Campus nappers won’t rest until they have their own place to sleep

Students stage a nap flash mob in support of a campus napping center and to bring awareness to the negative effects of sleep deprivation. Photo: R. Glass

Not flash mobs, but nap mobs, sprung up (or laid down) around UIC last week to support a petition for a permanent campus napping center and educate students about the negative effects of sleep deprivation.

The activities were a class project for  “Introduction to Socially Engaged Art,” which requires students to design, create and display public art that engages others and pushes for positive social change.

“We were asked to work on something that we really cared about, and sleep deprivation was the most apparent problem in our classroom,” said Danny Kulasik, one of four students who organized the napping event.

They set up a napping room in the Commuter Student Resource Center for five hours Nov. 24 to create a space for safe napping on campus. There were couches, dim lights, soothing music and relaxing screensavers on nearby monitors.

“We thought the Commuter Center was the best place, because commuters are the most affected,” said Kulasik, a senior majoring in English.

The organizers passed out fact sheets about the negative effects of sleep deprivation on overall well-being. “It really sinks into every aspect of your personal health,” Kulasik said.

Over 100 students, tired of being tired, participated in the nap project. Photo: R.K. Glass

“Any amount of rest, even five or 10 minutes, can give you more energy than to just try and push through,” added Faheem Rollins, a junior majoring in art.

Over 100 students, tired of being tired, participated in the project by taking naps at the center. “I definitely don’t get enough sleep,” said Evelyn Trejo, a sophomore in kinesiology who napped for half an hour.

Trejo said she tries to ignore how sleepy she gets during the day. “This nap was refreshing,” she said.

Flash nap mobs appeared throughout the day in public spaces around Student Center East.

“We wanted to point out that students aren’t getting the sleep that they’re supposed to,” Kulasik said.