The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: Finals

  • 7 ways to de-stress while studying

    7 ways to de-stress while studying

    By｜Phil Santos

    Finals are here and it’s time to do something about it. The biggest obstacle at this point is the sense of overwhelming dread you feel when looking at the work cut out for you. Major projects are daunting at first, but it gets better when you make a structured plan. So take the time to structure how and when you’ll study. Breaking things down into smaller sections and having a generic plan reduces the overwhelming feeling of defeat when looking at a stack of unstudied material. Here are 7 things you can incorporate into your study plan.

    1. Study Break

    An integral part of studying is not studying. Some of us understand this a bit too well. But for the last minute crammers, remember that the mind needs an occasional break – or it will break. Stepping away from study work lets you reset a bit and lets the material soak in. I find that a 10-15 minute break every hour works well for me.

    2. Smoke a bowl

    We should all follow state and federal laws (wink!). Cannabis affects different people in different ways, but smoking a bowl is one way for some of us to de-stress. Those of us who know we don’t study well when high will not be finding that out for the first time this fall. So if cannabis works for you, then go for it. If not, don’t blame this article for helping you forget that cannabis and college don’t blend well when it comes to tests.

    3. Take a short walk to the community forest

    Taking a walk in our forests is something people travel the world to do. So if you’re one of the few who haven’t done so, interrupting your study sesh to change that is a great idea! Exposure to what we define as nature (parks, ocean and non-human built stuff) can change you by: decreasing stress, increasing focus and your sense of vitality and it can even boost creativity.

    Just remember that mountain lions are most active at dawn and dusk. Although a mountain lion attack is a pretty good excuse to miss a final…

    4. Study at the community forest or local beach

    The weather this week is slated to be rather rain-free. This is a nice window to take your study gear to the outdoors, allowing you to do your work without missing the nice weather. You can reap all the above mentioned benefits of exposure to nature while studying! If you can make it out to the beach with your study gear, you should. There aren’t many colleges where you can drive 15 minutes to study on an empty gem of a beach. This gives you a two for one experience – you get a beach day and a study day.

    5. Find your jam

    I am bothered by the slightest of noises and I feel crazy for it. The person next to you needs to turn their page more quietly. Someone behind you is hitting their keyboard with hammer hands. You can hear someone breathing and it’s almost in harmony with the sniffle across the room. All of these noises are very normal, but also very agitating, so I carry headphones with me wherever I go. If it’s too noisy to focus, I find my jams and enter a wonderful world of music. I favor various YouTube mixes of an hour or more.

    Here are a few different mixes that I study to:

    Makes you feel like you’re holding Simba over the safari:

    I feel like I’m at a rave:

    Philosophizing:

    Reggae:

    Trap Rap:

    6. Talk to your professor

    It’s easy to build a persona around our professors, but believe it or not, professors are people too. If there’s an aspect of your final that freaks you out, try talking to your professor about it. They may be able to clarify something for you and alleviate some of your worries. They might also tell you you’re a complete failure, but wouldn’t you rather hear it from the source?

    7. Check your perspective

    What is most immediate often seems most pressing. But don’t fall prey to this logic, it’s not true. The finals before you might seem like they will determine your future, but that’s like saying you went to HSU, because your mom ate a burrito exactly 10 years before you were born. It doesn’t make sense. Finals are a small step in your infinite future. Although you might not pass a class if you fail, and even not graduate as a result – what happens next is anyone’s guess. A closed door is permission to tear down the walls – that’s something to be excited and optimistic about.

     

  • Getting ready for finals

    Getting ready for finals

    By | Charlotte Rutigliano

    With finals right around the corner, students like Stephanie Toste and Ellen O’Hare are starting to prepare for them now.

    Toste who is a senior business marketing major said that she has a final in all four of her classes and is starting to study for them now.

    “I normally review my notes and the book for that class,” Toste said, “along with any study guide the teacher provides.”

    According to Angelica Huerta who has been a Chemistry tutor in the Library’s Learning Center for about three years she notices that as it gets closer to finals there are fewer students that come into the library.

    “When it is finally finals week they come in swarms for last-minute study sessions,” Huerta said.

    Huerta said that personally, she starts preparing for finals by studying by herself and with a group of peers. She said she also likes reading through chapters she didn’t fully understand, redoing past exams, and rereading her notes.

    Wildlife major O’Hare said even though she has never used the Library’s Learning Center to help study for her finals, she is still an avid studier in the weeks leading up to her exams.

    “Normally I start by making flash cards or study guides of the material,” O’Hare said, “things I can go over later and quiz myself on.”

    O’Hare who has already taken one final before the fall break is still preparing for her final two exams, one of which is this upcoming week for a lab course.

    Toste who has one more semester of school said that she is looking forward to having a break before next semester and not having to stress as much.

    In an ending piece of advice for students, Huerta said for students preparing for finals should relax, be organized, and be confident.

  • Hit the road, Jacks

    Hit the road, Jacks

    Finals are upon us, but so is winter break. It’s time to make travel plans again.

    Some people huff at the thought of making travel arrangements, especially since many of us just got back from a long-awaited and well-deserved Thanksgiving break. Needless to say, we’re also readjusting to the home stretch of this semester.

    In spite of that, we encourage you to invest some of your downtime thinking about the places you’ve always wanted to visit and make it happen during winter break. Write down the destinations, pull up Google Maps or TripAdvisor and start researching your fantasy voyage. The simple act of routing that one landmark you must finally check out with the restaurant you need to try could be more fun than you expected. The ultimate goal here is to try new things in new places and maybe meet inspiring people along the way. This can be anywhere between the pub down the street you’ve been meaning to visit or backpacking through Europe. Either way, you’d essentially step outside of your comfort zone and gain new experiences. These are two invaluable components of growing up and expanding your mind in a world full of narrow-minded blockheads.

    A few of us are strapped for cash or don’t drive, but don’t fret. It’s not completely hopeless.

    Humboldt State’s Homeward Bound Bus Charter Program “provides students with discounted round-trip transportation from Arcata directly to San Francisco or Los Angeles.”

    If that doesn’t work for you, consider HSU’s carpool program, JackPass, Zagster, Zimride and Zipcar. Visit parking.humboldt.edu for more details.

    The pressures of finals will surely stress us out, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Plan accordingly and don’t forget about the potential road constructions due to winter conditions. Good luck, safe travels and enjoy your upcoming adventures.

  • When life is ruff, pet a pup

    When life is ruff, pet a pup

    Dog Therapy to Help Students Relax during Finals

    Students were able to pet therapy dogs to destress from the stressful workload of finals in the Jolly Giant Commons on April 29. Canyon Student Assistant Elisabeth Torretti and the Canyon staff put on the event for student residents. The therapy dogs will return to campus at the library on May 8 from 1-2:30 p.m. and May 9 from 6:30-8 p.m.

  • NBA Playoffs

    NBA Playoffs

    By Danny Dunn

    The 2017 NBA playoffs tip off with history on the line, as the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors look to be the first teams ever to meet in the finals three years in a row.

    The Warriors won the first finals matchup 4 games to 2 over the Cavs behind finals MVP Andre Iguodala. The Cavs then took the second finals matchup 4 games to 3 with a historical comeback from down 3 games to 1 in the series, lead by finals MVP LeBron James.

    The Cavaliers stumbled into the playoffs this season, they finished second in the Eastern Conference with 51 wins and 31 losses. Since the start of March the Cavs have played under .500 basketball with 10 wins and 14 losses in that span. They are still the favorites to get out of the East, because well they have LeBron James.

    The Warriors finished the regular season strong, winning 15 of their final 16 games and finished first in the Western Conference with 67 wins and 15 losses. They are a heavy favorite to come out of the West, with or without all star Kevin Durant who is dealing with a lingering calf strain.

    The first round of the postseason was relatively painless for the Cavs and Warriors, as they both swept their first round opponents.

    The rest of the postseason will not be quite as easy for these teams, the competition will get tougher.

    Obstacles:

    For the Warriors, they will play the winner of the Los Angeles Clippers and Utah Jazz series. The Warriors have not lost a game to the Clippers since Steve Kerr took over as head coach in 2015. As for the Jazz, they do not appear to have the firepower to match Golden State, the only chance they would have is to muck up the series and slow the pace of the game. But neither of these teams should last longer than six games with the Warriors.

    The real competition for Warriors will come in the conference finals where they will likely play either the Houston Rockets, or the San Antonio Spurs. Each team has beat the Warriors this year, the Spurs having done so twice. For the past few postseasons Spurs v Warriors is the matchup everyone has anticipated in the conference finals, but the Spurs have not been able to make it that far.

    For the Cavs, they will play the winner of the Toronto Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks series. The Cavs defeated Toronto last year in the conference finals in six games. Do not expect this year’s results to be any different. As for the Bucks, it would be interesting to see Giannis Antetokounmpo [The Greek Freak] go head to head with Lebron in a series, but the Cavs should still be able to get by them.

    The Cavs true competition will also come in the conference finals, where they will likely play either the Washington Wizards, or the Boston Celtics. Boston might have even been a favorite in the East if they did not get blown out by the Cavs at the end of the regular season. Washington matched up well with the Cavs in their meetings this season, the Wizards backcourt John Wall and Bradley Beal in particular played well in their meetings with the Cavs.

    With the finals still about a month and a half away any number of things can happen to prevent a third meeting between the Cavaliers and Warriors, but at the moment it appears that these teams are on a collision course to square off again.