February 19, 2007 0346
Originally written 1/14/2007
Food for Thought was the week long program during finals week. Each night of the week, some food was given away for free to students. The goal of this was to reduce stress for students studying for finals by giving them a free snack. Obviously, students like this program, because it had a very large turnout. In fact, there seems to be a high turnout every quarter in every community. But does it reduce stress?
Quite a few students seem to think that it does not. “I just go for the free food. I don’t see how it reduces stress,” one CV resident said. This students was not the only who felt that way. “I don’t think to myself, ‘great, now I don’t have to worry about what to eat tonight,’” another student said. Although they give these comments, no one who thought along these lines wanted to be mentioned by name in any article.
Even if some people don’t think that the program reduces stress, everyone seems happy with it. “People enjoy free food. It’s simple,” said Andrew Harris. It seems that students like it not because they needed a snack and CV is supplying it but rather because they simply enjoy snacks. I asked a resident, Chris, during one of the Food for Thoughts program why he thought it worked so well. “People don’t have the time to go to a long program, and not all students are interested in every event. But everyone has to eat. Plus, you only have to stop by for a little while.”
Although some students seem to think that Food for Thought doesn’t help, I think that it does help students, even if some don’t realize it. It does provide a nice break and a light snack for the students that want it. Plus, even if not all students enjoy it, I would consider the program a success if many other students do, and as I said earlier, the turnout at these programs proves that residents are glad it’s being held! Residents don’t go because they’re looking to reduce stress. They go because they’re looking for a free snack, and while they might not be trying to reduce stress, getting something they enjoy, such as a free snack, does reduce stress.
