It’s Saturday of finals week. Some students are in the thick of taking exams and studying, while some are anxiously awaiting break and finals on Monday and Tuesday before leaving. Nevertheless, campus is full of very busy and stressed individuals.
Yet one event on campus gives students the opportunity to de-stress halfway through finals! The housing group Alpha Epsilon Chi (AEX) hosts the only event allowed to occur on campus during finals: AEX-mas. Here’s the inside scoop!
Preparation:
With it being finals, there is not a whole lot of time to prepare for the event. Some members of the group do not have finals that day, so they are responsible for the set up. This event takes place on the AEX hall, the second floor of Lincoln building, so it’s relatively close for the guys.
The lights get strung, and the rooms are decorated into various activity rooms (explained later on). The smell of Wassail fills the air and a cold breeze flows in from one of the rooms. It is for some when Christmas officially begins.
Event Time!
From 7-11 p.m., everyone is invited onto the hall to celebrate Christmas and relax. There are rooms with food and drinks, as well as a caroling room where hymnals get passed out and all join in with song. Beside the extra lounge rooms there’s also the North Pole, where one room lets their windows wide open and the cold air freezes the one room and chills the rest of the hall. There are even pictures with Santa and crafts to round out all the festivities.
All in all, this event in one that is unique for both its timing, and for its closeness that is created as a result. Friends come together and interact with others they might not normally see and share conversation, carols, and sit around the craft table together and share in the finals study break time.
This year in particular, a handful of students stuck around after the event was over and had an impromptu worship session with guitars and other various instruments. Both guys and girls, seniors to freshman. This even unifies the campus and prepares hearts and attitudes towards the Christmas spirit. I am very fortunate to have been a part of this event and a part of this housing group.
