GA Tech had a great idea to help students de-stress for finals.
From GA Tech web-site:
Often the mention of dogs on campus can mean a certain rival university's
coming to town, but this week it means there are four-legged friends on campus
that have come to love on students.
The Georgia Tech Library and CAREing Paws, a local group of therapy teams,
are helping students de-stress during dead week by bringing therapy dogs to the
library. The dogs will be in the Neely Room Dec. 4–5 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
"This is the first time I’ve smiled all week — well, all month really," said
Christine Delacerna, a senior biomedical engineering major from New Jersey, who
took a break from studying Tuesday to spend time with the dogs.
CAREing Paws uses nationally registered
animal-owner/handler therapy teams who visit schools, libraries and other
settings. Economics librarian Ameet Doshi reached out to the group in hopes of
helping Tech students cope with the stress of dead week and final exams.
"Therapy dogs have become a trend among many libraries," Doshi said. "In the
Atlanta area, Georgia Perimeter College has done it in the past and Emory is
doing it this semester." Therapy dogs have also received media attention at
schools such as
Yale and
Dalhousie universities.
Following the therapy dog visits, the Library will host StressBuzzters on
Thursday, Dec. 6, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on 2West. Students will receive free
snacks, bottled water, tips on reducing stress, stress balls and massages. The
event is sponsored in collaboration with the Campus Recreation Center, Office of
Health Promotion and the Counseling Center.
On a personal note: I have taken these pictures and it can not show the how happy these students were and the amount of students that showed up. This is a wonderful idea for all campuses. Great job GA Tech!
