An example of a study space in the library
David Scibilia/The Bona Venture
BY: MORGAN KILGER, CONTRIBUTING WRITER
As St. Bonaventure University reaches the midpoint of its spring semester, students start to look ahead towards their midterm exams. Although the tests are important, Chance Olivas, a mental health counselor at Bonaventure, places emphasis on the maintenance of mental health.
“Managing your mental health can be challenging during midterms, usually due to an excess of stress,” Olivas said. “Something that can be very helpful is speaking to your friends and supporters around you and letting them know about your level of stress and how they can help.”
Outside of friends and supporters, Olivas mentions alternatives for alleviating stress while studying.
“Organization and time management also helps with this time of the year as it can help ease feelings of being overwhelmed by multiple tasks,” Olivas said. “Setting up a study schedule can help with staying goal oriented and reduce procrastination.”
Alexis Switzer, a junior double major in finance and philosophy and women’s rugby player, concurs with Olivas on time management.
“A lot of [studying] is time management and trying to be ahead of the game,” Switzer said. “I start reviewing for busy weeks during off time in easy weeks to create a better base of knowledge.”
Another thing Olivas mentions is how stress can affect your body and how it functions.
“Recognizing your own specific changes in your body when you are stressed is crucial to combat it; we need to continue taking care of our body’s needs no matter what, whether it be food, water or sleep,” Olivas said. “The human body does its best to compromise with stress, but it is important to remember to address your physical health to help your body as this will positively impact your mental health.”
Switzer agrees with Olivas.
“Stress is such a bad thing for the mind,” Switzer said. “It’s important to take care of yourself this [midterm] week.”
Using resources available to students is an important part of having a successful midterm week. Ann Tenglund, the director of the St. Bonaventure University Library, Friedsam Memorial Library, said the library is a popular location for studying on campus.
“The most valuable study aid that the library has to offer is its space,” Tenglund said. “We strive to provide a pleasant academic co-working space.”
There are several work spaces, including the main floor, with different seating options such as booths and tables. There is also the lower floor where students can sign out and the third floor, the quiet floor. This floor is designed to be a completely quiet space for students to study.
“[The library] has many different kinds of spaces along with tools such as printers, scanners and copiers,” Tenglund said.
Despite the upcoming exams, Tenglund predicts library attendance to stay the same.
“We generally do not see much change in library attendance around midterms,” Tenglund said. “However, we are noticing more students are working on research papers and citations, which will probably continue for the next several weeks.”
kilgermi22@bonaventure.edu
