The temperature outside may have hovered around -20C, but the mood inside John Abbott College last Wednesday afternoon was tropical as comedians Gilson Lubin and Adrian Sawyer helped students deal with the cold, limited sunlight and the first week of classes in the winter semester with humour last Wednesday.
Some media commentors factored in the cold, the lack of natural light and the post-holiday period, saying last Monday was the ‘most depressing day of the year,' and happened to coincide with the first week of winter-semester classes at the Ste. Anne de Bellevue institution.
That's part of why the two Toronto-based funnymen were in town - and the end result was all administrators could've hoped for.
"It was great," said student Shannon Greenshields, a Pincourt resident. "Laughing just makes you feel better. When the cold weather hits, this is great, because it's free, and you just keep repeating the jokes and thinking about it for the rest of the day," she said.
John Abbott College health-education nurse Anne Smith said the school's frequent appearances by comedians and other stress-reduction breaks from studying definitely help keep spirits up in the dark, cold months of the year.
"The whole preventive-medicine idea is really picking up steam, and statistics have shown that a positive outlook is really helpful at reducing stress at a time when people are seeing the sun less and less," she said, adding that seasonal depression is even more of an issue in the earlier part of the school year.
"It's not as bad, as say, in late November and early December, when it's darkest and it's the end of the semester and students are feeling the pressure of assignments and exams," she said. Smith emphasized that a great way to beat the winter blues is to exercise and get fresh air - even if the air is a little fresher this time of year than some students would like.
"We encourage students to get outside and take advantage of what winter has to offer, like getting their skates on or playing ball hockey outside with kids on their street. Exercise is a big physical lift. In the school, Comedians, movies on Fridays and other activities we have for them are all upbeat things," Pointe Claire resident Smith added.
Even the performers left the college in good moods.
"This is great," said Sawyer, who studied philosophy at Concordia University - and mined the experience for laughs in his performance in Montreal. "The crowd was into it, and it's always fun to perform for a crowd that's in the mood to laugh," he said.
Lubin is coming back to the Montreal area for a Jan. 28 show called Joker's Corner in LaSalle at Bar 77, located at 7751 Newman Blvd. Tickets are $15 at the door. For more information an the show and other featured performers, visit http://www.facebook.com/events/245460478859241.
