The event was a collaboration between the Wellness Wolfpack’s general wellness committee and their mental health sub-committee.
The event was a collaboration between the Wellness Wolfpack’s general wellness committee and their mental health sub-committee.
Loyola students poured into Damen 114 Tuesday, Nov. 5 for the Wellness Center’s “Elect to Relax” event. The gathering, organized by the student leadership group the Wellness Wolfpack, provided students with a space to destress and relax on election night.
The event was a collaboration between the Wellness Wolfpack’s general wellness committee and their mental health sub-committee.
From 7 to 9 p.m., doors were open for students to drop in for warm drinks or to sit with friends to color, play board games and participate in crafts.
Isabel Chavez, fourth-year public health student and the Wolfpack’s vice president, said the group had been planning the event for a little over a month. The Wolfpack’s goal was to provide comforting food and activities for students during the early hours of election returns, Chavez said.
Students were able to grab apple cider or make hot chocolate with toppings of whipped cream, sprinkles and chocolate syrup. Candy canes were also available alongside Wellness Center stickers and pens.
First-year Mai Vo said her favorite part of the event was the free hot chocolate. Vo’s friends and fellow first-years Ana Ullsmith and Rayne Fields said one of their favorite parts was the playdough provided at the event.
Students packed the room and soon began to spill into the Sister Jean Atrium with their drinks and activities. Vo and her friends were sipping on hot chocolate in the atrium while they colored in printed pages and made reindeer crafts.
Mia Kelso, a first-year nursing student attending the event with her friends, said she’s been stressed about the upcoming election and has depended on her community to manage the anxiety. how she’s been coping in recent months knowing the election anxiety will pass.
“I’ve been coping with my stress and anxiety by talking with my friends and communicating our feelings instead of them bubble up,” Kelso said. “Also talking with my family back home has been really helpful because it makes me realize that it’s all temporary and we can get through it.”
Chavez said the Wolfpack’s goal for the event was to help as many students as possible learn coping strategies to deal with anxiety — applicable beyond election night.
“It’s nice to come with a group of people who care about our whole lives, not just a small section in our lives,” Kelso said. “It’s nice to support the Wellness Center because they do a lot for Loyola as a whole.”
Tips on how to manage election anxiety are available on the Wellness Center’s Instagram account.
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