Just Throw it Away
By Emily Robles | Published by October 17th, 2019
Whether you’re a returning student or a newly admitted freshman, everyone feels the wrath of stress overcoming them in college.
On Oct. 2, on the patio of Cougar Hall, Residential Assistant Edward Diaz came up with a fun idea for students to relieve their stress. Students wrote what was stressing them out on a water balloon and threw them.
“I came up with this program because I wanted students to be able to relieve their stress in a constructive and fun way,” says Diaz.
“RA Diaz soaked at the end of the event.”
Photo by Emily Robles
The original idea was for students to throw their balloons at a brick wall outside the dorm building, but at the last minute, Diaz decided he wanted the students to throw their balloons at him instead.
“Since it was hot today, I thought, why not? Also, I thought it would be more fun,” said Diaz.
When passing by students saw their peers throwing balloons at Diaz, they decided to join in on the fun. With Cougar Hall being mostly a freshman building, a lot of first year students were excited about this program.
“With being a new college student, homework is stressing me out the most,” said freshman student Celine Brady. “Especially when it comes to time management.”
More freshmen were eager to talk about how their new college life is stressing them out.
A freshman by the name of Claudia Abrantes said, “As a freshman taking statistics, I’m really stressed about that right now.”
With more students joining in to participate, the first batch of water balloons went by fast, but were quickly replenished. By this time, some upperclassmen were ready to throw some balloons as well.
“My law class is crazy stressful at the moment,” said junior Symone Gelay. “My personal life as well.”
“Students posing with their water balloons.
Names from left to right: Gya Peruz, Sarah Fedak, Edward Diaz, Dale Uborka”
Photo by Emily Robles
Most students have jobs while also being enrolled full time. When asked how it affects them, the majority of the students present at the event said it is very overwhelming to be able to maintain their grades and homework while working at the same time.
“I’m really stressed about work,” said junior Dale Uborka. “I work at Top Golf and also have my own photography business.”
By the time the event was over, R.A Diaz was soaked and the program was a success. Students left the program feeling happy and less stressed about their day.
“I actually had a really stressful day today and this totally helped,” said Sarah Fedak, another R.A at Cougar Hall.
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