There are two types of students during exam season at Monash University Malaysia.
The first are the ones locked in the library running entirely on caffeine, panic, and whatever crumbs are left in their tote bags. The second? The ones at SOS x SOP Destress Night pretending deadlines simply do not exist for four glorious hours.
Honestly, both are valid.
Held on the Link Deck on 8 May, the annual SOS x SOP Destress Night returned for its third year, bringing together students from the School of Science and School of Pharmacy for what can only be described as the academic equivalent of a warm hug. And during a semester filled with submissions, lab reports, and emotional damage caused by assignment rubrics, it was exactly what everyone needed.
From the moment registration opened, the atmosphere already felt different from the usual tense exam-season energy lingering around campus.
Instead of hearing phrases like “Have you started studying?” or “Wait, the deadline is tonight?”, students were gathered around mahjong tables, aggressively shuffling cards like professional gamblers, battling it out over board games, and crowding around Nintendo Switch stations with the kind of passion usually reserved for final exam appeals.
It was chaos. But comforting chaos.
Some students came in groups. Others wandered in alone and somehow left with new friends, inside jokes, and possibly a Mario Kart rivalry that may never heal.
And then came the real plot twist of the night.
Just when everyone thought the event could not get any cozier, a student-led school band casually started performing live music, and suddenly the Link Deck transformed into what felt like an indie rooftop concert straight out of a coming-of-age movie.
The second the opening chords of a Laufey song played, the crowd collectively melted.
Phones came out. Flashlights switched on. Huge synchronized “AWWWWs” echoed across the venue every time the singers started another soft, cheesy, heartbreak anthem. One minute students were discussing exam stress, and the next they were dramatically singing along to Ed Sheeran lyrics like they had personally survived a tragic love story.
It genuinely felt like Monash’s own tiny concert night.
And somehow, in the middle of all the singing and laughter, people almost forgot they were in the middle of exam season.
Almost.
When asked whether the event helped her de-stress, one student paused for a second before laughing and saying:
“Wow, you just reminded me of my paper which is in a week.”
Another student admitted:
“This is definitely a nice way of distracting us from our assignment deadlines.”
Which, honestly, perfectly summed up the spirit of the event.
Nobody there was pretending assignments magically disappeared. The chemistry reports still existed. The deadlines were still lurking somewhere in Moodle. But for one evening, students got to breathe a little. And sometimes that is enough.
The best part of the night came towards the end, when the music session completely evolved from “casual live performance” into a full-blown singing jam. The microphone started getting passed around from person to person, entire groups screamed lyrics together, and suddenly everyone knew every word to songs they probably claimed they did not listen to.
No stage fright. No awkwardness. Just pure vibes.
It was the kind of moment university students will probably remember years later, not because it was extravagant or over-the-top, but because it felt genuine. In between the stress, deadlines, and all-nighters, there was a night where everyone simply got to exist together without worrying about grades for once.
SOS x SOP Destress Night was not just about games or dinner or music. It was a reminder that university life is not only about surviving academically. Sometimes, it is about sharing fries with your friends while badly singing emotional songs under phone flashlights at 9PM on the Link Deck.
And honestly?
That might be the best form of therapy Monash students can get during finals season.
Photos by Xuning Y., Yuto K.
musamonga.com 