Are exams bringing you down? In need of a free massage, right on Brown’s campus? Look no further than the Brown University Relaxation Project, or BURP, a wellness group that trains student volunteers to offer free back massages and other stress relief resources to the Brown community.
BURP’s mission is simple: getting students to step away from their busy schedules and take time to relax, said the group’s co-coordinator Olivia Baptiste ’26.
“If you’re having a bad day, hopefully this massage can take a load off your shoulders,” Baptiste added.
BURP is affiliated with BWell, Brown’s health and wellness program, which supervises the group’s two co-coordinators and provides funding.
Before getting hands-on, volunteers with BURP are trained by a licensed massage therapist on best massage practices, co-coordinator Imran Hussain ’26 wrote in an email to The Herald. At the trainings, they learn techniques to target different muscle groups and relieve tension in the body before practicing in pairs.
BURP volunteer Anna Ryu ’25 said the organization’s “calming and inviting” atmosphere has contributed to her own wellness and relaxation.
“The fact that we have a space like this makes people feel more welcomed and joyful,” Ryu said. “I always walk away feeling more grounded.”
BURP also provides massage services in collaboration with other campus organizations. The club has participated in the Class Coordinating Board’s Winter Festival and is often asked by Community Coordinators to host massage events for their residents, Baptiste said.
Hussain noted that his favorite part of BURP is “seeing new faces become consistent faces.” The group hosts “Feel Good Fridays” in the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center.
“It’s a nice feeling to know that your gesture is appreciated by the Brown community so much to the point that it is included within their daily schedule,” Hussain added.
For Baptiste, BURP is also a community-building tool on campus. She said that she enjoys chatting with the students she massages, who she “would never have met otherwise.”
BURP volunteer Sohum Sanu ’25 joined the organization after transferring to Brown, seeking a wellness community on his new campus. He described his first BURP training as one of his first “touch points” at Brown.
“I think BURP brings together a lot of people who don’t have many similarities in any way, which is cool,” Sanu said. He also enjoys partnering with a wide variety of student groups, including dance troupes and other performance groups.
Baptiste emphasized that no BURP massage is the same, as each BURP volunteer takes a distinct approach to their practice.
“I think the joy of going to get a BURP massage every Friday is that you might get a different BURPer and a different technique,” she said. “It’s really interesting to see the creativity within every single BURPer.”
Sophia Wotman is a senior staff writer covering activism. She is a junior from Long Island, New York concentrating in Political Science with a focus on women’s rights. She is a jazz trumpet player, and often performs on campus and around Providence.
