Stress was released and fun was had at the Department of Recreation and Wellness’ third annual Stress Free Zone before Thanksgiving break.
Students enjoyed a night of fun and stress-relieving activities at the Student Recreation Center Thursday, Nov. 18. The stress-free activities included free food and drinks, prizes, a DJ, dodge ball, three on three basketball tournament, Wii Bowling, yoga, art and crafts, climbing wall, meditation and relaxation techniques, human bowling and an inflatable obstacle course.
The event was sponsored by; Recreation and Wellness, Student Wellness Network, BGSU Bookstore, Student Nutrition Association, BGSU Counseling Center and the Falcon Parent and Family Association.
Britani Williams, a senior intern with the Wellness Connection, was in charge of putting the event together. She worked with and coordinated a group of freshman in order to create, organize and publicize the event.
“I had never planned an event, so it was very different from anything I had done before,” Williams said.
Over 100 students attended the event. Considering it was the premier of the Harry Potter movie, senior Dietetics major, Jillian Urig said it was a good turnout.
“I think the event was very well run and organized,” Urig said.
Urig is a member of the Student Nutrition Associate and held table display for students to present information on how to snack healthy when stressed out. The table consisted of a display of healthy stress relieving foods and a few samples such as dark nuts for students to try.
“We wanted to give students the information they needed so the next time they were stressed out they could make a healthy stress relieving decision,” Urig said. “Instead of reaching for a bag of potato chips or a tub of ice cream, we wanted to give students healthy, but stress relieving options.”
Chelsea Verhoff, senior HDFS major, also volunteered at the event, with a slightly different role.
“My favorite part was the free food and watching people do the human bowling,” Verhoff said.
Verhoff, who is also an executive member of the Student Wellness Network, helped with the human bowling activity.
Students filled out evaluation forms at the end of the night to receive a free stress ball. The results were mostly positive and showed that most students’ favorite part of the event was the free food, yoga, arts and crafts and basketball.
“My other favorite part of the Stress Free Zone was actually seeing it come together and watching people enjoy the event,” Williams said.
