Midterms are upon students at UCLA. Stressed and exhausted, they trudge from library to library.

Their path is monotonous, with large brick buildings lining the horizon. Artwork is absent, leaving only uninterrupted seas of orange brick.

Despite UCLA’s nationally recognized fine arts program, very little student art is present on campus. There is even less in high-traffic areas.

The Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden features works by renowned artists, while Ackerman Union houses murals including “La Memoria de la Tierra: UCLA,” created by renowned professor Judith Baca. Kerckhoff Hall also houses an art gallery and hosts student-led exhibitions.

UCLA should build on these existing artistic resources by expanding rotating displays of student-created public art into more high-traffic campus spaces. Student-created art provides opportunities for stress relief while offering a valuable outlet for aspiring artists.

Involvements in the arts is correlated with reductions in cortisol, a hormone associated with stress, said Ariana Anderson, an assistant research professor in the Semel Institute at UCLA.

“Getting involved in the arts can lower cortisol, and cortisol has a cascade of effects, ranging from our mood to our health and our blood pressure,” Anderson said. “We already have this very clearly established link between arts as not just something that we can appreciate for its beauty, but as something that may produce effects that impact both our physical and our mental wellbeing.”

Marianna Medvedeva, a second-year economics student, said encountering artwork during her daily routine helps alleviate stress. One study by King’s College London found that upon exposure to art, people’s cortisol levels fell by an average of 22%.

More dynamic heart activity was also detected – all signs of increased emotional arousal and stress regulation.

And while Los Angeles is a city brimming with art, it can be difficult for UCLA students to appreciate it to the fullest. Given LA’s mediocre public transit system, it can be difficult for students to leave campus to see art at places like the Getty, LACMA or the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

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But getting involved in the arts shouldn’t require going to a museum, a classical performance or the ballet. Interaction with art should be as simple as walking to class and seeing a collaborative art display.

“It’s really about the brief opportunity to shift your psychological state throughout the day, without requiring people to deliberately seek it out,” said Diana Hereld, a research advisor for the National Endowment for the Arts Research Lab at UCLA, which studies how engagement with the arts impacts health and psychological wellbeing.

Exhibiting student artwork like photography, collaborative murals and sculptures, would give aspiring artists an audience beyond the confines of traditional galleries.

Rather than creating entirely new facilities, these exhibits could make use of existing walls and communal spaces, like Kerckhoff Coffeehouse and Ackerman Union.

Picture it: As students stand in line for their daily dose of Kerckhoff coffee, they walk through a gallery filled with their peers’ work. A small moment in their day, one meant to charge them up for the next midterm, becomes one of psychological relief. Maybe even better than caffeine for some, art clears the mind and readies one to absorb new information.

Some might argue that UCLA already offers ample opportunities for students to experience art through spaces like the sculpture garden, and rather than expand artwork into areas intended for studying and socializing, the university should encourage students to take advantage of its existing artistic resources.

However, the mere existence of these spaces does not guarantee their accessibility.

Medvedeva said she enjoys visiting the sculpture garden when her classes are nearby it. But students who have classes farther away may have a harder time visiting because of its secluded location.

Bringing student-created artwork into other busy areas like the Bomb Shelter and the Physics and Astronomy Building would allow students to experience art without having to rearrange their schedules or travel across campus.

The stress of college life won’t disappear. But as students rush from one exam to the next, UCLA has an opportunity to make their daily routines a little less dull – student collaborative exhibits could transform ordinary campus spaces into showcases of Bruin creativity.