As the end of the fall semester drew to a close many campus organizations cut down on activities so students can finish projects and report and begin studying for final exams.
At East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, the first full week in December is known as “dead week,” said Jonathan Chapman, collegiate ministries specialist at ETSU, adding that the school cancels all classes during the last day of dead week.
While the BCM recognizes the importance of finishing papers and preparing for exams, students still need a break, he noted. So, while some organizations slow down, ETSU’s BCM schedules an activity every night during dead week.
“We had so much going on,” Chapman said.
The BCM provided a free meal each night, along with activities and events such as a Christian Olympics, an ugly sweater contest, an outing to view the Christmas trees at Founder’s Park in the city, a scavenger hunt and a movie night complete with popcorn, Chapman said.
The Tuesday night event, which included the ugly sweater contest, featured Christmas Worship Night complete with Christmas worship songs and Scripture. The worship night drew the largest crowd with more than 200 students while the other events drew anywhere from 50 students or more nightly, he added.
“We’ve been doing dead week activities for nine years and it gets bigger and bigger every year,” Chapman said.
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Lonnie Wilkey and originally published by Baptist and Reflector.
