From 2 to 4 p.m. on March 8, the Patricia A. Doyle Center filled up with students who came to fill up on free coffee, hot cocoa and food to take a break from the stresses of midterms.

According to the University of Wisconsin-Platteville events web page, the goal of the occasion was “to help you students make it until Spring Break!” It was a simple event; a few snacks laid out on a table and some comfortable furniture to fill the lounge area but it was exactly what many students needed to get through the week. For some it was as simple as free food that made attending the event worthwhile.

“This is the second time I’ve attended an event like this,” junior industrial engineering major Bethany Jensen said. “The free food gets people here.”

While the free food was certainly what brought curious and hungry students in, it was the easy going and judgement free environment of one of UW-Platteville’s most comfortable venues that kept them there; relaxed and ready to power through the next two days until spring break.

“The Doyle Center is a good place for students to go and relax and feel accepted,” freshman pre-pharmacy major Janelle Conder said.

The atmosphere in the room was positive and relaxed. People lounged in chairs and sprawled out comfortably throughout the room. A sweet smell of steaming cocoa filled the lounge and fogged the windows as students took shelter from the cold, windy weekday. There was not an ounce of judgement floating about the room as students were too busy nestling into chairs and for two hours the Doyle Center provided the perfect environment to ease student’s worries and stresses about the midterms they faced.

The event reached its goal of helping students make it through the week and on to spring break.

“Any time there’s free food I would call it a successful event!” sophomore elementary education major Kaeli Jandro said.

The Doyle Center regularly hosts events to help students deal with and rise above everything from stress to discrimination and its next event, the Privilege Walk, will take place March 23. More information can be found on the Doyle Center page of the UW-Platteville website.