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Show u N I I T y End of semester finds SU students combating stress By VERONICA GARNER SENIOR STAFF WRITER Becky Stewart, a senior communication/broad castng major from Houston, Texas, is among the thousands of SUU students facing the semiannual stressfest more commonly know n as finals week. It's 4 a.m. Your supply of Mountain Dew and Vivarin is diminishing and you're fighting the urge to sleep. The words on the page of your h istory hook hlur together and you can' t remember if you 've read page 472 already or not. You sort through your syllabi only to discover that a final essay is due in your sociology class and the library closed hours ago. They are coming. They are inevitable. Finals arc on the horizon . With just a few short days before the lahorious testing that measures what students learned all semester, many of SUU's finest are battling the same feeling: Stress. The symptoms are all the same. The strongest sleeping pills couldn't knock you out and even mom's home cooking doesn't sound good to eat. Stress induced headaches, anxiety, nausea and fatigue affect students' ability to concentrate during an exam. However, Student Development Center Director Carolyn Mense! said that students should not be victims when it comes to stress. "Stress can be managed, but students must give effort, " she said. "If we don't manage it, it wiJI manage us," said Mense!. If students are at the point of being overwhelmed, they should prioritize those things which are most important. "The best strategy is to plan ahead. Outline when b ig projects arc due , take a b it at a time and get started on them. By doing it in pieces, it makes things seem not so overwhelming," she said . Jill Wilks, instructor of UNTV 1310 student success course, said that procrastination is the biggest problem students face when it comes to studying for finals . "Students tend to not trust themselves because this is a new environment. It is your responsibility to study for the test, mom isn 't there to. force you anymore," said Wilks. "Students muse realize that every semester ends, and with the end of every semester comes finals . If studen ts prepare continually throughout the semester, stress w ill he lessened ." Colleen Nielson , a senior communication major, said that at the end of the semester, everyone is just about ready co snap. "Even the most organized and managed person because there is just so much to do. Upp er division classes require long · thesis papers, hig presentations, and group projects that even with the best planning will overwhelm you," she said. "Another hig p roblem is trying to find a time when everyone in gro ups can meet w ithout conflicts - especially for study groups. " "Students deal with stress in different ways and have as many study styles,• said Mense!. "Some students find studying in gro ups more be neficial while others prefer to study alone. Finding the best study program is also a key to stress management." She said the average time to study per final depends on several factors such as class content, whether the final is comprehensive or not, and the student. Mensel recommended that students ask professors what type of final w ill he given. Essay and short answer exams require. different preparation techniques than multiple choice and true/ false exams. Jeni George, a sophomore human resources major, said she plans on trying to study all weekend and is grateful for "Study Day" on Monday, Dec. 14 . "I don 't really have any 'specific way to deal with stress other than I take breaks a lot to give myself a rest," she said. According to chemistry professor Ty Redd, low student work ethic is a big problem. "Most students think they're (cOlftinued page 3) ~- \ I, |