By JESSALYN KIRCHHOFF
Tiger Media Network
In the words of Mariah Carey, ‘It’s Tiiiimmmmeeeeee.’ But unlike Carey’s song, the ‘time’ we are talking about is not Christmas, but rather, finals week at Fort Hays State University.
Last night, one of the first ‘de-stress’ events of the week took place in the McMindes Cafe, the annual ‘Finals Feeding Frenzy.’
Bob Duffy, who is a drug and alcohol counselor with Health and Wellness as well as one of the event’s coordinators, provides a brief description of this activity.
“This event is basically an extra breakfast meal served at night,” Duffy said. “The servers are FHSU faculty, staff, and administrators who volunteer for the night. It’s a way for us to give back to our students, and meet them ‘on their turf.’”
Duffy expands on the background of this particular finals week tradition.
“Some form of this event or another has been put on since before I began here at FHSU (26 years ago),” he said. “Although the event has changed hands over the years, this year’s frenzy is being put on by Residential Life, Health and Wellness Services, Union Catering Company, and a host of volunteers including staff, faculty, and administrators from departments all around campus.”
The Finals Feeding Frenzy has grown in numbers each semester and the ending of Fall 2023 was no different. Before the event began at 9 p.m., there was a line of students out of the front door of the McMindes building. From there, students were directed to open up their Event Passes on the Corq app to check in.
Lucero Ontiveros, a junior majoring in human resource management at FHSU, is a frequent flyer at the ‘Finals Feeding Frenzy’ each year.
“I look forward to this night each semester as it gives me a chance to fuel up before finals and, of course, who doesn’t like free breakfast at the cafe,” Ontiveros said.
Brooke Renshaw, a senior majoring in accounting with an emphasis on public accounting, was thankful to take a break from studying and to receive a free warm meal.
“I had been holed up in my apartment studying for my final exams and working on multiple final projects all day, so this was exactly the breather that I needed in order to refocus before the week started,” Renshaw said. “It was great to see a bunch of my peers there also.”
These student reviews reflect what Duffy explains to be the overall purpose of the frenzy.
“With this event, we aim to help students stay nourished as part of their self-care, during what is traditionally one of the most stress-producing weeks of the year,” Duffy said. “This is one way for FHSU to thank our students by interacting with them in an informal way, and to give them a boost of encouragement this week.”
Duffy thanks the people who made this night such a huge success.
“I would like to give a huge thank you shoutout to all of the faculty, staff, and administrators that were able to volunteer time out of their busy schedules – we’re busy during finals too – as well as all of the students who were able to attend,” he said.
Additional finals week de-stress events include the ‘Random Acts of Snacks’ event put on by the Forsyth Library, which started this morning at 8 a.m. and continues until 8 p.m. tonight.
Stay tuned to TMN’s social pages (@tigermedianet) for coverage of more of the events that will be popping up on campus this week.
You must be logged in to post a comment.