{"id":267079,"date":"2026-05-11T20:23:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T20:23:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/267079\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T20:23:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T20:23:10","slug":"usfsp-students-discuss-the-most-stressful-week-of-their-year-the-crows-nest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/267079\/","title":{"rendered":"USFSP students discuss the most stressful week of their year\u00a0 \u2013 The Crow’s Nest"},"content":{"rendered":"

Students would prefer to have move-out\u00a0and finals occur at separate times to decrease some of the stress on their shoulders.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Photo by Makenna Wozniak |\u00a0The Crow\u2019s Nest\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

By Julia Birdsall <\/p>\n

On May 7, English sophomore Parsley Weakland has a final. By noon the following day, they\u00a0are required to\u00a0be fully moved out of their dorm.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Because their parents are unable to\u00a0assist\u00a0them this year, they\u00a0have to\u00a0balance studying for the final and packing for move-out.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI have this Spanish final that I need to prep for, it\u2019s early in the morning,\u201d Weakland said. \u201cThen the next day\u2026 I need to wake up early again and get all my stuff out [of the dorm].\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Many students can relate to this struggle, making the week of May 4 to May 8 one of the most stressful in a University of South Florida college student\u2019s career.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sustainability senior Alexandra Gountas told\u00a0The Crow\u2019s Nest\u00a0that, while her finals workload will not be as strenuous this year, previous years have been\u00a0jam-packed\u00a0and stressful.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt becomes a little difficult to focus fully on schoolwork, because I\u2019m thinking of how much I need to move out,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She tries to pack most of her things before finals to reduce stress, but, because she gets most of her studying done in her room, any change to the space is distracting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI just am the kind of person who doesn\u2019t like my space to change when I want to focus and lock in,\u201d she said. \u201cChanging the space does kind of affect how well I can study in my room.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Biology senior Maya Shaffer agreed that their finals schedule is not as \u201ccompletely stacked\u201d this year as it has been\u00a0previously\u00a0but recalled several finals weeks in which packing and studying have become overwhelming.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember that in my sophomore year, I had a 7:30 a.m. final on the last day before move-out and then a 9:30 final right after it,\u201d they said. \u201cIt was such a stressful time. I remember leaving that second final and just\u00a0immediately\u00a0going into pack mode and it was very, very draining.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

There have been a couple of instances in which Shaffer worried that she would not get out of the dorm on time and would have to pay the expensive late fee.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had to ask for extensions before because of all my finals lining up with packing at the exact same time,\u201d they said. \u201cI asked for a day and a half in my junior year and they gave me, I think, eight hours.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

This year, she has the added stress of graduation and a solo, cross-country drive to their\u00a0family\u2019s\u00a0new home<\/a>\u00a0in California on top of moving out.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As they are graduating on May 9 at 6 p.m., Shaffer requested an extended\u00a0stay\u00a0but they were only granted a couple of extra hours and\u00a0are required to\u00a0be fully moved out by May 10 at 1 p.m.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

This means that\u00a0they\u2019ll\u00a0have to book an extra night of accommodation on the drive to California.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely going to be an ordeal because my car is going to have to be empty to drive myself to Tampa to go to my own graduation,\u201d they said. \u201cSo\u00a0I\u2019m realistically going to be looking at coming home to the dorm at around 8 or 9 o\u2019clock that night and having to shove it completely full by 1 o\u2019clock the next day.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

While she\u00a0is not required to\u00a0move out on the typical date of May 8 this year, they said that there is\u00a0additional\u00a0stress during that time as well, due to the constant issues with elevators and crowding from families.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAlmost every single semester without fail, one of the elevators breaks,\u201d Shaffer told\u00a0The Crow\u2019s Nest. \u201cThat creates so much chaos every single time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gountas\u00a0echoed this sentiment. She, Shaffer and Weakland, all long-time RHO residents, suggested that there be planned maintenance on the building\u2019s elevators before\u00a0move-out.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year\u2026I think one of [the elevators] broke,\u201d Weakland said. \u201cWhich sucks because\u2026me personally, I\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0carry everything down flights of stairs.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Shaffer also pointed out that this \u201cisn\u2019t acceptable\u201d for\u00a0differently-abled\u00a0students and their families.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNot everyone who studies here is physically able or\u2026their family has some disabilities that means that they can\u2019t go up and down stairs,\u201d Shaffer said. \u201cWe have students who are in wheelchairs here, so the fact that the elevators are going out during move-in and move-out weeks, it really isn\u2019t that acceptable.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Other suggestions that the interviewees made to lessen the stress that students face during move-out and finals week include ending finals earlier, on Wednesday instead of Friday, for example, and\u00a0pushing move-out into the weekend so that students\u2019 families don\u2019t have to take off work to help them move.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

They also suggested providing students with more help during their move-out process, such as providing more carts for them to rent.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m\u00a0not going to say it\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0fair.\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0going to say\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0not\u00a0equitable\u00a0to everyone,\u201d Shaffer said about the current conditions of move-out and finals week.\u00a0<\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\t Post Views: 38 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\"More<\/a>
Written by: Julia Birdsall<\/a> on May 11, 2026.
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