them to what students are going through at that time,” Pupo said. She continued by explaining how Superhero Day will offer health foods to give students more energy for the long hours spent studying.

Students may remember the event, previously named “Up All Night” (named that way because they would literally have the USU open for 24 hours to help students), only happened during finals week itself, but this time around the USU is holding the event the week before finals as well to help students prepare, according to Pupo. The choice to change it to “It’s Crunch Time” was because it seemed like something students could relate to.

The on-the-go snacks will be at a table with various health snacks so the students can make their own type of grab bag and take it with them as they rush off to class or head home to go study.

The test kits will include bags that contain pens/pencils, scantrons and other items to help students with their studies and test taking.

The massage portion will consist of a five-minute free massage, continuing the crunch time idea behind it. The health center will be providing the people giving the massage, so they are will trained and licensed for maximum stress relief.

Most of this stuff will be happening the week before finals, but there are other goodies to be had during finals week itself.

On May 14, breakfast will be served from 8-9 a.m. at the Plaza Del Sol.  Later that evening, at the SSU, the Residence Hall Association will host a make-your-own ice cream sundaes from 8-11 p.m.

“We are here to plan events for students and we want them to enjoy it,” said Pupo.  “That’s the purpose of the union, to add to the ultimate college experience and hope they enjoy it.”

For more information, head to the USU website for a full breakdown of the schedule.