Category: College Life

Students all around the world have told their stories of how their college years were either great and party filled, or class and homework filled. One thing the students all seemed to have in common was that depression and anxiety was always something hanging over their shoulders. Student have spoken on how if they weren’t stressing about that night’s homework they were stressing about their next test or exam and even after that they were worried about large projects and all the way down to their final exams. College has always been a large pressure in almost every part of the world. Some places greater than others. Even with this fairy tale outlook the students are still struggling with their mental health. There isn’t just one reason for such an issue, many factors come into play. During college years this is when a student’s mental health needs to be stable and healthy. Having a healthy mental health helps you within your studies. Students are the future to careers, so their mental health should be just as important as in obtaining a degree.

One of the issues brought to light was a person’s ethnicity. By the time college rolls around it would seem to maybe not be such an issue yet that isn’t the case. College gives students a free range of finding out who they are and who they want to be. It also lets a person show their real selves due to wanting to fit in more likely in high school. Usually when coming to a large college or university there is almost always a chance the diversity is quite large. That is what makes universities so inviting, know that there is more than one type of person and ethnics all around. A study was done to see if ethnics played a part into depressive thinking due to discrimination (American Psychological Association, 2014). The study was done on both male and females from the ages of 18 to 30 years of age. This would show if the discrimination played a part in the persons mental health and if it was greater for one specific factor or was it a grouped outcome. The study also put into factor that the students were past the stage of questioning their identity or beyond the formative stages of ethnic identity formation (French, Seidman, Allen, & Aber, 2006). The study grouped together 30 colleges from across the United States and gathered 2,315 college students being that 63% were Latino, 37% Black with a gender of 76% female. They asked the students to note on their information sheet which ethnic group they felt they belong to or identified with. The students who felt they didn’t belong to the Latino or black group were excluded from the study. The age that seemed to be the median was 20 years of age and 80% of the students showed that they were from the United States, born and raised. The data was then collected from September of 2008 to October of 2009 and out of all the students only 73% completed they survey and questionnaire.

While the questionnaire didn’t take too long the information gathered showed almost exactly what the study expected. The depressive symptoms were then measured by using a 20-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D; Radloff, 1977). The students were asked to answer questions that went along with major symptoms that went with major depression and if they felt they agreed with the information asked and shown. More information was gathered individually from each participant and with the information they couldn’t gather from the students who didn’t answer or finish their questionnaire they had to rule out and modify their hypothesis. The results showed that on average the students who identified as black showed that they had more ethnic discrimination than the Latino group while the females in the Latino group had a higher percentage of discrimination than the males of their group. The Black students received more discrimination due to their ethnic while the Latinos received hate due to if they were born in the United States or not. With the results It showed that both groups had a high percentage of having some sort of depressive mental state or depression was on the rise due to how they felt about the situation. The students also mentioned that they had always had discrimination but that reaching college it seemed to become large due to the diversity along with having problems within school and classes.

Depression among the youth has seemed to double since the 21st century (Kisch, Leino, & Silverman, 2005) being that it is mainly focused around college students. More reasons for this issue found among college students was related to substance abuse, alcoholism, feeling disconnected from your campus and fellow peers. This can lead to self-injury, eating disorders or more substance abuse. Sometimes even leading to suicide (Haw, Hawton, Casey, Bale, & Shepard, 2005; Ross et al., 2009). Information gathered from Psychology of Addictive Behaviors (2010) informed that self-injury also known as SIB, became much higher due to the results of academic failure or that grades were not where a student or a student’s family felt they should be. The study followed students 24 and under and how well they were doing in school along with if they had any sort of substance abuse and how often they drank on a day-to-day basis if any. When first looking into SIB they found that this was at a much higher rate than any of the other behaviors associated with depression.

When questioning their participants, they found that 7% showed that they had SIB within the past month while 17% to 38% reported self-injury within their lifetime and mostly being towards end of high school year and all throughout college years (Gratz, Conrad, & Roemer, 2002; Whitlock, Eckenrode, & Silverman, 2006). Being that most of the students reporting this behavior was on campus they looked for factors of age, gender, ethnic and if they were undergraduate students or graduates. When having a mix of all factors they found that females were more willing to act on SIB and having eating disorders while males lead more to substance abuse and alcoholism. While also indicating that these behaviors declined with age and most students were undergraduates that acted on these behaviors (Jacobson & Gould, 2007; American College Health Association, 2007).

Another major issue is sleep. Sleep is a very important factor when it comes to mental stability. Sleep all around is what goes along with helping the brain work properly from how the brain ‘digests’ information obtained and how the brain needs to function on a day-to-day basis. Most students recorded and average 3-9 hours of sleep per night. While some claimed to pull many all-nighters throughout the week trying to do homework and study for exams (American Psychological Association. 2009). While students who have medically been informed that they do indeed have depression reported that they had even more issue with sleep and having large amounts of fatigue through the day and being sleepy through their classes yet unable to sleep throughout the night (‘Sleep in Psychiatric Disorders’, Benca, 1996).

The link between sleep issues and disorders vs depression also question, could the two factors play into suicides. Since being that both are mental health problems and one could lead to another if not both could make you question how far the issues could lead being that suicide rates are very high with college students as well. How this study was conducted was the REM state of the might was recorded and tracked to see how the brain functions or how high vs low the activity was. When doing this control on depressed students and patients they recorded that the depressed participants had an intense and rapid REM activity and experience little to no good amount of sleep if any (Rush et al., 1986).

So, when it comes down to how important it is to focus on students and their mental health as well as them making sure that their state of well-being is take care of it goes to show just how important mental health really is. Students should focus on both school and they, schools as well need to make sure they have all options open for their students and that all resources are easy access without any judgement.

References

1. American College Health Association. (2007). American College Health Association National College Health Assessment Spring 2006 Reference Group Data Report (abridged). Journal of American College Health, 55, 195–206.
2. French, S. E., Seidman, E., Allen, L., & Aber, L. J. (2006). The development of ethnic identity during adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 42, 1–10. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.42.1.1
3. Gratz, K. L., Conrad, S. D., & Roemer, L. (2002). Risk factors for deliberate self-harm among college students. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 72, 128–140.
4. Haw, C., Hawton, K., Casey, D., Bale, E., & Shepherd, A. (2005). Alcohol dependence, excessive drinking and deliberate self-harm. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 40, 964–967.
5. Kisch, J., Leino, E. V., & Silverman, M. M. (2005). Aspects of suicidal behavior, depression, and treatment in college students: Results from the spring 2000 National College Health Assessment Survey. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 35, 3–13. doi:10.1521/suli.35.1.3.59263
6. Radloff, L. (1977). The CES-D Scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385–401. doi:10.1177/01466216770010030
7. Rush, A. J., Erman, M. K., Giles, D. E., Schlesser, M. A., Carpenter, G., Vasavada, N., & Roffwarg, H. P. (1986). Polysomnographic findings in recently drug-free and clinically remitted depressed patients. Archives of General Psychiatry, 43, 878–884.

This paper explores college students and relationships. During emerging adulthood relationships are important because previous research has shown that positive close relationships with peers correlate to how well they adapt in college, academic achievement, retention rates, and their well-being among other college students (Parade, Leekers, & E.M., 2009). Relationships are an important topic to study because they have been consistently associated with positive physical and mental health (Braithwaite, Delevi, & Fincham, 2010). This paper will explore the emotional, physical, cognitive, and social aspects of development during emerging adulthood.

Emotional

Emotions come from a natural state of mind due to circumstances occurring. Emotional development also plays a huge part in a persons well-being. College brings on a whirlwind of emotions and new relationships for people to delve into. Drouin, M., & Landgraff, C. in 2012 did a study to see how texting and sexting practices are related to attachment in college students who are in committed relationships. They surveyed 744 college students who claimed to be in committed relationships and had them answer a series of questions pertaining to their texting and sexting practices and their attachment styles to their partners. One of the results that they got was that text messaging was more common in those who had a secure attachment while sexting was more common in those who had an insecure attachment. Having anxious attachment predicted in sending only sexting messages while attachment avoidance people sent both. Avoidant men were more likely than avoidant women to send sex messages and picture messages to their partners though (Drouin, M., & Landgraff, C., 2012). This study shows what type of attachment styles were found in committed college students and this can link to college students self-esteem. Relationships are hard especially in college, that is why secure attachments are important to maintain. Fortunately, on-campus resources like college success workshops, like Understanding Rape Culture, that are facilitated by peer mentors are open to all SJSU students. It takes place in room SSC 603 and its to help you recognize contributing factors to rape culture and tools on how to dismantle it. This would help you with insecure attachments and help with your overall emotional health. In an additional study done by Nelson, M. C., Story, M., Larson, N. I., Neumark-Sztainer, D., & Lytle, L. A. in 2012 emerging adulthood is described as a unique stage in life and show evidence of how certain things, like relationships, can affect a persons health and their physical activity. Their study is based on 18-29-year-olds from national surveys and longitudinal studies. One result was that the transition to emerging adulthood has increased risk of weight gain and that research suggests that closer relationships with parents and siblings evolve during youth transition into college and as a youth becomes more independent it might have an influence of their health behavior patterns. Also as they become more independent their physical activity declines as work goes on (Nelson, M. C., Story, M., Larson, N. I., Neumark-Sztainer, D., & Lytle, L. A., 2012). In order to live a healthy life emotionally and physically, college students must realize the effects relationships have on them in college and throughout their lives. One way SJSU can help you is by going to a CAPS Life Skills Workshop, “Body Image”, where they talk about your self-esteem and how it makes you perceive yourself. This usually takes place in room SWC 375 and helps college students with their emotional well being.

Physical

Physical development is a key part of growing up. Especially in college students, its something you should keep an eye on and it’s important for the health of young adults. However, relationships can sometimes adversely affect your physically well being. In a study done by Braithwaite, S. R., Delevi, R., & Fincham, F. D. (2010) they wanted to find out if college students in committed relationships experienced greater well-being than single students. They took a sample of 1621 college students and came up with the conclusion that committed relationships experienced fewer health problems and were less likely to become overweight. Another thing they found was that being in a committed relationship decreased your problematic outcomes largely because of the reduced number of sexual partners (Braithwaite, S. R., Delevi, R., & Fincham, F. D., 2010). According to an additional study (Lacaille, L. J., Dauner, K. N., Krambeer, R. J., & Pedersen, J., 2011) there is factual evidence that your eating and physical activity level were hard to stay healthy due to social life and relationships. Lacaille, L. J., Dauner, K. N., Krambeer, R. J., & Pedersen, J. did a study to find out what factors college students perceived as contributing to their healthy or unhealthy patterns, physical activity, and weight change. They also found out that there were gender differences in how it impacted behavior because some men had a desire to gain weight which would make them engage in different eating habits than women. However, on-campus resources are available to help students in need. Group fitness classes are offered year-round in the Spartan Gym usually in one of the studios. Like a boot camp workout is offered in Studio A, which is an intense total body workout to help with your physical health and get in shape. There is also the new Spartan Recreation and Aquatic Center that has a fully equipped gym, aerobics room, basketball courts, swimming pool, and a rock climbing wall. Its the new building located right next to the dorms and event center and it could help improve your overall health by encouraging you to do physical activity and help with your health.

Cognitive

Cognitive development is a critical domain of development for emerging adults in college. This is the time where they think, learn, and understand at a whole new level than they did before. This is where they form new identities, beliefs, attitudes and build new ideas while gaining knowledge. College is a world of cognitive development. In a study by Marder, S. L. (2009) they were trying to find the correlations between friendship, college adjustment, and self-efficacy for college students to increase the retention rates of college students. They sent surveys to first-year students in a psychology class of two colleges, a big one with 14,000 enrolled and a small one with 2000 enrolled. They found that college students self-efficacy had no significant relationship to how their friendship groups were composed. They also found that participants who thought of friendships as important also had positive associations on how they rated their friends influence on self-confidence and college adjustment. Many resources on campus are available to help you, like College Success Workshops. Specifically, “Finding your Niche @ SJSU”, this workshop helps you get involved in campus and find friends. It provides you with insight on all the organizations on campus and how to get involved in them. This workshop takes place at SSC 603 and is good for helping college students with their identity formation. Another study by Field, C. J., Kimuna, S. R., & Straus, M. A. (2013) focused on examining the attitude towards interracial couples on campus. They sampled 1173 college students and found that black students disapproved of interracial couples more than white students and that white/asian couples were more accepted than white/black couples. There was also no significant difference between male and female attitude on interracial couples, but white students did feel that their parents disapproved most of black/white interracial dating. Students thinking a certain way towards specific relationships can change the way other students think about their own relationships. It is also showing certain beliefs and attitudes college students have towards romantic relationships in college. Also on campus resources like the Student Wellness Center offers counseling which can help you with your mental health and where you can seek guidance.

Social

Social development is a critical growth component for any college student. Social interaction is important for young adults to learn from and live a healthy and positive life. One study (Wayt, L. K., 2012) tried to find the connection between students relationships and their choice to stay at a post-secondary institution. A random sample of 300 college students enrolled in their second full year at this mid-Plains university was asked to complete the survey. They found out that students who stayed through college have positive relational influences and more positive college experience. Students are also positively influenced by their school peers and faculty. They also found out that students were more socially associated like friends and family had a greater influence than those that were only academically associated. College students relationships which are more closely tied to his social life had a stronger impact on their decisions to pursue farther in college (Wayt, L. K., 2012). Another study (Parade, S. H., Leerkes, E. M., & Blankson, A. N., 2009) studied the process of how attachment to parents can influence students satisfaction and ease going in forming friendships in college. They sampled 385 college freshman and found that secure attachment to parents was positively associated with ease in forming friendships. They also found that the indirect effects of parent attachment security through social anxiety were significant for minority students. SJSU has opportunities to help you with on-campus resources. CAPS Life Skills Workshop, “Healthy Relationships”, where they talk about relationships you have and how to strengthen them. This usually takes place in room SWC 375 and helps college students with their social interaction. Another way is by going to a College Success Workshop, “Strengths Workshop Series: Interpersonal Domain”, which talks to you about how to use your strengths in interpersonal situations and practice integrating your strengths into your personal relationships and teamwork. This helps college students with working on their social relationships.

Emotional, physical, cognitive, and social are all critical domains for college students. These areas of development continue throughout an individuals life. Stable relationships in college bring mostly good outcomes, but sometimes relationships can also cause an adverse effect. Having secure attachment relationships brings positive association with how well a college student is doing. Physical health also can be altered by how your relationship is going which effects your behavior patterns. However, there are many on-campus resources that can help students become better like the College Success Workshops and Student Wellness Center. I believe that relationships are an important factor in college life and can really affect the way your life moves forward.

On average 1,534,125 are the number of bacteria found in a woman’s living space in college. Even though bacteria is found everywhere, people don’t see it as the threat that it is. Especially for, college students who are constantly in and out of their room being exposed to outside bacteria and bringing it all in their room. This paper will focus on the effects of bacteria on my discourse community, the struggles we have with the bacteria, and ways to solve these issues. I will first dive into talking about how these affect my discourse community.

Around ninety, percent of the bacteria students come in contact with has been proven to be potentially harmful (‘Bacteria on Campus’). We all know that washing your hands kills the bacteria and you will be less prone to getting sick and spreading the bacteria around to others. In my discourse community, we share one bathroom with about thirty to thirty-five people. In our bathroom, we have four stalls, four, showers, and six sinks. We have two working sinks that are able to keep the faucet turned to where the water is able to run, therefore that is a constant battle in our bathrooms because those two sinks are constantly being used. I always see people using the sinks that don’t hold the water and they are washing one hand whentime, and it defeats the purpose of washing hands. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), so as to properly wash the hands one must lather the hands with soap by rubbing them together, and scrubbing for at least twenty seconds, and then rinsing under clean running water. The reason why I believe the purpose is defeated because the last step says “running water”, but most of the sinks in my discourse community don’t run, and I see people touching the faucet to clean their hands. It has been proven that not washing your hands can cause you to get sick more often generally. Also, according to the CDC, germs are able to transfer from your hands to your eyes, nose, and mouth that gives you a higher chance of getting sick.

I conducted short interviews with the residents of my floor to see if any of the problems have had an affect their health. The questions asked were “How many times have you gotten since the second semester began?”, “Has there ever been an instance where you needed to attend the beu?”, and “Have you received your flu shot this year’. Twenty-two out of thirty-five had reported that they had been sick one or more time since second semester began. Only five have gotten the flu shot this year. Ten students reported going to see a doctor. Two of those that went to see a doctor stood out. One student had caught pink eye and one with impetigo, also known as ‘school sore’, which is a very contagious skin infection shown by red sores on the face.

Living in a residence halls especially a living learning community is a unique experience that offers many benefits. Examples of those benefits would be being able to go on trips with the science department and being able to get in contact with the science department, and they will help you branch out to different leaders. It is also beneficial to one another because we are all majoring in something with science and we are all able to help one another when needed and we will be able to come together as a whole floor. There have been multiple times where our floor has not done its job in keeping the bathrooms clean. There have been times where chicken wings have been pushed down sinks and toilets, dirty feminine products are found in the showers and toilets, and we have gotten fined for all of that which makes my discourse community upset, but nothing is being done to solve these issues. There have been multiple times where feminine products have been found in the bathrooms. The residence halls do present a few challenges that mostly have to do with health and hygiene. The health of students could be improved with new sinks are able to keep the water running and constant cleaning of the bathrooms. There have been some issues in the past where our janitor has not done a good job in keeping our bathroom clean, and I believe a general upkeep of the bathrooms on both the students ends, and the janitors could help with hygiene overall.

Introduction

Dear fellow students, faculty, and staff, I stand before you today as a candidate for the position of Class President. I am humbled and honored to have this opportunity to address you and share my vision for a vibrant and successful school year. As your potential leader, I promise to advocate for your needs, foster a positive and inclusive environment, and work tirelessly to enhance our educational experience. Together, we can create a memorable and impactful year.

Building Unity

First and foremost, I believe in the power of unity. As your Class President, I will strive to bring our diverse student body together and create a sense of belonging. I will actively promote inclusivity, ensuring that every student’s voice is heard and respected. By organizing social events, collaborative projects, and cultural celebrations, we can bridge the gaps between us and foster a strong sense of community.

Amplifying Student Voices

One of my primary goals as Class President will be to amplify the voices of my fellow students. I understand that each of you has unique perspectives, concerns, and ideas that deserve to be heard. I will establish an open-door policy, where you can approach me with your thoughts, suggestions, and feedback. Additionally, I will create regular forums and surveys to gather input from the entire class, ensuring that our decisions are truly representative of our collective interests.

Enhancing Student Life

Another crucial aspect of my platform is to enhance student life within our school. I recognize the importance of a well-rounded education that extends beyond the classroom. I will work closely with the student council to organize engaging extracurricular activities, such as clubs, sports teams, and cultural events. These opportunities will not only foster personal growth and leadership skills but also create a vibrant and enjoyable school environment for all.

Improving Communication Channels

Effective communication is the cornerstone of any successful organization. If elected as your Class President, I will establish efficient and transparent communication channels between the student body, administration, and faculty. I will ensure that important information, updates, and announcements reach you in a timely manner. I believe that by fostering strong lines of communication, we can bridge any gaps and work collaboratively towards our shared goals.

Advocating for Student Needs

As your advocate, I will strive to address and resolve the issues and concerns that affect our daily lives as students. I will work closely with the administration to tackle matters such as improving campus facilities, enhancing cafeteria options, and advocating for mental health resources. I am committed to ensuring that our educational environment is conducive to learning, growth, and well-being.

Conclusion

In conclusion, as your potential Class President, I am dedicated to creating a positive and inclusive school experience that empowers each and every one of you. With unity, amplification of student voices, enhanced student life, improved communication, and effective advocacy, we can build a stronger, more connected, and supportive community. Together, we can shape a memorable and impactful school year that we will cherish for years to come.

I ask for your support and trust in electing me as your Class President. Together, let us embrace the opportunity to make a difference, uplift one another, and leave a lasting legacy. Thank you for your time and consideration.

College can be rough at times. Sometimes you need something to help relieve your stress, and what better than that is a pet? They have multiple benefits, and it’s been noted that student’s may do better in school with a pet. Pets are loved by many people, and one thing that college students miss while they’re away at school, is their pets. Most people love to have a furry, feathery or scaley friend to care for. Slippery Rock University, would benefit greatly in allowing pets on campus. Pets should be allowed on college campuses, the reason I believe this are because they help reduce stress and anxiety, depression, and help students succeed in school overall.

As mentioned above, pets help reduce stress. Interacting with a dog or cat raises our level of serotonin and dopamine, which are hormones that calm our nervous system. They make us smile at their cuteness, which releases our ‘happy hormones’. Our stress hormone is called cortisol; and interacting with a friendly dog lowers that and releases oxytocin, another stress relieving chemical in our body. Simply stroking a pet can lower blood pressure, which lowers stress. Studies have shown that dogs can even help aggressive or hyperactive children (Monroe). A Human Animal Bond Research Institute found that veterans living with PTSD had better mental health and well-being if they have a service dog. Some of these included: lower symptoms of post-traumatic stress, higher levels of life satisfaction, lower levels of social isolation and greater ability to partake in social activities.

Secondly, they help with anxiety. “Not only are people happier in the presence of animals, they’re also healthier. In a survey of pet owners, 74% of pet owners reported mental health improvements from pet ownership, and 75% of pet owners reported a friend’s or family member’s mental health has improved from pet ownership” (Feldman). This article mentions that they call this ‘the Pet Effect’. Another article states that they did a study with children and dogs. “In fact, 21 percent of the children who did not have a pet dog tested positive on a screening test for anxiety. However, only 12 percent of children with dogs tested positive for anxiety”. In another study, a group of stressed adults went to touch a rabbit, turtle or toy. The toy did nothing, however; when they touched the rabbit or turtle, they relieved anxiety.

Depression is a common and sad thing, especially in college students. Animals are a great way to help reduce or event prevent depression. Loneliness is a common part of depression, and pets can eliminate that feeling of loneliness. They show you love, compassion and comfort. You may think about if the pets aren’t dogs, but an animal that doesn’t interact to people as much, will that affect anything? Well, even if the pets don’t interact as much, they can still help with mental health. In 2016, a group of elderly people were given five crickets in a cage. They monitored their moods for eight weeks and compared them to people who were not caring for anything. The group with crickets became less depressed in those eight weeks (Monroe).

Freshman or transfer students are especially more stressed and are still in the process of finding new friend groups, so they could use a companion. Having a pet could also help students feel more at home when staying in a dorm. “We might not think of college students as being lonely, but a lot of freshman and sophomores are in an early transition from living at home to living in dorms or off-campus. College is a very stressful environment for them and sometimes they can feel isolated or overwhelmed with the change. We found that a lot of young adults are choosing to have an animal companion for important reasons. Many feel their pets will help get them through these difficult and stressful situations, and many more say that without their pet, they would feel lonely”. It continues by saying: “College students living far from home may find it harder to deal with difficult situations because they are thrown into a new environment and expected to find their way, often for the first time in their lives” (‘College Students Find Comfort in Their Pets During Hard Times’). Another article also mentions this. They asked why they had pets, and companionship was the most common answer. “College students were more likely than the older participants to say their pet helps them get through hard times. That may be because college freshmen are in a transition period and haven’t yet built their social network and resources for coping” (Hitti). Many articles and studies say similar things, most being beneficial reasons for pets.

Many colleges, such as Slippery Rock University, are only allowed a pet fish. While that is better than nothing, a fish may not suit people’s needs, such as physical touch. For some people, just watching a fish swim around can calm them down, but for others, that may not be the case. “There’s not one answer about how a pet can help somebody with a specific condition. Is your goal to increase physical activity? Then you might benefit from owning a dog. You have to walk a dog several times a day and you’re going to increase physical activity. If your goal is reducing stress, sometimes watching fish swim can result in a feeling of calmness. So, there’s no one type fits all” (‘The Power of Pets’). As stated, there’s not one type that can suit everyone’s needs, which is why only a fish is too limited.

I made a survey, asking students from SRU why they think pets should be allowed, and what pets they would want. One of the responses responded to the question “Should colleges allow pets on campus?” with the answer “Yes, because pets can help keep colleges kinds mental state high”. I also asked the question “Let’s say dogs and cats aren’t allowed because of barking and allergies, what pet would you want otherwise?”, and they answered: “Lizard”. The responses also varied answers including reasons of helping mental health, encouraging exercise, and helping with anxiety or depression. The answers for the second question were 60% dog and 40% cat. The next questions answers were varied between a hamster, lizard, rabbit, or ferret (Fallavollitti). This shows the diversity of the types of pets wanted, which further supports the evidence that there is not one type for everyone.

Understandably, there may have to be some restrictions for this to work out. For example, dogs may be an issue to because of barking and possibly chewing up important things in the dorms. Cats could be an issue as well because of shedding, scratching and allergies. the solution could be a compromise, such as hamsters, guinea pigs, reptiles, ferrets, rabbits, birds or mice. These animals are small, quiet, caged and easy to take care of. This gives people a variety while not causing noise or allergy issues. An example is Kansas State University. “At Kansas State University, pets are allowed in the dorms as long as the pet is small and relatively quiet. This includes small rodents, reptiles, birds and insects. Some students even have exotic pets such as a chinchilla or a sugar glider. Animals not accustomed to containment such as dogs and cats are not allowed (‘Small Pets Beneficial to Students, Should Be Allowed in Dorm Rooms’). I included this example because this University is an example of how it can be worked out if we add some rules here and there. The article also mentions that the roommate has to agree on having a pet, which is understandable. There can be additional paperwork where all roommates need to sign in order to keep the pets, and even have medical or allergy papers if needed. This way, it’s proven that everyone is okay with having pets and could even prevent future conflict.

Let’s say dogs and cats do become allowed on Slippery Rock’s campus, there are many benefits of them. To fix the problem of noise complaints do to barking and such, there could be designated dorms for dog and cat owners. Any damages done in the dorms from the pet will be the students responsibility. That may be hard to do, but it’s possible! While there may be a few downsides, the positives of owning a dog or cat outweigh the negatives. The first benefit is that dogs can teach you responsibility. Owning a dog takes a lot of responsibility to care for, while college teaches student’s about growing up and being independent. A dog can help teach that as well, because you can’t leave a dog alone for too long, since it needs to be fed, played with and exercised. Speaking of exercise, they promote just that! They can help get you outside and active by taking them on a walk. Even just running around the room can help get a little bit of exercise. Dogs will always be by your side and can help in more ways than you think. “Unlike people who may not stick to you during your dark moments, pets are always with you through it all. With their positive impacts on student’s psychological benefits, self-esteem and combating depression, owning a dog in college can the best decision a student can make” (Guzman). They can be a positive influence to have responsibility of a dog, and even just being in the presence of one can help improve social skills, health and emotions.

Cats serve many benefits as well. Cats are better for the environment they eat less and are more likely to east fish than beef. Cats also can help you cope. They are shown to help people show less signs of physical pain, like crying. They can serve as social support animals during difficult times. Talking to your pet while mourning can help work out their feelings, since it’s easier to talk to something that can’t judge like a human being. They are also very good for stress relieving and are less maintenance than dogs. Petting a cat is positive and calming, and it’s even found that cat owners are 30% less likely to die of a heart attack or stroke than non-cat owners. Also, sleeping with cats can help you sleep better. In fact, 41% of people said they slept better with a cat. Finally, cats can save lives! They have a reputation of not caring about things, but they have saved many lives over the years. One cat warns her owner when he is about to have an epileptic seizure, while another cat woke up its two humans when a gas pipe started to leak. Firefighters told them that the house could have exploded if the cat hadn’t intervened (‘10 Scientific Benefits of Being a Cat Owner’). With this information, dogs and cats may have a few downsides, but the positives can easily outweigh those negatives.

Hamsters are a good example of a small pet that could be reasonable to have on a campus. First, they are affordable, around twenty dollars. This makes it easy and cheap to get. The most you will spend on a hamster is around eighty dollars because most of the money will be spent on the cage and accessories. They are also very cheap to feed, as they are small and the bags of food are big, so they will last a long time. The habitat needs are very small and won’t cost much. All they need are bedding and stuff to climb on or in. Hamsters don’t need a lot of social interaction, so when you’re in class or doing homework, they won’t bother you. They are easy to clean up after, have no special grooming or training and take up little space (Demidova). Hamsters also can exercise themselves, they can hop on their wheel and run till their hearts content, and you don’t have to get up to walk them. They’re friendly, small, low maintenance and cute! (Phillips).

Therapy and emotional support animals are a thing at SRU, but that isn’t available to everyone. You would have to go through the department of disabilities and have a therapist sign papers, when some people may not have access to a therapist. Emotional support animals are very important, but I believe pets should be available to everyone, with certain limits that may be needed. That way, everyone will have the chance of feeling the love and support of their pets.

Pets are loved by many people. Not only are they loved, but they serve many benefits to people, college students especially. The positives outweigh the negatives, and there can be solutions to fix those negatives. There’s not one type of pet that fits all, and every pet has a different benefit than the other. No matter what pet you have, they will show you feelings of love, companionship and happiness.

In conclusion, pets are a great thing to have in college for many reasons. The reasons of positive effects and psychological benefits, including helping with anxiety, depression, and overall doing better in school, are the reasons pets should be allowed on not only SRU, but all college campuses.

Works Cited

1. “College Students Find Comfort In Their Pets During Hard Times”. ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 28 Dec. 2008, http://sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081223091318.htm
2. Demidova, Ekaterina. “10 Amazing Benefits of Owning a Hamster”. Amerikanki, 1 Feb. 2019, http://pets.amerikanki.com/benefits-owning-hamster/
3. Feldman, Steven, et al. “Alleviating Anxiety, Stress and Depression with the Pet Effect”. Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA, http://adaa.org/learn-from-us/from-the-experts/blog-posts/consumer/alleviating-anxiety-stress-and-depression-pet
4. Guzman, Itzel Rodriguez. “CAN HAVING A DOG HELP YOU GET BETTER GRADES?” Pawstruck Press, 26 Oct. 2018, http://blog.pawstruck.com/can-having-a-dog-help-you-get-better-grades/
5. Hitti, Miranda. “Pets Comfort College Students”. WebMD, WebMD, 26 Dec. 2008, http://www.webmd.com/balance/news/20081226/pets-comfort-college-students
6. “How Science Supports Pets for Improving Your Mental Health”. Mental Health America, http://mhanational.org/blog/how-science-supports-pets-improving-your-mental-health
7. Monroe, Jamison. “10 Ways Pets and Mental Health Go Together”. Newport Academy, Newport Academy, 4 June 2018, http://newportacademy.com/resources/well-being/pets-and-mental-health/
8. Phillips, Catherine. “18 Reasons Why Hamsters Are the Best Pets”. 12 Dec. 2019, http://metro.co.uk/2017/06/19/18-reasons-why-hamsters-make-the-best-pets-6719205/
9. Robinson, Lawrence. “The Health and Mood-Boosting Benefits of Pets”. HelpGuide.org, http://helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/mood-boosting-power-of-dogs.htm
10. “Small Pets Beneficial to Students, Should Be Allowed in Dorm Rooms”. Oucampus, http://oucampus.org/news/view.php/662408/Small-pets-beneficial-to-students-should
11. “The Power of Pets”. National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 6 Apr. 2020, http://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2018/02/power-pets
12. “10 Scientific Benefits of Being a Cat Owner”. Mental Floss, 31 May 2017, http://mentalfloss.com/article/51154/10-scientific-benefits-being-cat-owner
13. Fallavollitti, Alyssa. “Should Pets Be Allowed on College Campuses?” 12 November 2020, https://www.surveymonkey.com/stories/SM-D6B5MCHY/

After the first year, Tasia and I both decided to go through the sorority recruitment process. Throughout this process, I talked to up to thirty girls in the span of three days. Many girls asked me different questions, and I knew there was a code of conduct in terms of revealing and concealing my stigma depending on who I was talking to, as well as if they asked me something directly related to being Jewish. For example, a girl asked what my favorite place to travel was, and I said Israel.

She seemed accepting, so I felt the need to show my authenticity of being Jewish as many Jews travel to what we look to as our holy land, it was real and genuine. In my other conversations, I was situation-conscious of the social scene I was in and who was around me, I knew I had to make a certain impression on these women. Once I joined Pi Beta Phi, I realized that I was playing a two-headed role because when I am with my Jewish friends I am a stigmatized person embracing my real identity, while here I play a normal person who is part of a sorority on campus. Being a part of a stereotypical “popular” group on campus means I am expected to express a specific social personality, these are norms aligning with one’s social identity that must be sustained by individuals who, in my case, joined a sorority.

The first friend in the sorority I made told me she was Jewish as well. Aside from her, I had to maintain my techniques of information control on others in the sorority, as my stigma is discreditable, and it helps to manage my information. I had to navigate through in-group purification. For example, when everyone asked us what we do on Christmas eve, I had to notify my own conduct, while cleaning up the conduct of other stigmatized individuals like my new friend Lindsay to pass as normals. Being in a sorority with eighty-nine young women casts a shadow on individuals like myself. My stigma is a secret among the sorority; however, it is still known to like-minded individuals like Lindsay.

Now that I am in my fourth year and I am more confident in my Jewish identity, I have acted as a resident alien for all the other stigmatized individuals who have joined my sorority in the past years. I act as the voice of our stigmatized group, if anyone has something they want our chapter to know about, it goes through me. For example, during Holocaust education week I made an announcement at our weekly meetings about it and gained phantom acceptance from the chapter. This is a form of acceptance where the stigmatized appears to be accepted by the normals, and this acceptance is reciprocated back by the stigmatized individual, even if they are not truly accepted.

To slightly turn away from the more recent cases of hazing, let’s look now at quite possibly the most obvious argument against this brutal practice, but one that people seem to be blissfully ignoring in the face of what they call ‘tradition’. Hazing is clearly outdated. Those who seem to be endorsing the practices are failing to see that our society is progressing and evolving. Why is the action of hazing still endorsed by people and ignored in many universities when its negative effects have been so widely publicized over centuries? Why is hazing still happening today in places where you’d think the majority hold a forward-thinking mentality, being millennials, quite like my peers here today? And why are they so insistent on continuing practices that draw them further away from our growing society and closer to those we’ve left behind? Hazing practices go back to the founding of Plato’s academy in 387 B.C., though back then it was known as ‘mentalism’. I strongly believe that such actions should have been left in 387 B.C, Plato himself likened the acts to those of wild animals, criticizing the “practical jokes played by unruly young men that injured the hazed and citizens who got in the way” (taken from a passage in Nuwer’s 1999 book, Wrongs of Passage: Fraternities, Sororities, Hazing, and Binge Drinking). I must pose the question again, why, if Plato himself critiqued the practice, has stronger action not been taken against hazing in the countless years since it existed?

Of course, many would say action has been taken, for hazing is technically banned in 44 states of the United States of America and The University of New England has accepted the 25 recommendations from the Australian Human Rights Commission and is planning on implementing them. But as I mentioned earlier, these have no effect, whatsoever, hazing goes underground, it tries to stay hidden until a terrible incident occurs. That’s why the perpetrators of such a grueling and clearly barbaric practice need to be stopped, this is, as I have reiterated, the only way to end such a disgusting practice and the only way to properly change the way people think about these actions. Fraternities and sororities should be disbanded. Intense and harsh security should be put in place in residential colleges, so that students don’t have “just lock [their] doors when [they’re] asleep” (ABC, Wed 28 May 2019) to avoid being dragged into a brutal act of hazing.

If organizations such as fraternities are not disbanded then people will continue to suffer abuse and they will be left to lie in their own blood and vomit, whilst their supposed ‘friends’ stand laughing a mere meter away when their ‘friend’ is clearly in sight about to die. If we don’t take immediate action against these organizations and deadly practices, I’m afraid there will be plenty more Timothy Piazzas in the future.

College life is quite challenging, and it helps people to get a lot of experience. The experience in college shapes people’s lives and ensures that they can take responsibility for their actions. Students do come to realize their potential in college, and they tend to learn more about themselves while in college. The challenges they experience help them to grow into mature people in society. Also, there is a lesson that people learn about happiness and how to counter problems in life. Indeed college life is a good experience in people’s lives because people learn a lot. This paper will focus on the lesson I learned about my life and college life, how college had helped me to grow, and lessons I learned about happiness and life in general.

What have I learned about myself and life at college?

What I have learned in college about myself is that I have to fail for success in the future. Failure does not guarantee that one cannot become successful. Instead, one has to be motivated to try now and then to ensure that they become successful. I also learned that I have to face challenges in life and take responsibility for my actions. For me to take responsibility, I learned that my emotions are always right. What I think about myself is correct, and it helps in evaluating whether I am improving or not. However, I have learned that one should not forget where they come from. One should retain all the teaching that parents gave them while joining the college. I have also learned that there are a lot of changes that occur in people’s lives. One has to realize these changes and accept them as they come. One should not feel wrong about the changes as they define the future survival of a person.

College life changes the perception of people about society and the world at large. While in college, people learn about what society expects from them and what they can do to benefit or change community. College life teaches people about the problems in society and the solutions that people can use in solving such issues. Through the course that people pursue in college, they can know the reason why society fails politically, socially, and economically. This will sensitize them to become creative and solve many problems. People also learn a lot about the characters of others and how to treat people and cater for individual differences. This is due to interaction with different races and genders within the colleges. Generally, interaction helps people to get diverse views about society, other people, and the world.

Ways College has helped me to grow

Joining college has helped me to grow in various ways. One has become competitive in life than before. With the experience in college, I have learned that there are limited resources, and all people have to find ways to get limited resources in society. As such, the competitiveness of someone is essential for survival in the community. Also, I have learned skills in prioritizing. With the high population and fewer resources in the economy, I have learned to manage the resources that I have to avoid wastage. I have to know what I need first and what I might postpone acquiring later. Through this, my budgeting skills increased, and I learned to be resourceful. Financial constraints helped me to become capable and utilize the mega resources I have for significant gain. College life taught me independence in my action and also financially.

Further, I have learned to be more mature in my actions. The maturity could be evident in my ways of treating others as I learned various ways of working with many people for a collective gain. I left the lazy life I used to be and ensured that I venture into constructive activities that could help me grow. Also, college life taught me healthy lifestyle habits. Through interacting with people from various courses like food and nutrition, I came to learn about healthy eating habits and lifestyle activities that could help me to be healthy. Other concepts that I learned also trained me to be happy and the ways of relieving stress in life. Having a happy life is good as it makes someone avoid various problems like anxiety and depression. Knowing myself and my capabilities were the root of happiness. This is because I could only do what I can to make myself satisfied.

What have I learned about happiness, myself, and life?

What have learned about happiness is the root of a healthy life and a long life? When one is happy all the time, they can be fit in their lives as they avoid some mental diseases that come as a result of sadness or stress. Also, what I learned about myself is that a happy life is a choice, and one can choose to be satisfied or not. The source of happiness lies about the kind of people one interacts with and the social activities that one does. This course has taught me that life is enjoyable if we choose the right friend and accept the change that we experience in our lives. Also, the course has transformed my life to become more responsible than before. As such, it prepared me for the outside world and to respond to the situations I face in life.

What has found useful in college is the aspect of independence and budgeting. These two aspects help one to become a resource person who able to pay back to society. Sources of happiness and a healthy lifestyle are also the most valuable part of life. The exciting thing in college life is socialization that entails working with others. Socialization and collaborating with others broaden our view on the perceptions that we have on others and the world as a whole. These are essential in helping one to grow into mature people who are useful members of society. On the other hand, I find working with people to be challenging. When working with people together, one has to accept people the way they are and cater to each difference, which is a great challenge.

College life is a life that teaches us a lot of things about ourselves, the world outside, and the ways one can become happy and healthy. The lesson about ourselves broadens our understanding of our potential and how we can be useful members of society. It also teaches us to become resourceful people in the community and how we can manage to compete fairly for the limited resources in the economy. Also, college life helps us to grow on how to become mature and more useful. The level of maturity helps us to know how to interact in society and how we can cater to individual differences of the people we work with. Challenges that we face help us to be ready for any problem we might encounter and the various ways we can use to overcome them. Generally, college life prepares one for the outside world and how to fit in society once they complete education. These are essential for the survival of any young person.

Hollywood’s Portrayal of College

There are two different views on the reality of college life. Some people believe that it’s a time after high school when people continue their education and get a degree. However, some people believe that college is more of a social experience/opportunity and find more time to have fun than to study. Within the last fifty years, Hollywood films take college life and create an image of wild adventures and fun in a college setting. From living in a dorm-style residence hall or living in a Greek house, movies depicted college life to be all about fun. The sheer number of movies that portray fictional college life as a party have persuaded people to believe that the real college life should also be about partying and having fun. “Because of their romantic fascination with a supposedly high-living, glamorized lifestyle, public interest in the college-age set was unusually high” (Quote/Umphlett). Anti-Intellectualism degrades and dumbs down people in society; movies do this when they depict the college life as a whole. People that have seen movies that depict Hollywood’s entertaining image of college life believe that college could be all about having fun.

Class lectures in films are more relaxed and have a smaller and more familiar classroom environment. In movies, sometimes a big lecture room is merely a backdrop for student/friend conversations. The professors use the white/chalkboards to give the students their notes or information on the class lecture. In a bigger setting with more people, students most often raise their hands to answer questions. In movies, students are usually taking notes or reading the textbook the whole class and are free to leave when the teacher dismisses. The students in the classrooms are arranged by people that know each other and the students most likely know almost everyone in the room.

In a more realistic view, class lectures are quieter, and students are more respectful when a teacher talks. Teachers don’t usually single out students when asking a question or bombard them with questions (Summary/Brennan). Teachers use projectors or overheads to project the notes or information for the students in the class lecture. Teachers are more interactive with their students and do things in class to show that the students are paying attention. In bigger lectures, teachers usually ask an open-ended question where anyone can shout out the answer rather than waiting for a response. Students usually know when their class ends so they are getting ready to leave once the time ticks down.

The way students give out invitations to a party is also a little different than invites in college in real life. In movies, students will publicly announce the party invite during class, in the hallways, or even while walking around campus, shouting it at people. Sometimes students that are involved in a sorority or fraternity will go around and give invites and leave out people that they see as ‘not fitting in”. Most of the people that are seen with an invite or getting an invite are good looking and attractive.

In reality, when students are planning on throwing a party and they want it big, they do it in a more subtle way. Usually, the students will make the flier online and just mass text it out or post it on social media. The invite is usually for anyone unless it’s just for other frats or sororities. Students don’t walk around campus shouting out the party and where it is because they don’t want it to get busted before it even starts. If there is drinking involved at the so-called party, the students throwing the party won’t make that clear until the people arrive, or it’s kept on the down-low. For the most part, when students send invites, they will send it or tell people they know personally and then tell them to bring friends.

In movies, college parties are taken to a higher level. For example, in the movie Neighbors, the students that live in a fraternity throw parties that are excessively big. The frat house is in the middle of a neighborhood and they have no respect for the other residents. They have neighbors that complain about their partying and how the family can’t sleep at night because of the loud music and destruction that happens from inside the house. The family next door eventually calls the cops and the cops are on the fraternities’ side and the police don’t shut down the party. The frat guys turn up the music and get louder and they get no fines and have fun with no consequences.

In some movies, student organizations will throw a party on campus or right off campus. In the movie, Pitch Perfect, after the Acapella groups finish their initiation there is a party on campus where they all listen to loud music and drink adult beverages. On that note, in the movie, Project X, a student gets harassed and bullied and isn’t very popular. His closest friend gives him the idea to throw a huge party at his house while his parents are out of town. They go around and tell everyone about the party and where it is, and they expect that no one will show up. As the movie goes on, people start to show up and the party gets bigger and bigger. Eventually, the house becomes too crowded, so everyone starts to fill up the backyard. The cops get called by a neighbor that complained about the noise, but the two guys ignored the neighbor because they were having too much fun. The cops don’t catch anything, and the party goes on, which causes more trouble for the student that threw the party. The party becomes too big that the street is even becoming packed with people. When more and more complaints get called into the cops, they come back and everyone is refusing to leave, and they start throwing stuff at the police. The party is so chaotic, that the police reinforced the SWAT team to come and help break this party. There are so many people that they have to use a helicopter to dump large amounts of water on the house to get everyone to scramble. The house and the whole street catch on fire and make more of the situation much worse. The kid and his friend make it out and don’t get in any legal trouble but the only punishment he gets is from his parents.

A more realistic college party wouldn’t get to an extent where the SWAT team would need to intervene. When students throw parties, they are more contained and the people throwing it don’t usually let it get too out of hand. There is usually loud music and lots of people but not too many people. If the law gets involved the party will be stopped and there is usually charges on people that are there or just the people that own the house. If a party starts to get a little crowded or begins to become a mess, the students that threw usually stop people from coming in or start clearing out the party.

In the movie, 22 Jump Street, uses a storyline of two cops that go undercover as college students. The two main characters are played by Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill, go on a huge spring break where everyone from the university goes and attends a big rager party. On a huge beach in San Juan, Mexico, there is a huge spring break rager with loud music and a bunch of underaged drinking. People dance around and act ridiculous with no authority, or consequences for their behavior, and it just goes on for hours.

Spring break in reality, is just a holiday break that students get from school to go home or go on a trip. If students choose to go with friends on a trip for spring break, they go somewhere where it’s warm and where they can have as much fun as they can. Instead of going somewhere where there will be huge parties and an excessively large beach that will be taken up by other college students, the students just get a little group of friends and spend it together. If students go to a huge party and it’s in public, people are constantly getting arrested and charged from the police because of public intoxication or there are drugs being passed around.

Characters in movies which involve higher education to earn a higher degree and get a much bigger job always have a happy ever after which is what audiences expect from movies like that (Paraphrase/Donahoo). Cinematic images of college life take no notice of the issues of academics and authority with students and how they use their time. Most Hollywood films that use a college as the main setting usually focus on the social life and Greek organizations that students will be most associated with. In most movies, young men and women are focused on romances and just having fun. Young women put all of their attention on their body images and in finding romance. Another thing that women do is find higher education or employment. Female-on-female feuds in sororities are another thing that is put over academics. Women that are higher level in the sorority, seem to treat the newer initiates poorly and push them around. Women in sororities are seen as preppy, ditzy, and mean. On the other hand, men in fraternities are seen as jocks, partiers, and stupid. In reality, most sororities and fraternities require a certain GPA to get initiated. In movies, Greek organizations are portrayed as party throwers and the ultimate social queue when in reality, most organizations have to participate in community service and academic causes.

In some movies, characters that are really smart tend to use it and only do things that they know is right. Somehow in storyline, the smart and caring character finds someone that is very bad for them and they do things that they normally wouldn’t do. Most romance movies have storylines where the characters change who they are because they have found excitement that they haven’t felt in a long time. Instead of having more study time and less social hour, movies tend to increase the social hour and have less time for academics. In some aspects, Hollywood will portray a college student as someone who is very outgoing and can easily make friends just by walking up to people.

In movies, Hollywood will portray a collegiate graduation as a class that were freshmen together and graduate together. In some movies, there are students who will meet friends with different majors and futures but if the end of the movie has a graduation scene, they are always graduating together. Also, students in movies that have different friend groups and different schedules, somehow always have enough time during the day to do a bunch of things. Hollywood portrays more free time to do things with friends than actually saving time to study and get good grades. Students will get with their friends and go out and somehow are able to get into bars when they are supposedly freshmen in college. They go through college and do things without hesitation and just glide through with no problem.

The dorm life in movies are usually more luxurious and laid back. The dorm rooms are more spacious and give a more home-type feel. In the movie, Pitch Perfect, Becca’s dorm room is spacious and clean and very updated. Another example, the movie has a scene where Becca goes to take a shower and you see her acapella group member in another shower with a boy. Most Hollywood movies portray the dorm life as what it could potentially be like in a fraternity. The big hallways, lots of people, everyone in the hallways socializing, are things that the movies show a dorm life setting would be. Also, in the movie, 22 Jump Street, people are in the hallways drinking and having dorm parties that flow into the hallways. Underaged drinking, loud music, and possibly drugs are bouncing around through the hallways and nobody is getting in trouble for it.

In reality, most dorm rooms don’t have much space to have a more apartment look to it. Dorm rooms are pretty minimal with its space and the rooms usually lack privacy. The dorms have shared bathrooms and limited living space but enough to fit two bed and maybe a couch. Students are not allowed to have dorm parties but also not allowed to have drugs without punishment. The typical dorm life has 24-hour quiet hours and people are constantly being told to lower sounds or music if people complain. Men aren’t allowed in the girls’ restrooms and vice-versa.

Another topic of the college life is move-in day. In many movies, they show the main character(s) having a few bags and suitcases with stuff for their dorm. The student is shown by themselves with no parent or guardian to help get settled in. They are to go to college on their own and be almost completely independent. They go out and investigate the activities fair and try to find a club or organization to join to meet new people.

In reality, most of the time you see students with their family on move-in day because they are there to help their child move into college. It is a time where parents spend their last few hours with their children before letting them go into adulthood. There are usually things on campus that the student and their parents can go and see things and get a better feel of the campus. Once the parents set off back home, leaving their child behind, the student will go out and meet new people or go to find clubs or organizations to join. Most students use move-in day to walk the campus to memorize their route when they have to go to classes the following week.

In movies, students don’t have cars to get them places if they leave campus. They are usually taking cabs or buses for transportation. If the setting is warm, the students will be seen driving mopeds or walking everywhere that isn’t on campus. Somehow the students will meet someone off of campus that have a car or some type of transportation service to get them where they need to go. When students go out with their friends to a bar or a club, they usually leave when the bars close. As they are walking back, they take a short cut back which leads them through dark allies, and they get themselves in some trouble. The outfits that the characters wear somewhat differ than what people usually wear for a typical night out. When students go out with their friends, they will go with a bigger group but then end up coming back with like two or three of the friends. Some will stay out or go to peoples places even though it’s a school night and they have classes early in the morning.

In reality, most students that live a state or two away will drive their cars to college to be able to get places if they get a job. Most cases, colleges that are in bigger cities will have subways or cab services that students will take to get downtown. If the university happens to be in a smaller town or city, they will have a car or a friend with a car to get them places that don’t take place on campus. Mopeds are great way to get around and a popular thing that students invest in so that way they don’t have to walk everywhere especially if they need to go all the way downtown.

Anti-Intellectualism is thing that is everywhere, and most people can’t stay away from it. The way people spend their money and what they spend it on are just a few examples of how it dumbs the society down. It degrades the way people use their resources on an everyday basis and substitutes for easier and faster way to do things. Instead researching things in a book, people use a computer or cellular device to look things up because it’s faster and easier. People pay for Netflix and binge shows back to back instead of going out for a walk or earning a wage. The way Hollywood portrays the college life in movies is one way to degrade how it seems to how it really is in reality.

Works Cited

1. Brennan, Collin. “Real or Nah??: ’22 Jump Street’ versus real-life universities” USA Today 11 Nov. 2019, https://www.usatoday.com/story/college/2015/08/14/real-or-nah-22-jump-street-versus-real-life-universities/37405501/
2. Donahoo, Saran. “Hollywood’s Representations of College Women and the Implications for Housing and Residence Life Professionals.” 11 Nov. 2019, http://eds.b.ebscohost.com
3. “6 movie and tv misconceptions about college life.” The Prospect 11 Nov 2019, http://www.theprospect.net/6-movie-and-tv-misconceptions-about-college-life-17994
4. Solórzano, Daniel. “Teaching and Social Change: Reflections on a Freirean Approach in a College Classroom.” Teaching Sociology 11 Nov. 2019, https://www.jstor.org/stable/1317466?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents
5. Umphlett, Wiley. “The Movies Go to College.” Hollywood and the World of the College-Life 11 Nov. 2019, https://books.google.com/books

Dropping out of college is becoming an increasingly pressing issue in today’s society. There may be many reasons for such a decision by students, but, in my opinion, one of the key ones is burnout.

Data shows that in college a lot of students drop out because of the fact that they become burned out. Everyone has their own levels of what it takes for them to give up. A lot of college students don’t know their limit yet and tend to take on more than they can handle. Whether that be too many classes or too many extracurricular activities which takes up majority of their time. This in turn leaves them with very little down time. I am convinced that if we help students avoid burnout, it will solve the problem of college dropouts.

The first way to prevent a student from becoming burned out is to recognize the warning signs. Some signs that a person might be burned out is being constantly exhausted, having lack of motivation, being constantly frustrated and a sudden drop in their grades. All of these symptoms lead to a student becoming burned out. But when someone can recognize the warning signs at an early stage, or before they get burned out, it is easier to help prevent or treat it. This is because of the fact that when recognizing a problem early on a person can be stopped and manipulated into fixing what can lead to burning them out. And as a result, it can prevent students from making an unjustified decision to drop out of college.

The next way to avoid burnout and, as a result, to avoid making a rash decision to drop out of college is to know when to say no. If someone asks for help with their homework or help doing something a person needs to able to know when to say no. When someone is overwhelmed with their schoolwork and knows that they cannot help someone else with their homework, they need to be able to say no. If they were to say yes and help the other person, then they have more of a chance to become burned out, especially if they keep helping other people instead of helping themselves. Although helping people is extremely rewarding, it can damage a person. It can hurt them tremendously by eventually leading to them being burned out and their grades might drop, while the person they had helped is getting good grades and not burning out because this person had helped them. It may sound harsh, but in college it’s every man for himself, grades and mental health should come first.

Another way to prevent becoming burned out is to get sleep. Although it may seem like a great idea to pull an all-nighter while studying for an exam or finishing homework, it will more than likely end up hurting a person’s grade and themselves. Sleep is a very important part in not getting burned out, everyone needs sleep it is an essential part of life. If someone keeps pulling all-nighters, then they are on the path to becoming burned out. Not only is the unhealthy for a person’s mental health, it is also unhealthy for their physical health. Contrary to popular belief, all-nighters can reflect poorly on a person’s grades. Although everyone believes staying up all night to study helps them learn more, it is proven that it actually causes people to do worse on a test or exam. Generally, people perform their best when they get adequate amounts of sleep and do better on test than people who stay up all hours of the night studying or doing homework.

People need to know when to: stop doing schoolwork, stop replying to emails, texting about school and when to stop doing homework. A good way to get burned out is not shutting off the school part of a person’s life. Everyone needs a break from work or school, and if someone tends to not shut that part of their life off, it will eventually lead to them becoming burned out. It is important to shut their brain off and recharge, so they don’t get burned out. People also sometimes need a break, even if it’s a short one, sometimes the way to figuring out a problem on the homework is stepping back from it and relaxing.

Finally, students should not be afraid to ask for help. If they feel like they have too much going on or too much on their plate, they need to ask for help. Teachers and tutors are here for a reason, if someone doesn’t understand something that they are being taught, they have to ask for help. Also, if someone feels alone and like they need to talk to someone they should never be afraid to reach out to resources that colleges offer, after all they offer them for a reason. It is important to know the signs of becoming burned out before it occurs, and everything that was stated is a sign and was given an example of how they happen.

So, burnout is a serious problem among college youth, which not only affects their academic performance, mental state, but also often becomes a key factor in their decision to drop out of college. That is why attention to this problem should be especially increased in order to solve it effectively.