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Honors in Action officer Ely Thompson surrounds herself with board games.

On Tuesday, Nov. 15, Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) will host their Recess Day event in the Jobe Lounge and room B-180 from 12-4 p.m. The event, which is part of PTK’s Honors in Action project, will include a variety of playful and nostalgic activities to partake in from your childhood. Attendees can build creations out of Legos, sign up to participate in a battle of tug-of-war or duck under a giant rainbow parachute.

But why have Recess Day in the first place? College students are generally pretty busy with much more important things to do than play around like children.

“Play is a biological need,” said Ely Thompson, PTK officer. “It’s stigmatized for adults to play, and you’re expected to grow up. We want to alleviate the stigma with this event.” 

The goal of Recess Day is to bring stressed college students back to their fun-loving roots, rejoining the wonders of childhood with many nostalgic “play stations” that will make students feel like kids again.

The event is part of a collaborative service project by PTK members who are participating in Honors in Action– the PTK’s honors program that focuses on service and research.

“We realized that play gets lost as we get older,” Thompson said. “We want people to feel nostalgic and experience play again like we did as kids, and recess was a perfect choice to evoke that feeling.”

Even into adulthood, many different animal species play, but humans do not always follow suit.

“Play is essential to being a human being,” said Jason Kane, the director of the Honors in Action project and a professor of English. “It’s a heavy time of year, with midterms and finals, and adults need play just as much as kids.”

Although Recess Day does not require payment to take part in, PTK requests that students make a donation to the Spartan Pantry when they attend.

Honors in Action aims to get multi-club involvement for Recess Day and hopes students will come to participate in being a kid again.