As we are entering into our 2nd semester, students can feel heightened stress with college apps, a heavier workload, and AP tests coming up. Luckily, there are several clubs on campus that provide relaxing, fun activities to help students destress.

1. Stress Relief Club
The Stress Relief Club’s purpose is to help students feel less stressed. Club president junior Quinn Guthrie said, “[At the last club meeting] we just all hung out and we had clay to play with and…we were all together. I just think it was just a great opportunity to just get away from things because [the last club meeting was] also during finals week. It was nice being around people and everyone was talking and just having something to do to keep the mind off [of stressful things].”

While the club typically meets during the most stressful times of the year, such as during finals, Guthrie said, “I would recommend…all [students] come because it’s a great way to take your mind off of it and it’s a bunch of people together. It’s like a little community.”

2. Art Therapy Club
Art Therapy Club president junior Katie Duff said that destressing is “our goal. We haven’t had a ton of meetings yet but in this new year, we’re hoping to do a lot more stuff to help people destress and relax with art and things like that.”

Club activities include working on art projects that help relieve stress through creativity.

Duff said, “[Art is] just a way to take your mind off of things. Like if you’re really stressed out, it’s nice to just do a coloring page or paint something and just be creative in a way, [that]’s not like schoolwork.”

3. Poultry Club
Poultry Club president senior Giovanna Ghiselli finds Poultry Club to be a good way to relax and bond with others who share similar interests. “It’s really nice because you just get to talk [and] hang out with the chickens and there’s nothing stressful about it interesting. You get to be calm…because you have people that like chickens and like caring for him that will hang out with us,” Ghiselli said.

4. Environmental Club
The Environmental Club runs the Campo garden and focuses on environmental issues. Meetings consist of working on and hanging out in the garden. President senior Erin Koziel said, “There’s been a lot of studies about nature asking people [about] how they relax and gardening is kind of its own form of mini meditation. [There’s] plants and things, you get to hang out with the goats. I think just being outside of the classroom for a couple minutes I think [helps people relax].”

5. Self Defense Club
The self-defense club aims to educate students about self-defense in a safe environment.

Co-President junior Elizabeth Chien finds the club helps destress students. “It’s athletic and I feel like doing exercise is a very good way to destress and also teaches you something so you can keep your mind off of something that’s stressing you out, and also [teaches] a form of protection…It does help if you have pent up frustration or if you’re feeling just very jittery you can dispel that [by] doing self-defense,” said Chien.