Students overwhelmed by finals pressure can relax during Stress Relievers next Sunday in the LaFortune Student Center ballroom, sponsored by the Student Union Board (SUB).
SUB board manager Ashley Markowski said the group has been sponsoring this event, which features relaxing activities for students, for years.
"There will be free Buffalo Wild Wings, Panera, Chipotle, Papa John's, Kilwin's and more," Markowski said. "There will also be massage therapists offering massages in the ballroom."
SUB will only host one event during finals week or reading days because University policy prohibits student organizations from offering programming during that time, Markowski said.
"There is an exception made for Stress Relievers because it is an event grandfathered in from before the rule, and all of the planning and programming for Stress Relievers is completed before reading days begin," Markoswki said. "Also, the purpose of the event is to eliminate some of the stress and anxiety that students feel towards upcoming exams."
Markowski said she expects the attendance at this event to match or outrun numbers from previous years.
"Every year this event has outstanding attendance ... we are expecting 750 to 1,000 students this year," Markowski said. "This event is a tradition designed specifically for students to find a place to relax before the hectic finals week begins. It is an opportunity for free food and relaxing massages."
SUB has 13 programs planned for this year, Markowski said.
"Each program chooses its events based on tradition, student feedback, campus surveys and information from the National Association of College Activities," Markowski said. "Each dorm on campus has a SUB rep that is responsible for collecting feedback at their hall council and gathering responses to a SUB rep question of the week. We also welcome any feedback to the SUB email at sub@nd.edu."
Markowski encouraged students to look for the SUB's events planned for next semester.
"The Notre Dame Literary Festival will occur January 22 and 23 with a bestselling author whose novel has been turned into a major motion picture," Markowski said. "Ideas and Issues will have their second speaker of the year in January, after the well-attended appearance of criminal profiler Pat Brown in November ... the SUB is currently working on the spring Movies Line-up and the large-scale spring events such as the concert, Holy Half, Collegiate Jazz Festival and AnTostal.
