As the semester winds down and the University heads toward exams, stress levels rise in proportion to the number of term papers and art projects that soon will be due.
The University Programs Council offered students a break from that stress yesterday under the Big White Tent outside of Newcomb Hall by hiring three professional massage therapists to give free massages.
Fourth-year College student Christen Pendleton said her massage was "awesome."
"I had an hour to kill before a meeting and I saw a flyer," Pendleton said. "I feel great. It was definitely a nice surprise."
Carol Hakey and her husband Glenn, two of the massage therapists, offered tips to students as they proceed through exams.
"Stretching is important," Carol Hakey said. "Exercise of any kind is wonderful because it reduces stress."
Glenn Hakey added that it is important to take frequent breaks from the computer to stretch.
"You should take a break every hour," he said.
He suggested rolling your arms in large circles as a way to stretch out the back.
Also present at the massages was a new member of the UPC family - a large bee named Buzzy.
"One of our goals is to be buzz-worthy, so a mascot that buzzes is appropriate," Buzzy said.
The student inside the costume, one of the Governing Board members of UPC, declined to reveal his identity.
"It keeps people guessing," he said. "I like the whole mystery behind it."
The current Buzzy was the one who came up with the idea, and the rest of the committee nominated him to serve as the first mascot.
"We had the costume designed by a mascot company in Canada," Buzzy said. "It's high-tech - it has a fan in the top, so the person inside is not supposed to get hot. But the battery is dead today."
Buzzy goes to all UPC events, ranging from yesterday's massages to this weekend's Springfest at Mad Bowl.
"I dance around, and take a lot of pictures with kids and college students," Buzzy said. "Today I came inside to take a break, and some students hunted me down to take a picture with me."
Buzzy said that UPC hopes to offer the professional massages once a semester, or at least once a year.
"Students really like it," he said. "It relieves the stress before exams"
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