About the event
By early December the sun sets in Porter Falls before 4:30 p.m., and January’s average high is 18°F. Most students handle it fine. Some, often the ones from places with real daylight, find their sleep, mood and motivation sliding just as finals arrive. This workshop is practical, not clinical. A counselor and a Student Health nurse cover morning light and how to use a light-therapy lamp properly, sleep through finals week, keeping one outdoor habit when going outside feels unreasonable, and how to tell ordinary winter flatness from something worth talking to someone about.
Owen Melby, director of Counseling Services, will stay afterward for anyone who wants to talk privately. Nobody will be asked to share anything in the room.
Schedule
| Time | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 3:45 p.m. | Lamp lending table opens (Porter Card required) | Great Room entrance |
| 4:00 p.m. | Workshop | Founders Union Great Room |
| 4:45 p.m. | Questions; winter gear closet information | Founders Union Great Room |
| 5:00 p.m. | Private conversations with counselors, no appointment needed | Founders Union 142 |
Location and access
The Great Room is on the main level of Founders Union, step-free, with live captions on the screen. A streamed version is linked from the MyPorter listing for students who cannot face going out in December, which is sort of the point.
Registration
No registration. Light-therapy lamps lend for two weeks at a time, and there are 40 of them. When they run out, you can join a waitlist. Free coats, boots and hats are available from the Porter Cares winter gear closet. Practical advice for renters is on off-campus winter readiness.
Contact and related events
For ongoing support, start with counseling services or Let’s Talk drop-ins. The 24-hour support line is (715) 555–0117, and in an emergency call 911. Before finals, De-Stress Fest has therapy dogs. Seasons in Porter Falls explains what to expect from the rest of winter.
Fictional information
UW–Porter Falls is a work of parody. This workshop, its lamps and its counselors are invented, and nothing here is medical or mental-health advice. If winter is weighing on you, talk to a real counselor or health provider.