The First Year Council is hosting its De-Stress LARC Takeover on Monday, May 2, with food, drinks, and activities for participants.

“This is our second semester coordinating the event between the LARC, Self-Care, and ourselves for the De-Stress LARC Takeover,” First Year Council Programming Chair Clayton Herbst said, “We will have food and drinks in the grove, board games on the first floor, self-care activities on the second, and video games on the third for some relaxing, take-a-break activities.

Herbst said that the First Year Council believes it is important to promote strong mental health during finals and that taking time for breaks and to refresh is important to students.

“Our focus is to give students an opportunity to take some time for themselves with food and fun, in proximity to studying so they can go back and forth as needed,” Herbst said. 

The destress event was held previously at the end of the fall semester and Herbst described it as a “big hit.” He said there was a good amount of student involvement in the activities.

One organization partnering with the First Year Council is Self Care Club, which partnered on the event with the First Year Council in the fall.

“We found out about the event because we had participated in it last year, and so First Year  Council reached out to us again to join,” Self Care Club President Iliana Paz said.

“It’s going to be a craft and game night. We’re going to have some card games, canvases, and mirrors to draw positive messages on,” Paz said about what Self Care Club and the LARC are offering during the event. “There are also going to be other (activities) going on in other places of the LARC.”

Because the First Year Council is run by freshmen, Herbst said that he doesn’t know if the event will occur next school year but hopes the organization hosts the event next year. 

Paz said that Self Care Club hopes the event will go on in the future having been hosted at the end of the Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 semesters.