Last week, students had the opportunity to have fun and relax as the semester comes to an end during Spring Daze, a tradition at Southeastern.

"Spring Daze began well over a decade ago as a week long program of events sponsored by the Division of Student Affairs to create opportunities for fun and stress relief during the later part of the spring semester," said Amy Oberschmidt, assistant director of guest services at the department of Recreational Sports and Wellness. "All areas within the division worked together to put on events that would be attractive to students."

Recreational Sports and Wellness coordinated Spring Daze this year. With a change in management, a new event, called Rec Fest, was added.

"In the past, Spring Daze has provided everything from the legendary student vs. faculty/staff cabbage ball game to Fais Do Do, Strawberry Jubilee, SOAKED and various intramurals tournaments," said Oberschmidt. "Recent additions include Swamp Bowl and now, Rec Fest."

The week started out with "Unplugged" and DeStress at the Recreational Center on Tuesday, April 29. At "Unplugged," live music was played in front of Pride Cafe. At DeStress at the Rec, a free event which lasted from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m., students were provided with a hot dog bar, candy bar and chair massages, as well as several games and sports to play, including grocery bingo, basketball and table tennis.

The Adventure Race, a scavenger hunt where teams of five had to find clues to win, was set to take place on Wednesday, April 30. However, the event has been postponed until 2015.

On Thursday, May 1, Rec Fest took place on the front lawn of the Student Activity Center. It featured a variety of attractions, including free crawfish for students, $5 for other attendees, a karaoke competition and an Interval 30/Zumba Demonstration.

Several bands were also featured, including River City Hit Squad and the Nations Band, followed by performances from Cheryll Ricks and Impaired Faculties. There were item giveaways from Core Power, to coolers, laptop bags, sunglasses and drawstring bags.

The Swamp Bowl took place Friday, May 2 at noon. After paying a $60 fee, students formed teams and played regulation volleyball tournaments in the mud .

Spring Daze finished off on Saturday, May 3 with the Mudder Mayhem 5k, featuring muddy challenges during the race at North Oak Park. The event started at 8 a.m. with the 1 Mile Fun Run, an event that those seven to nine years of age could participate in. Immediately following the fun run was the 5k. RSW members paid a $15 fee and non-RSW members paid a $20 fee to run in the race with proceeds going towards North Oak Park in support of student events and programs. The fee included a free T-shirt. First, second and third place of the adult males and females won awards. The first place winners of each won a Polar Loop Activity Tracker, which has a $100 value. After the race, food and beverages were provided.

Students who wish to stay informed on the events held by the department of Recreational Sports and Wellness can visit rswcenter.com