Club helps students relax, rejuvenate

Kick back, relax, and hammock your way to academic success on the UA campus.

The Arizona Academic Hammock Society, an Associated Students of University of Arizona club, is providing students a way to sit back and relax on their hammocks located around campus, said John Mizell, an astronomy senior and president of the hammock society.

The club's goal is to "promote fellowship, education and peace through hammocking", according to its Web site.

Five more hammocks are in the works to show up on campus, adding to the one permanently located in the Hillel Foundation courtyard, but there are no scheduled dates for their arrival yet, Mizell said.

The hammock at Hillel is popular with students, and there are plans to add a second one in the near future, said Shira Weinstein, assistant director at Hillel.

"The staff and students love it," Weinstein said. "(The hammock society) send(s) someone to check on it once in a while, to make sure it's still there, functioning properly and there's no damage to it."

The 74-member club, which started about two years ago, receives funding from ASUA club funding to purchase new hammocks and signs, inviting students to take time to relax courtesy of the hammock society, Mizell said.

"If there's a place where students can grab a little time to relax, I've contributed to their academic success by letting them get some rest," he said.

The hammock society is required to get permission before it can put up new hammocks, but it hasn't had too many problems so far, Mizell said.

The hammock at Hillel is certainly a hit, and was approved quickly - Hillel promotes the hammock on its Web site, and even mentions it as a feature of the building, Weinstein said.

William Kaner, a journalism junior, said he is in favor of the hammock society's mission.

"It's a great place to relax, you can even get two people into it," said Kaner. "Everyone at the UA needs to step back and relax - everyone could use a good rest in a hammock."

Not everyone is supportive of the hammock society, however. Travis Newton, a political science junior, said that he's never heard of the club.

"It seems kind of ridiculous. I mean, relaxing makes sense, but why hammocks?" Newton said. "It sounds like a typical UA waste of money to me."

Mizell's critics don't faze him, though.

"Hammocks get a lot of bad press, and are often associated with laziness, but the psychology of hammocks and resting can really add to the degree of your success," he said.