ODESSA, Texas — Thursday was the last day of finals for UT Permian Basin students.
Now that these students can relax knowing they can give their education a break for a while, they can finally whine down.
And they might have the perfect place to do so right on campus.
"It is a quiet place, it's meditative," Dean of Student Success Dr. Mike Frawley said.
If you’ve ever waddled over to the UTPB duck ponds, a sound of peace is profound.
"It is a beautiful day out here," Dr. Frawley said. "There will be students later today, we’re at the tail end of finals week and if you still got a final on campus and you need a little bit of just quiet and stress relief, this is great, and they come out here for that."
Students have been finding that stress relief at these ponds for more than 50 years.
"It's one of the original features built on campus when the campus opened back in the early 70s," Dr. Frawley said.
When UTPB was in its duckling stages, the first president wanted the university to stand out amongst other schools across the country.
And what better way to do that then to add some cute waddling friends?
Funded by the state, the duck pond was established in 1972 when a community member donated the first few ducks, a number that is far less than how many there are now.
"So, on a good day, I've been out here, and I've seen as many as 100 [ducks]," Dr. Frawley said.
By 1974, two more ponds were added along with a roofed area and picnic tables.
100 ducks, a bunch of turtles, even goldfish at one time.
"That did not go as well as the ducks and the turtles," Dr. Frawley said.
Plenty of nature for this university to enjoy, and it's right in their backyard.
And these birds have certainly left their webbed footmarks on the UTPB schoolgrounds.
"There's not an office on this campus that does not have a duck in it somewhere," Dr. Frawley said. "And they're all over campus, is just a fun part of our campus culture, which matches the duck pond."
"Everything kind of centers in this area right around this pond," Dr. Frawley said. "This is a find. You just suddenly discover it one day, someone mentions it to you, and you wonder over and then it becomes kind of a permanent part of your experience on campus."
And let’s just say there’s a reason for that, because everyone needs peace in this crazy thing we call life.
Why not enjoy that peace with the sound of a flowing pond and duck quacks.
The duck pond is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. November through February and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. March through October.