DE Campus Life 19

Latoya James has had some pretty late nights during past finals weeks. She has crammed and waited until the last minute just so she could get passing grades. She knows about stress.

But instead of the usual stress she feels as the end of the semester nears, James, a junior in health care from Chicago, has prepared for her classes all semester and calls this year’s finals week stress-free.

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Many students feel pressure during this time of the semester when grades are given. Some worry and barely make it through. But some SIUC students say they have combated the pressure of finals stress.

I don’t have any stress because I’ve been studying since the beginning of the semester, James said. Right now I’m just going over things for review because I didn’t want to wait until the last minute to start studying.

James said the memories of past finals stress are just the initiative she needs to be prepared.

I’ve done it and that’s why I’m not doing it now because I know how it feels, she said.

Barbara Fijolek, the Student Health Programs coordinator, said students experience numerous kinds of stress around finals time.

Fijolek said students can experience physical stress, such as muscle aches; emotional stress, such as crying or irritability; or mental stress, such as not being able to sleep because of constant thoughts about what they need to do.

Sidney R. Blatt, a researcher and professor of psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine, stated in a May Chicago Tribune article, When Being Good is Bad For You, that if students give their best effort and accept it, they will have less stress.

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Fijolek said that it is normal for students to feel stress at the end of the semester because there are many things to do.

Some of the stress is their own unrealistic expectations of self, she said. They want everything to be perfect, and they feel like they can’t make mistakes.

They really need the motivation in pointing out what they can do. We’ve helped a lot of students stay in school who feel like they can’t do it.

Salim Kenyatta, a senior in history from Chicago, said he also studied for his classes in advance to avoid unwanted pressures.

If I study for my materials and put in the time, there is no reason for me to be stressed, he said. People are stressed and pressured because they failed to take the time to properly prepare for their assignments ahead of time.

Kenyatta said students who let themselves become hindered by stress are only hurt themselves.

Right now, if a student didn’t study, there is no reason to have pressure because you don’t have time for it, he said. I knew my responsibility, which was not to wait until the last minute.

Kenyatta said his priorities since the beginning of the semester led him out of the path of stress.

At the end of the semester, students have partied and ostracized themselves from their responsibilities to a point that two weeks before finals, all of the responsibilities become a burden, he said.

Kenyatta said whether he has prepared or not, he never lets himself become stressed because of schoolwork.

Even if I wasn’t prepared, I never really stressed it, he said. Basically, the reason I don’t have stress is because I will either get a good grade or I won’t get a good grade.

Take it easy. Why bust a brain cell when you could have done what you should have done a long time ago?

Daniel Ballard, a senior in social work from Harvey, does not deal with stress during finals week because he finds ways of relief.

I work so hard that when it comes to finals it does not affect me, he said. Shooting pool helps me deal with stress because I don’t think about the things I’ve been doing, or need to be doing.

FACTOID:For information on stress management or to schedule a counseling session, call the Wellness Center at 536-4441.

Pamphlets on stress are available at Student Health Services.