King Duck Cheers You Up
Rubber ducks can reduce exam stress! This was tested during the exam period in December last year. A giant yellow duck and thousands of soft rubber ducks were brought to CityU for conveying positive vibes to all students as they crammed for their exams.
The King Duck Campaign initiated by the Counselling Team of Student Development Services (SDS) provided emotional support for students when they needed it the most. As “King Duck” is the pun for "let’s talk!" in Cantonese, it was used to remind students that they could talk to people if they were under too much pressure. The SDS Counselling Team also distributed little rubber ducklings to students at the library, residential halls, and academic buildings so that students who felt stressed could squeeze the malleable toy for relief! Not only ducklings were used to reduce exam stress. The launch of a three-metre-tall exam mascot was held on 1 December 2015. Prof. Horace Ip Ho-shing, Vice-President (Student Affairs), Dr. Raymond Chan Kwok-hong, Dean of Students, Dr. Wong Chi-tim, Director of SDS, Ms. Elizabeth Cheung Yee-mei, Associate Director of SDS (Counselling), SDS staff and students attended the ceremony. “The King Duck reminds students that they can talk to their friends if they feel that they are under a lot of pressure. If the pressure is still not alleviated, remember to call our counsellors for help,” said Professor Ip at the launch. Student volunteer Routen Jin Lu-teng (Computer Science, Year 2) helped with the distribution of ducklings. “This is such a fun thing to do! I feel a lot less stressed when I see smiling faces of my fellow students. I just love this event!” Hu Jia-mian (Computer Science, Year 2), also a student volunteer, said that he would place the ducklings at the Student Residence to cheer up his schoolmates. The King Duck Campaign was part of the “CityU Cares For You” initiative. Now in its second year, the initiative has done a good job of encouraging students to face up to stress and emotional issues positively. Last year, the initiative distributed apple-shaped stress balls. It was also hugely popular.
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