Citlali Lopez plans to spend spring break in front of the TV.

“It’s mind-numbing.  You don’t have to overthink or process a lot of information, like when you are doing calculations [and] memorizing formulas for graphing,” said Lopez, a sophomore Mathematics major. “I mostly just relax and catch up on TV shows and movies that I could not watch due to my busy schedule.”

Television offers an escape from the pressures of student life.

“If you are attached to characters, you get excited,” she said. “You stop with the real world and focus on what is going on in the characters’ world.” 

Lopez’s go-to option is action-movies. 

“They are exhilarating and make your heart pump when characters do stunts,” she said. “They are more immersive than simple-life movies. With action movies, you are waiting for a big moment or an explosion to happen.”

If she tires of movies and regular TV, Lopez plans to immerse herself in video games. 

“Some of the games are just repetitive and I just need to do the same actions over and over again,” she said. “Others are fighting games that have their own story.