Asking a college graduate how they remember their undergraduate years is like opening up a Pandora's box full of memories. You would be amazed at how many stories they can tell you about, those late night conversations with friends in the dorm, those crazy off campus adventures, or the annual campus traditions that everyone tried to check off their 'college bucket list' before graduating.
Rarely, will they ever tell you about spending hours locked up in the library before a midterm, pulling an all-nighter to finish writing a big paper, or the most stressful for any student... finals week. No one wants to remember studying for more than one exam because the professors decided to have them on the same day, or feeling completely brain dead after the first test, but forcing yourself to go back to the library and prepare for the next final.
Univeristy of Indianapolis students are no exception. They will often tell you all about those fond memories of the good times they had in school, but no one likes to talk about, or remember, studying for those exams, or writing that research paper. Thankfully, there are events on campus that not only help students at UIndy get through this stressful week, but will hopefully leave them with slightly more pleasant memories of finals week in college.
The week before finals, the UIndy Counseling Center sponsors the annual Dog Days event for students. Faculty and staff who own a dog, bring their four-legged friends to campus for students to play with during the lunch hour. Since the university mascot is the greyhound, there is also a Greyhound Rescue group that brings some dogs to the event. In the last three years, Dog Days has also been part of the Counseling Center's Wellness & Relaxation Fair, which includes tables with information about managing stress. During the actual finals week, students always look forward to the annual Midnight Breakfast, where the faculty/staff volunteer to serve them a hot breakfast in the campus dining hall. This year, the students camped outside of the dining hall from as early as 8pm, and were entertained by a live DJ, prize giveaways from the Residence Life staff, and a student-organized flash mob. In the fall semester, students have one additional event to look forward to during the first finals week of the year. Dessert Diversion, which happens on Tuesday of finals week, is an event hosted by the Student Alumni Association. Students are invited to the Steirwalt Alumni House for desserts from The Cheesecake Factory and the chance to win great prize giveaways. Each student is asked to bring a canned food item, which are then collectively donated to a local food bank of choice.