Students gather together on the quad to dance Zumba with the Dean.
KAREN FLORES/COURTESY
By Karen Flores, Staff Writer
Manhattan College hosted its annual Jasper Wellness Day last Tuesday. The day was filled with activities for students to pause and enjoy the beautiful weather as it gets closer to the end of the semester.
The day included activities such as puppies on the quad, an ice cream truck, a lawn game competition as well as Zumba with the dean of Kakos School of Arts and Science and ended with a movie on the quad featuring “Barbie”.
The Counseling Center had a table where students could write something they were grateful for on a sticky note. Adrienne Bilello, a staff clinician at the counseling center, believed that days such as these allow students to take a breath and try to lessen the stress that comes with the end of the semester.
“We’ve been seeing a lot of stressed-out students dealing with academic burnout and feeling tired,” Bilello said. “The career center created this gratitude wall so students can come up and write something they’re thankful for. It can be as big as their family and as small as the sun being out today. It can be easy to forget what good things are in our lives when we are focused on what is stressing us out.”
One way students could destress was by smashing a plate of whipped cream at an engineer. This event was hosted by the Society of Women Engineers and their subsidiary He for SWE. Nicholas Pesa, a senior computer engineer, was one of the various volunteers waiting to be “pied” by their peers.
“All male engineers that volunteer get pied in the face, it was 3 dollars for a small pie and five dollars for a big pie,” Pesa said. “We decided that today would be a good day because of the weather and the turnout has been great. It’s a great way for students to reclaim themselves. I know a lot of people here, especially in engineering, spend long hours studying so to be out on such a beautiful day with friends is a perfect way to reclaim yourself mentally.”
While this day was centered around the wellness of MC students, clubs and organizations also used this day to try and shed light on the wellness of others.
Anthony Behpour, a senior mechanical engineering major, is a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon. His fraternity hosted a bake sale fundraiser for Autism Dream Inc., a company founded by Behpour’s mother.
“We are raising money for kids with autism to go to and enjoy different extracurricular activities like swimming, horseback riding and camping,” Behpour said. “It’s Autism Awareness Month so we felt that today when everyone is out here enjoying the weather, we could try and raise some funds for children who may not have the financial means to pay for these things. Today has been overall a good day for everyone.”
The quad was filled with students on multicolored blankets eating ice cream and watching the various volleyball and football games going on.
Tyler Thomason, a sophomore radiation therapy major, was one of the people playing in the volleyball games on the quad. He expressed being very happy about wellness day as it allowed him to catch up with friends and peers he had not seen in a long time.
“An event like this where everybody is out enjoying the sun, playing games with friends is amazing,” Thomason said. “I just got to play volleyball with some people I haven’t seen in four months because we haven’t had any classes together and we are all so busy. Everybody’s caught up on work and school. So when you get a break and get to see everybody and hang out and catch up, you really appreciate days like these. I hope they continue to do Jasper Wellness Day, it’s been awesome so far.”