Students, Huff official react to finals week stress

Sabrina Bosquez demonstrates the final step in the "bridge" yoga pose.
Photo by Bryan Dugan.

Scheduling time and the health facts about finals

Decked out in a gray University of Oklahoma hoodie and crimson jogging shorts, Joe Love, English sophomore, lays his bottle of Ozark water down, steps onto a treadmill and takes off.

According to Love, throughout the semester, he regularly takes the time out of his day to at least run, if not more.

“It’s hard to fit in time [for working out], but I make an honest effort,” Love said. “If I don’t lift weights, I at least attempt to run.”

Love said he knows finals week presents stressful situations for all involved, students and professors alike. However, associate director of the Huston Huffman Fitness Center, Miranda Williams, said that individuals should be taking advantage of the opportunities at the Huff throughout the semester and not only during finals.

Joe Love, English sophomore, works out in the Huston Huffman center on Friday, December 4, 2009.
Photo by Bryan Dugan.

“During finals week [Hustin Huffman Fitness Center] sees an increase in visitors,” Williams said. “Both professors and students are coming in to, hopefully, take a break from the pressure of finals.”

Miranda Williams, associate director of the Huston Huffman Fitness Center discusses the many ways students and professors can incorporate a physical fitness and healthy eating lifestyle into finals week, and eventually into their everyday lives.
Video by: Bryan Dugan.

Aside from going to the gym during this one week, Williams suggests that students and professors work some form of fitness into their daily routine.

eHow.com reported that “when all else fails, go for a run. Running will clear your mind and you will feel completely refreshed when you get back to your books.”

Be sure to get plenty of sleep and eat healthy during this stressful week. If you stay up late and eat junk food, your brain will not have enough energy to function to its fullest capacity, said eCampusTours.com.

TeensHealth, an organization devoted to helping students with whole body health, suggested that college-aged students receive an hour of physical activity each day.

On Friday, December 4, a polling of twenty students on the South Oval revealed that twelve regularly obtain an hour of physical activity, and eight obtain an hour of physical activity during finals week.

“I had no idea I was supposed to be getting an hour in the gym every day,” said Chaillie Challis, university college sophomore. “I’m too busy, but now I’ll make time.”

Utilizing fitness classes

Sabrina Bosquez, public relations senior, recommended each OU student take advantage of the classes offered through the University or the groups who meet at the Huston Huffman Fitness Center.

“Last semester I enrolled in a yoga class, not expecting it to be beneficial, and ended the class mad at myself for not taking a class every semester,” Bosquez said.

She says that learning a new fitness workout in a group is more successful than attempting to learn it alone.

“If you’re stuck with something, or even lacking the motivation to keep going, you have your friends or your teacher there to help your or push you,” she said.

According to Williams, the Huff releases a group fitness schedule at the beginning of each semester and hosts a day where students can receive a fifty percent discount on joining a class.

Currently, Bosquez is enrolled in a Pilates class and plans to do the same for her final semester in the spring. She said she hopes to see more participation from the OU community so her class would more than ten or fifteen girls.

To the finish line

Now that the semester is five days from being over, students need to find a way to keep finals week healthy, whether or not they’ve been consistent with their exercise and eating habits, Williams said.

“During finals week, prioritizing when you are studying for what tests, scheduling yourself time for breaks, not studying for too long at a time so that your mind can rest, and completely getting away from the study for a period of time can be very helpful,” Williams said.

Williams goes on to add that good eating habits, hydration, sleep, and physical activity have all shown to enhance studying and retention of knowledge.

One day at a time, one test at a time is an aphorism repeated by Williams to many of the students who ask her for advice.

For students who are at the breaking point, Williams suggested that they lay their work down and just go for a walk. She said that getting your mind away from the task at hand can improve memorization and can squeeze in a bit of physical activity.

Idea for Final

Yoga for college students.
*The weeks leading up to finals can be stressful, so I want to highlight the benefits of yoga for college students.

Media ideas:
Soundslide: A student demonstrating yoga poses with meditation music.
Video: Video package of a yoga class offered in the Huff, with a interview with an instructor detailing the benefits of yoga, especially during a stressful time.

Additional media elements:
*A "by the numbers" infographic.
*Links to yoga podcasts.

Students "shacking up" to promote awareness for homeless population

(Video by: Bryan Dugan)

Cardboard boxes and heckling from students with money jars along a portion of the South Oval marked the return of the annual Shack-a-Thon on Wednesday.

“OU’s Habitat for Humanity chapter raises money during the annual event to fund the construction of houses for homeless families,” said Brittany Dorsey, public relations senior.

Dorsey said her sorority, along with student organizations and fraternities, arrived on the South Oval before 10 a.m. to construct their cardboard shacks and will stay until 10 that night. She said they will tough out the cold weather and was extremely glad that the event was changed from an overnight fundraiser to a daytime one.

In response to the change, Jordan Eppler, Habitat for Humanity president said, “As a group we decided it was going to be more effective to hold the event during the day.”

Whether the event was held overnight or during the day, the money from the Shack-a-Thon creates chances for individuals that would otherwise be left on the street.

According to the OU Habitat for Humanity website, Shack-a-Thon raised over 3,000 last year.

An afternoon in the Features Office

Above: Life in Features Office on a Wednesday afternoon--spread designs and beach ball tournaments.
(Video by: Bryan Dugan)

CMA: Austin

Laura Fortner, visual communications sophomore, explains the importance of Collegiate Media Adviser's Austin Convention to her future career.

Bizzell doubles as second living room for OU students

(Right:) Two students utilize the couches and quiet environment provided by the Bizzell Memorial Library for one to catch up on a television show she missed the previous night, while the other finishes her homework. Photo by Bryan Dugan.



Comfortable couches and the opportunity to be in seclusion offer a whole new experience for students at the University of Oklahoma’s Bizzell Memorial Library. During semester downtime, a few occasional students step through the large wooden doors of the library to enter a quiet world in which they can escape from hasty campus life.

Her brown jacket half-draped over the chair she has sat in for the last three hours and her red shoes tossed to the side of her desk represent business sophomore Vinita Musapeta’s relaxation mentality at the library. It’s midnight, her feet are elevated onto the desk in front of her, and her Internet browser has Hulu--a website that offers free streaming of television shows--loaded.

“When I don’t have homework or a [student] organization meeting to go to the library is my living room,” Musapeta said. “I come down to the lower level of the library and do everything I would normally do at my apartment: watch TV, download music, take a nap.”

Musapeta said getting away from her loud roommates is her main reason for coming to the library after her classes, “They’re like a constant boom box of noise. It’s a relief to have a place on campus that I can take refuge in.”

Audio Interview with Vinita Musapeta:

Like Musapeta, other students also frequent the quiet atmosphere the library has to offer.

“In between my classes, I need someplace that I know I can go to for some downtime,” Zekiel Johnson, Area and International Studies junior, said. “The couches on the third floor, outside the Great Reading Room, are very comfortable, and make for a great place to hunker down and wait for a storm to pass, or just for time to pass until my next class. Not to mention the library during its off hours make for a great place for intimate rendezvous.”



Johnson said he thinks many students come to the library as a get-a-way and explains, “The library is a less public, more quiet version of the Union. It's a common building for all students. Whereas only JMC majors may ever see the inside of Gaylord Hall, fine arts majors may ever set foot in a class in Reynolds, and A&S majors may ever stop in Ellison, all students can go to the library.”

Johnson also goes on to say that in between classes, the library is a central point on campus that any student can come in, find a place to sit—or sleep—until their next class or their ride gets to campus, or to meet up with other students from other places on campus.

Library student assistant, Michelle Richards, said, “I completely understand why students would want to come to the library. It’s got a lot of comfortable couches and is really quiet. Why not?”

In fact, President David L. Boren insisted that the library buy the leather couches upon his arrival at the University, according to Richards. The library was built in the 1920s, with the new wing added in the 1970s, and the couches following two decades later.


Illustration by Bryan Dugan.

“When Boren came, he pushed for more comfy couches in order to make it [the library] a more homey feel for students,” Richards said.

Richards said aside from luxurious furniture, the library boasts the presence of The Bookmark as a location for students to come and socialize. The Bookmark is a small café located on the lower level of the library that serves coffee, bakery-esque foods, and hosts a location for vending machines.

As for casual study groups, Johnson said the library offers convenient locations for impromptu functions.

“The closed off rooms that are so readily available to students allow a place for my study groups to meet without a large notice ahead of time,” Johnson said. “Furthermore, I've met conversation groups for my foreign language classes in the library, as it also offers a place where students have access to white boards or chalk boards—which are very useful for a language with a Cyrillic alphabet.”

Johnson and Richards both agree that most frequented places in the library are The Great Reading Room and the lower level lounges. Musapeta disagreed and said that the lower level desks, which are well hidden, are the most frequented.

With many students using the library as a living room, noise is sure to be brought into the quiet environment. Richards said that although she’s wanted to ask a few students to leave, the library has security that monitors the building and keeps an eye on students who get out of line.

A Day in the Life of a Chem-Math Librarian

Tanyon Helzer, undecided sophomore, works in the Chem-Math Library located in the Physical Science Center Monday through Friday from eight a.m. to eleven a.m. In this soundslide, Helzer is going about his day to day procedures: picking up books requested by students and entering information in on the library's computer.