A game day stress reliever was held Sept. 25 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in L-109. The event was jointly sponsored by Extended Opportunity Programs & Services (EOPS), Brothers of Excellence Program (BOEP), Cooperative Agencies Resources for Education (CARE) and CalWORKs.

The event offered a relaxing time for students to gather together and work out their stress by playing games and socializing. Some of the activities that were offered included UNO, chess, checkers, Connect Four, Operation, Monopoly, Jenga and playing cards. They also provided students with video game consoles like PlayStation4 and Super Nintendo.

Although the event initially had a slow start, it didn’t take long for plenty of students to arrive and enjoy the festivities.

The event also offered an assortment of food items like nachos with all the fixings, chicken-fried rice, burritos and tacos.

The main intent with holding the event was to offer stress relief for students getting overwhelmed with the semester.

“[Students should] take personal time out, to focus on [their] well-being,” said EOPS Manager Steve Freeman.

Freeman also mentioned that students could look at this event to take just a few hours to relax and have fun. The event was also enabling EOPS to check in with students on their progress with the semester and how they can help if needed and to encourage students to finish the semester and not give up.

Accompanying this event was a representative from Financial Aid to take part in the activities, as well as provide additional support for students. 

“I [came] to check on students for questions or concerns about their financial aid,” said Lead Financial Aid Specialist Eva Monteverde. 

This event was announced to EOPS students by email.

Students had good things to say about their experience at the event.

“I like it as [a chance] to just sit and chill, to relax my brain before my next class,” said student Assumpta Ikpeazu. “I feel it helped a lot with my full-time schedule.”

“I like the help with the necessities they offer and the need for networking,” said Twanea Minnifield, another student who took part in the stress relief.