Paws to Destress

As the semester at Johnson and Wales Providence Campus ends, it becomes a stressful time for students with the thought of finals approaching. I spoke with Emma Akain, a sophomore majoring in tourism and hospitality management, and she said, “The most stressful thing about finals is that we learn up until the end of the semester. I feel like that causes me to cram a lot of information towards the end”.

There are many ways JWU students destress; one way is by hanging out with friends. I spoke with Iris Miller, who said, “Hanging out with friends is a great way to destress because it allows me to destress and have some fun.” JWU has many great spaces for friends to hang out during finals, whether it be the dorms, Starbucks, Willies, or even the events that JWU has as we come to the end of the semester. 

The Johnson and Wales Providence Campus hosted a great event on Thursday, December 7, a reading day or study day for the campus. The event was from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and was called Paws to Destress and was a space that encouraged students to take a moment and relax. Paws to Destress was held in Pepsi Forum, an auditorium in Wales Hall. The event had chickens, bunnies, goats, and a duck. The person in charge of the animals let groups of students into the pen, a few people at a time, and then gave them a few minutes to pet and take pictures of the animals. At the event entrance were colorful fidget toys and a check-in station that used digital ID. 

As students left the event, they could use a ticket given at the check-in table to get some donuts from a donut food truck called Poppin Minnis RI. The donuts came in packs of eight or twelve, and there was a wide variety of flavors, going from classics like powdered sugar to pretty unique ones like Oreo cheesecake. These donuts looked and tasted great and were a great end to a successful JWU event. I am definitely looking forward to the next Paws to Destress.