By Claire Underwood, Staff Writer

December is always a stressful time for college students. With upcoming final exams, papers, and projects, many people feel as though they do not have the time or energy to do anything fun or take a break. However, Mason offers many fun events meant to relax students as well as academic workshops with tips for dealing with stress.

The next of these events will happen on Dec. 6, the first week of finals. It will be in the Johnson Center Room 239A from 3-4 p.m., and is co-hosted by the Biology Club and the Patriots for Health Assistance. This will be a fun and relaxing event and will offer games such as jeopardy, bingo, and team bonding. It will also include free food, drinks, and prizes.

The next event will take place on the same day from 6-7:15 p.m. It will be located in SUB 1 in Suite 3129. This event revolves around test taking strategies and stress, and is named “Managing Performance Anxiety.”

More events will occur on Dec. 7. The first will take place at the Corner Pocket from 4:30-5:30 p.m. It will be hosted by the Multicultural Association of Pre-Health Students, or MAPS. They will offer an hour of free play on pool and ping-pong games, and will be giving away free food.

The last event is the Finals Destress Day, also on Dec. 7. This will be at 6 p.m. in the Johnson Center Room 326 B. This is hosted by the Mason chapter of MedX Global, and is open for all students to attend and play games.

The first of these sessions was Tuesday, Nov. 28 in the HUB. The event was named “Academic Survival for Finals,” and it offered tips on test-taking and not letting anxiety get in the way of studying. This was led by the Learning Services department of CAPS, and they distributed materials such as calendars and personal planners, and taught students how to prioritize their exams appropriately.

Saturday, Dec. 9 is the last official day of classes for this semester. The next Monday and Tuesday will be reading days, and then finals begin on Dec. 13 and end the following Wednesday, Dec. 20.

Illustration by Mary Jane DeCarlo