By: Natalie Rodriguez
Pancakes, eggs, and bacon at night is an interesting way to beat end-of-semester stress, but it’s just the thing for Michelle Gonzalez and many other Dominican Students.
Students love the annual Destress Week event, which is planned for Wednesday, December 5, from 9:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. this year.
Students say that this week helps to make finals feel less intense. Senior Michelle Gonzalez said her favorite event has always been Late-Night Breakfast. “There are people doing karaoke, everyone is vibing and eating good food,” she said. “After studying for so long, just sitting with my friends and enjoying breakfast together is really distracting from the stress.”
Gonzalez believes Destress Week reflects the university’s efforts to prioritize mental well-being.
“Our cortisol levels are always high,” she said. “Being able to regulate our stress through events made by our school shows they care.
As finals approach, the University Office of Student Involvement (OSI) has been working hard to plan a series of events for students to take a step back from studying.
Destress week happens every semester, the week before finals, thanks to the Office of Student Involvement. This year, the OSI is hosting not only Late-Night Breakfast, but also the ever-popular Therapy Dogs session.
This year, OSI is sharing the responsibilities for Destress Week with other campus groups.
“It used to be our office doing multiple events every day, but now we uplift all the other events happening,” said Jess Daniels, director of Student Involvement. “We don’t want to overwhelm students during a week that’s supposed to be calming.”
Other offices across campus, including the library, Ministry, etc., have added art sessions, study lock-ins, and winter-themed gatherings. A new fun offering this year is a low-sensory space in the SIRC, created by one of OSI’s graduate assistants to give students a quiet place to rest, grab a snack, or sit under soft lighting.
For OSI, the goal for Destress Week is to give students the room to breathe.
“The point is to provide opportunities for students to decompress,” said Mimi Peña, assistant director of OSI. “Whether it’s morning, afternoon, or evening, there’s always something going on.”
Campus counseling intern Dulce Valenzuela said Distress Week helps students step away from the pressure of finals. She explained that many students experience “future-oriented anxiety,” or stress driven by worrying about upcoming outcomes.
“The best way to handle finals is to study in groups, build a community, and lean on them,” Valenzuela said.
OSI wants student ideas for the future – some suggestions already include self-care kits, aromatherapy sessions, and even goat yoga have been suggested. Some events, like goat yoga, have already been tried in past years.
Students with ideas for future Destress Week activities can contact OSI anytime at beinvolved@dom.edu. “Any student input is always well received—we really do listen,” Daniels said.
