Anthony Brown, a junior psychology major at UMSL, gets a free haircut during the Oct. 22 Mid-Term Stress Break Event at the Millennium Student Center.

The students standing in line Tuesday to get a facial, a haircut or hang out with their friends at the karaoke stage at the University of Missouri–St. Louis didn’t seem to mind the wait.

Hundreds of students showed up at the Millennium Student Center Oct. 22 for the Annual Mid-Term Stress Break Event, sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Student Services. This is the fifth year for the event and by all accounts, it relieved a lot of stress.

Amy Nguyen, a freshman majoring in nursing was one of four people tumbling out of a photo booth wearing goofy hats and wigs. She said she thought freshmen were more stressed than upperclassmen about upcoming midterms.

“This is a lot of fun and it helped,” Nguyen said. “The older students, they got college life down. They don’t need relief.”

Some of the juniors, seniors and at least one graduate student in line disagreed. Stress takes on different forms depending where you are in your college career, according to some of the older students.

Anthony Brown, a junior psychology major, hasn’t been able to get a haircut in two months because of his busy schedule.

“I’m also in ROTC, and our hair needs to be short,” Brown said. “I’m very happy to get this done today.”

The free event offered haircuts and manicures by students from Vatterot College’s Salon Cosmetique, and facials and make-up consultation by Mary Kay Cosmetics representatives. Two Chics and a Photobooth, complete with zany props, produced some pretty funny photos. Singers brave enough to get up on the karaoke stage at The Nosh entertained themselves and the lunch crowd. Prizes were given away and a food bar that included nachos and a “create your own candy apple” station kept participants happy.

Click here or below to view a video of the annual midterm stress break event by Myra Lopez.