Students looking to de-stress before finals can participate in events this week.

A donation drive and swap meet is to take place Wednesday through Friday in the Cambria Room to commemorate Earth Week, and students have been encouraged to donate their reusable items for the event.

Housing Director Sherri Rae says it is a good way to recycle items in good condition.

“In order to keep more usable stuff out of the trash, we are encouraging students to donate unwanted clothing, school supplies and household items.

“Students will receive one ticket per complete usable item donated and can return Thursday and Friday to ‘shop’ the donated items or enter their donation ticket into a prize drawing.”

According to Rae, there will be other Earth themed events throughout the week that students can participate in.

“Other items throughout the week will include a sustainable practices workshop presented by Sodexo, workshops on upcycled crafts and decorating flower pots with seed planting.” Says Rae.

A block party on the campus square Friday is to  wrap up the week’s events, beginning at noon and ending at 10 p.m.

Programming Board Vice President Angel Walters says she thought of the event as a fun way to wrap up the school year.

“There’s going to be laser tag, water balloon fights and a lot of smaller activities,” says Walters.

“We’ll also be doing things like potting plants and painting rocks to keep the Earth Day theme.

“The idea for the block party actually came to me in a dream, just like events such as the pumpkin hunt,” Walters says, “I brought it up to the rest of the Programming Board and they loved it and kept adding their input. These ideas would be nothing without their support.”

Programming Board member Michael Fialkowski says he hopes the block party will become a Pitt-Johnstown tradition.

“Everybody I’ve talked to is excited so far,” says Fialkowski. “People who usually go home for the weekend want to stay. We want to make it something fun so that people can stay and enjoy themselves after their last day of classes, and hopefully do this every spring.

“There’s also going to be a foam party,” Fialkowski also says, “There’ll be lights, bubble jets and a DJ.”

Walters says she hopes the party gets a good response from students.

“I hope we get a good enough response from the student body to fill the campus square up with people,” says Walters, “It’ll be a good way to say goodbye to (Pitt-Johnstown) for a few months.”

According to Walters, Programming Board members need all the help they can get with the activities, and any student or organization members who wish to help out can to contact Walters.