Jeneal Merriman found herself walking through the Student Experience Center Plaza in the pursuit for a quick bite to eat, but ended up finding stress relief in the moon sand and playdough in the plaza.

She stated that she often has immense levels of stress around finals week, and often finds resources such as these beneficial. She was particularly keen on the massage opportunities offered on campus, as well as the relaxing music.

“We saw the sand, and it looked fun to play with, and stress-relieving,” said Merriman.

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) partnered with Dixon Recreational Sports Center, OSU Program Council’s Java Acoustic program and other services on campus to combat midterm stress through a variety of stress-relieving mediums.

This unity developed into an event in the Student Experience Center Plaza on Wednesday, May 10 from noon to 3 p.m. titled “Unwind in the Plaza.”Here, students were welcomed to an array of refreshments, an assortment of crafting opportunities, meditation, massages and even therapy dogs—all activities which are aimed to help alleviate the stress of students after their midterms, and help encourage students to relax.

Unwind in the Plaza branched off one of CAPS’ workshops titled “Destress Recess.” Destress Recess is where organizations, or classes in general, may come and request a workshop where they can do similar activities as were seen at Unwind in the Plaza. These could be do-it-yourself activities, such as arts and crafts.

“We have had many people have positive outcomes,” said Sean Borne, the student outreach assistant for CAPS regarding these activities.

Borne says that as a student who experiences the stresses of midterms and finals himself, it makes him feel better to see the students engaging in the event. The event has historically been popular, and overall positive in previous years. This success may be attributed to the inclusivity and collaboration of the different organizations on campus.

The event is specifically planned during week six of the term, because it is anticipated that most students will have had at least one midterm by that time. The strategic placing is intended to help realign students and help them focus, with the end goal being getting students mentally prepared for finishing the term.

“That building stress of seeing the end of the term kind of affects people in different ways,” Borne said.

Borne truly believes in the need for stress management and relief, which is why he feels so strongly about the event.

“It’s just kind of a good outdoor spring event, for people to just come and relax,” said Borne.

If students are looking for more opportunities in terms of stress relief, they may check out any of the many opportunities offered through CAPS on campus.