Campus spa brings much needed respite for students

Rainy weather, holiday planning, final exams, projects and essays: we all dread this time of year. Relief is just around the corner with the end of the semester approaching, yet for those who visited the Bartlett Atrium between 11 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Nov. 28, it came a little sooner.

In an effort to give back to students during this stressful time of year, the Student Programming Board (SPB) hosted a free campus spa event for students which included massages, oxygen therapy, bracelet-making, coloring activities and more.

Planning an event such as this sends a message to Maryville College students that the SPB and MC staff have their back. “The purpose of the event was to help students remember to take time out of their day to take care of themselves since it is such a stressful time of the semester,” said sophomore, and SPB member, Kasey Lusk. To those who attended, SPB’s efforts proved successful.

“I think this event is such a stress reliever to a lot of students, especially around this time of year. Just being able to partake in relaxing events, some of which might not be in financial reach for some, we are college students after all, is just a lot of fun,” said senior Anna Zander.

Tension was lifted from the shoulders of students for a brief while during the campus spa, though the need for such an event highlights just how stressful this period in the school year can be for students around the United States.

Although this is the most joyous time of the year for many individuals, with Christmas and New Year’s approaching, the end of the semester is neither holly or jolly for numerous college students. In the midst of worrying about finances for the holidays, preparing for trips to see family and friends, trying to bring grades up and preparing for final exams and assignments, many students forget to take time to take care of themselves.

“It’s a rough season for everyone, so hosting an event where everyone, including our board, can relax can help foster self-care,” said SPB’s Marketing and Communications team lead, junior Cassady Bassett. “We specifically try and get people to relax and forget about school and everything else.”

For next year, SPB hopes to return to their larger, traditional campus spa event setting.

“This year, due to the space constraints we were not able to host a big event like [last year]. When we originally planned for this event, we were told that the alumni gym should be back open for us to use, but it wasn’t so we had to cut down,” said Bassett. “Hopefully next time we host this event, we will be back in the alumni gym and will be able to size up the event. We like to have different options every year, keeping the actual campus spa people in the center.”

The limited space for this event led to longer wait times for those who attended, but was still successful in providing a safe space for students to relax.

“It was a long wait, about an hour and a half, but it was nice to just chill and try not to worry about everything,” said Zander. “I think the wait situation could be resolved, maybe by having people sign up for time slots, but overall they did a fantastic job.”

SPB is considering ideas for next year’s stress relief event.