Finals and the stress of the end of the semester are upon students. Between countless hours of studying and finishing projects, UW – Stevens Point is offering a number of pro­grams around the campus to help students prepare for a week of final exams.

UWSP’s University Dining Services (UDS) and the library are hosting events in an effort to help students relieve some stress and give them a break from studying during the first few days of finals week.

Since December of 2009, UDS has organized a string of events called Finals Frenzy. Chocolate Madness is the most popular of the events and has seen up to 800-1000 students attend. UDS Director, Mark Hayes, is one of the organizers of the event.

“The UDS management team came up with the idea to create a new event to replace the pancake meal that had been served by previous food contractors,” Hayes said. “UDS wanted a completely new event and one more exciting. The idea for choc­olate came out of conversations with students and staff.”

Chocolate Madness features a variety of food that students dip in chocolate. Hayes said that the food being used for the chocolate is a sur­prise, but students can expect to see a lot of chocolate for consumption. At the end of Chocolate Madness, stu­dents may use the venue as a study place.

“Finals Frenzy denotes that Upper Debot stays open late to create a centralized study hall for students,” Hayes said. “Snacks and beverages are made available to all students free of charge, and we want the students to have fun and have a little break from studying.”

The University Library is also partaking in the frenzy of finals by hosting the “Exam Cram.” Monday, December 17 from 7 p.m. to 12 a.m., the library is offering students to stop for free coffee and cookies. Circulation and Outreach Librarian, Andy Pech, also said there will be more than coffee and cookies.

“There will be the free coffee and cookies, but as advertised, students may get help from the librarians and TLC tutors with any last-minute proj­ects and papers,” Pech said.

Residential Living also supports the events of Final Frenzy. To help students be successful during finals week, Joe Totman, Residential Living Director, explains that programs and a set of policies are put in place to ensure it. He also looks forward to Chocolate Madness.

“This is a wonderful event that helps us celebrate a great semester with our students,” Totman said. “The response has usually been very positive. A lot depends on who is around Sunday night. Those that do show up always express gratitude for the study break and snacks.”

Residential Living will distribute tickets for the event, which will be in Upper Debot on Sunday, December 16 from 9 to 11 p.m.