At Finals Mania, students loaded up on late-night pancakes

“It has grown so much,” said Leighanne Dean, organizer of Finals Mania. “It initially started for finals week with just coffee and scones, and students came to us and asked us for more, so when they came to us and asked for pancakes and sausage, we listened.” | Irina Alejandro/The Cougar

Finals Mania served pancakes and sausages to more than 1,500 students Monday night, although during Spring 2016’s iteration of the event, the number reached a record 1,640 students. | Irina Alejandro/The Cougar

The Spirit of Houston, cheerleaders and the Cougar Dolls provided a pep rally-style kickoff just as Finals Mania started. | Irina Alejandro/The Cougar

“It’s my first time volunteering, or even coming to the event , and I’m happy UH puts this on for the students,” said nursing sophomore Alex Rogers who volunteered at Finals Mania. “It’s just a nice way to try and relax during the stressful time of finals.” | Irina Alejandro/The Cougar

Faithful Paws, the organization behind Paws and Relax, brings therapy dogs to local hospitals, nursing homes and to UH to relieve students’ stress during finals. Every night, more than 200 students line up to spend time with the dogs and the organization in its fourth year coming to campus. | Irina Alejandro/The Cougar

“I have been waiting so long to see the dogs,” said electrical engineering sophomore Linh Le. “It’s such a good way to relieve stress. I think everyone just can’t help but feel happy and forget about their problems when they see them.” | Irina Alejandro/The Cougar

Paws and Relax’s therapy dogs will be on campus at the M.D. Anderson Library on Tuesday and Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m and on Wednesday from 2 to 4 p.m. | Irina Alejandro/The Cougar