Kits distributed to residents of Canterbury College during its communal dinner Wednesday offered small items to help them get through the pending stresses of exams. Friends of Canterbury College, largely drawn from the local Anglican congregation, placed paper bags on a table filled with study supplies and convenience foods.

“They wanted to do something special for us,” says Sabrina Gismondi, who heads the college’s student council. “Administration knows we are going into a stressful time.”

She lists highlighters, erasers, sticky notepads, chocolate candy, granola bars and packages of instant ramen noodles among the choices for students.

“Everyone packed their bags as they pleased,” Gismondi says. “It was nice to pick what you needed.”

The college’s principal, Gordon Drake, presented the heads of each house with their choice of a volume from the Campus Bookstore as a token of his appreciation for their dedication to the college and support for students.

“The only stipulation was it couldn’t be a textbook,” says Gismondi, a third-year law student. “It had to be something for us to enjoy.”

She selected the novel Outline by Rachel Cusk, and was pleased to have Dr. Drake inscribe it for her.