Two months into the COVID-19 crisis: How remote learning has affected my spring quarter at UCI

You never appreciate what you have until you lose it. This is a lesson that I learned the hard way three weeks into the “remote learning experience” at UCI– well, actually at home, on my laptop.

The COVID-19 crisis has not only ruined spring-break and spring-quarter plans for a lot of people, but it also has made a lot of students realize that maybe going to school is not so bad.

There are things that I miss about UCI before the COVID-19 crisis, including the amazing omelets that the chefs and employees would cook at the dining halls for breakfast, the workouts that I would receive walking up the “Bio Sci Hill” and during dance practice, the club events that I would go to, the in-person office hours and midterm review sessions (and WAY less work), going to the eSports Arena and Wellness Room whenever I was feeling down, and hanging out with my friends at the food court. Not to mention the little “ZotBots”, a.k.a. the Starship delivery bots that would be zooming all around Ring Road.

Coming back home to LA meant an early spring break that was quickly cut short by the rapid closures of shops, restaurants, and other hangouts that I would normally frequent when out of school. It has gotten so bad to the point where you can’t even go outside without worrying about getting fined by the police for not wearing a mask/gloves in certain areas, or for not following protocol regarding social distancing. This makes online-delivery giants like Jeff Bezos laugh all the way to the bank. You have to start relying on apps like Doordash and UberEats (I ordered my second meal today with UberEats, but that was only because of the promos they were giving me, plus the cash-back with Samsung Pay) to get your fast food. I remember one time when I had to call In N Out from outside of the restaurant because customers were not allowed inside. Cost-wise, it is not fun paying tons of extra money in delivery fees, taxes, and a bunch of other fees when using food-delivery apps.

My father does not get a break because of the organization that he works for— he is considered an essential worker. I pray that he does not get sick, but he depends on God and the advice from the CDC to keep him going. He is still waiting for his stimulus check to be mailed to him, but I have heard that some families may not even qualify for it, which is depressing given the fact that they pay so much taxes, and their jobs could possibly be at risk.

I just can’t wait until we are allowed to go outside again and resume life as normal. I want to go on dates with my boyfriend and do fun teenage things again. I want to get a job, go to Disneyland, explore my city, make the most out of my youth.

The Coronavirus Crisis

As noted in his last email, the Associate Vice Chancellor for Auxiliary Services Brice Ken Kikuchi has listed all of the closings of buildings and services campus-wide due to COVID-19. Anteater Expresses buses have stopped running as of Wednesday night at 11 p.m., forcing students to walk, bike, or use some form of alternative transportation to get to campus and back to their place of residence. On-campus amenities, such as the UPS store, The Hill, the Wells Fargo and SchoolsFirst banks, and all of the fast-food chains that are not dining halls have shut their doors. This means that if you rented your book from the Hill but did not return it on time, you’re basically screwed.

Personally, I will admit that at first, I was pretty excited about spring break coming early, but then I quickly found out that it was not as fun as I thought it was. Unless you are an extreme introvert, you will miss going to all of the campus socials and events, gossiping with friends, going to parties, and all of the other little things about the school year that you enjoyed.

Even back home, things don’t get any better. I and my boyfriend can no longer go on our Starbucks dates because restaurants no longer offer dine-in seating, forcing people to either stick with delivery services like Postmates (not recommended for those who are on a budget due to the extremely high delivery fees), drive/walk up to the restaurant themselves and order their food-to-go, or just stay at home and cook all together.

Regarding panic-buying, although it is a good idea to stock up on food so that you won’t have to come back in the future, it is also counter-intuitive if you are not buying food that you know you will definitely eat. You don’t want to panic-buy food that will rot and spoil in your fridge, or sit in the pantry for months and never get eaten because you will end up wasting money in the process. It’s best to take only what you personally need and leave the rest for shoppers who actually need food to eat. One person does not need five cartons of milk, ten cases of bottled water, eight dozen packs of toilet paper, or six containers of strawberries.

I remember the day when I and my boyfriend went on our date last Sunday, and we decided to stop by at the Northgate Gonzalez supermarket in my area. We were met with a long line of people standing outside of the store waiting to get inside. As soon as we got in, we noticed that some of the shelves of produce have been picked clean. Toilet paper and water bottles were to be sold individually upon request, and non-perishable goods were nowhere to be found. Upon checkout, we noticed that the back door had also been deactivated as a means of theft prevention, forcing shoppers to enter and exit through the front, where they can be seen by the guards.

After I move all my things out of Arroyo Vista, I will have to figure out how I am going to live during the entirety of this COVID-19 crisis. The City of Los Angeles has already closed down bars, nightclubs, libraries, gyms, and entertainment venues, and has prohibited people from dining in at local restaurants. If public transportation goes next (which I doubt because a lot of people rely heavily on public transportation to go to work– yes, there are some individuals who still have to go to work, my father included), that means being forced to cough up hundreds of dollars for ridesharing services, and if those services freeze, and you have no other alternative method of transportation, then you are basically stuck.

While it is very upsetting to find out that spring break, graduation, prom, ZotCon, Summerlands, GradNite, and multiple other events that people have been looking forward to will not happen, we also must appreciate the fact that cities and counties across America, as well as many other countries worldwide, are taking precautionary measures to contain the virus in order to limit its spread as much as possible. It is better to act now and to have it under control than to have it spiral out of control to the point where hospitals have way too many COVID-infected patients to handle, and as a result, the death rates start to skyrocket.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?My Journey with Extracurricular Involvement

Extracurricular activities are a great way meet new people, make connections, and form memories– however, not every single club is right for everybody, and that is okay. There are some clubs that we feel we share a close interpersonal connection with, where we feel at home with our club mates. Then, there are some clubs that are just not right for us. Everyone’s journey is different, including mine.

After deciding to take a break from my current dance team, I am currently in the process of self-discovery with other dance teams around campus, as well as other organizations not related to dance. Maybe KKAP, or Dumbledore’s Anteaters? Should I get back into serving as a maid for Zotcon’s Maid Cafes? There are also questions that I must constantly ask myself when I choose to participate in organizations: Do I feel welcomed in activities? Is the environment supportive and drama-free, are friendships encouraged? How is conflict handled, if it arises? How does the overall environment of the club make me feel, is it supportive and welcoming?

Although I really loved dancing in the various choreography pieces, performing at various events and showcases, and meeting various teammates while in LVO, I have decided to not participate in the Cal Poly Pomona Showdown this quarter, and I have instead chosen to take a temporary break to focus on other activities. Not only that, but although the choreographers and veterans of the team were very welcoming and friendly, I felt very empty and alone on the team half of the time. Series XIII teammates and earlier seemed to already have their friendship groups formed, while those of us in Series XIV were either a hit or miss when it came to fitting in. Some of us had a harder time finding friends than others– I was one of the unlucky bunch. I felt racially excluded, since my team was predominantly Asian, and they preferred to hang out with others of the same ethnic demographic (not much can be done about this, in fact I have noticed this a LOT in college). I went to social events, and I even enjoyed playing Cheney’s games and socializing with the other members, but I did not feel as if I had developed any close personal bonds with any of my teammates, and as a result, this led to the overall decline in the meaningfulness of being on the team, and ultimately, to my breaking point.

Ever since, I have been looking into other organizations that I am a part of on campus for moral support– mainly Meme Club, Active Minds, and Antleader Mentorship Program. I’m still exploring my options, and I’m still talking to friends about them, but sometimes it’s best to let go of things that aren’t making you happy. I am still unsure if I may come back to LVO in the spring, but if I end up not doing so, it’s perfectly okay, and mental health is something that should always remain a priority.

Stop Burning Yourself Out! Self-care hacks for the Winter Quarter

1. Play your favorite video game.

Whenever I feel the need to cool off or release stress, I often turn to the UCI eSports Arena. After playing Mann Vs. Machine on Team Fortress 2 for about an hour and a half, I generally feel more relaxed and ready to get back to work, because being so focused on the game usually allows me to forget about all of my other problems and instead focus my attention more on building sentry guns to kill six hordes of deadly robots. To some people, playing video games can be therapeutic.

However, some of these first-person shooter games can worsen the stress due to some of their toxic community members in the chat. With that being said, it’s best to either disable voice chat or avoid relying on playing first-person shooter and multiplayer online battle arena games as a go-to method of relieving stress. Super Smash Brothers and mobile games like Clash Royale and Pokemon Go are some good alternatives!

(Note: It currently costs $4.50/hour, or $40/10 hours, to use the PCs at the arena. Prices may be subject to further increase in the future.)

2. Do something creative.

In a lot of my clubs, we generally like to do creative activities, such as making vision boards, or coloring pictures. I find these to be very relaxing and fun. Make vision boards, write stories, draw pictures, be creative! Journal your thoughts, or turn them into visual imagery!

3. Tackle your issues head-on.

If something academic-related is bothering you, why not make an effort to fix the issue at hand to get it out of the way? Ask some friends for help, or make a plan to go to office hours. You can also try Googling your questions. Sometimes you may come across an entire Quizlet set, or a Khan Academy video simplifying a complicated topic into simple terms that you can finally understand!

4. Join self-care organizations like CHILL and Active Minds!

For Active Minds @ UCI, we have been working on making vision boards, which ties into #2 above. During our Chill Times that are hosted by the mentors of the Antleader Mentorship Project, we like to play fun games and do creative activities in an attempt to take a break from our academics. Joining certain clubs (particularly those that are mental-health related) can help you with self-care. CHILL at UCI is a club that is designed to help students with self-care, you can learn more about them here.

5. Venture Out.

Join one of the Wellness Walks. Take a walk around Aldrich Park. Ride the OC Metro to the beach. Go somewhere on campus that you have never ever visited before. Attend a Petr-sticker drop or a campus event. Get out of the classroom and get in touch with nature.

6. Take a nap.

Sometimes, a quick nap is all you need to make things better.

Winter Quarter at UCI: How I managed to get back on track after a rough fall quarter

Whether you aced your first quarter at UCI or you were like me and almost failed your STEM classes, every freshman goes through their own adjustment period as they transition from high school to college. Here are some of my tips that have helped me get back on track.

1. If there is a LARC tutorial available for your class, enroll in it.

I made the mistake last quarter of enrolling in only one LARC tutorial instead of two because the classes were full at the time, and I learned about the CBCRR sponsorship a little too late, during my Thrive@UCI class. LARC tutorials are small, sixteen-student discussions held twice a week, on the third floor of the Anteater Learning Pavillion. Although each session costs $110 each, there are staff members and organizations who are willing to cover the costs of your sessions.

From my experience, LARC sessions are very helpful and even engaging! The purpose of LARC is to engage in group discussions about the course material, but aside from filling out worksheets and talking about the work, we also play games and make little fold-ables to help us study for the course material. This especially helps people like me who like to learn by talking about the course material and working with others to understand the material because the traditional “sit in a lecture for fifty minutes to almost two hours and take notes off of a PowerPoint” really bothers me and causes me to quickly lose interest in a class. I have even heard many positive experiences from other students talking about how they loved their LARC tutors and that they’re glad that they enrolled because the tutors did such a great job with breaking down complex topics into simpler terms.

2. Find out what study method works for you.

This is a topic that we have been talking about in University Studies 1, which is a class for Undeclared first-year students here at UCI. Learning how to study effectively helps a lot when it comes to succeeding in your classes. Here are some of my study tips:

  • Watching Khan Academy/Crash Course/other informative videos
  • Attending LARC sessions (see #1)
  • Printing out lecture slides and annotating them during lectures
  • Studying in groups or with friends (for social learners like me)
  • Using focus apps such as Forest/Flora, or Focus Mode for newer Android devices (such as the Galaxy S10 and Note 10 Series)
  • Printing and completing department peer tutor worksheets
  • Putting your phone on silent while you study, as even the vibration can distract not only you, but those around you as well.

3. Your phone is your friend– and sometimes your enemy– when it comes to productivity.

When it comes to productivity, your phone can be either an aid or a distraction based on your discipline and how you use it.

For starters, try to put your phone on “moon mode” (for iPhone users), Focus Mode (for phones running Android 9 or newer), or Do Not Disturb (for older Android versions). The vibrations and notifications going off can not only disturb you, but those around you as well.

Focus Mode is a setting that is similar to an app called Forest, and it’s available on Android devices running Android 9 and newer, as a part of Google’s Digital Wellbeing campaign. On my Galaxy S10e, it has helped me to avoid distractions and stay engaged by limiting my app selections to mostly stock, educational, and maybe one or two messaging apps. If you have either an iPhone or an Android running Android 8 or below, you can download the apps Forest and Flora in the App and Play Stores, or you can simply set your phone to Do Not Disturb mode.

If you are an Android user, you can also take advantage of home screen widgets. The Canvas student app has a widget that you can place on your home screen so that you can view your upcoming assignments that are due. I also recommend using your calendar widget (Google Calendar is your best friend!), your reminders widget, and maybe your notes widget, if necessary. Take advantage of your phone’s customization options, and use them to further enhance your productivity! (iPhones have widgets too, but they are compressed into one long list if you swipe to the left of your home screen; coming from iOS, I didn’t really tend to check them that often).

4. Find the right spot to study.

Studying in your dorm is not advised unless it is really late and you do not plan on going back to campus. Even then, unless you have the discipline to do your homework in your room or on your bed, you are better off using your hall or apartment’s designated study spaces. Here in Arroyo Vista, each hall has its own study room, but residence halls and ACC apartment complexes should have their own as well.

Dorm rooms are full of distractions. The walls are super thin, so thin that you can hear people’s conversations in your hall, and you can literally hear doors slam and the floor thump whenever someone jumps in the house. Some of the desk chairs are extremely uncomfortable to sit in and are terrible for your back, and the chairs are lower than the desks themselves, forcing me to rest my arms in this uncomfortable position whenever I try to type onto my laptop. On the other hand, studying on the bed is super comfortable, but the temptation to plop back into the softness and comfort of your pillows and blankets and just drift off to sleep is so great! Personally, I only do homework on the bed when it is late at night, or it’s the weekend, but I plan on changing it up to only on Sundays and late nights since Saturdays can be used for going to the library to study.

With that being said, try to study either at the Langson and Science libraries or at the designated study centers on campus such as Gateway and Courtyard. I find it that I study better when I am in a study environment that is nice and quiet, as opposed to in my dorm room. However, do be sure to take breaks, because after sitting in the same position for a while, your body starts to become strained. I know from personal experience that my back starts to hurt after leaning forward in concentration over an extended period of time!

5. Ask other people for help, but be smart about it.

Ask your classmates, club members, professors, R.A.s, T.A.s, L.A.s, peer tutors, LARC tutorial leaders, mentors, just ask for help when you need it!

What I did for my Chem101 homework when I got stuck on about ten of the problems was that I utilized the message boards feature that was built into our Canvas course space. Utilize the Canvas message boards, and read the posts, because not only may people be asking the same questions that you have, but the boards may also have some very useful study questions for you to take note of. My classmates were nice enough to offer me solutions to most of the homework problems, and as a result, I managed to complete 47 out of 48 questions (I gave up on one of them, sadly).

Important tip: DO NOT wait until the last minute to go to office hours. By last minute, I mean before the exam. I did this one time and I was stuck in the professor’s office with over thirty other students. The room was packed with students waiting to ask questions about the lecture right before the midterm. When you visit office hours, come with your questions ready, and be as precise and detailed as possible. Explain what you did and be straight to the point with what you are confused about so that you don’t waste the professor or TA’s time.

6. Take care of yourself!

Staying up all night doing homework is not an excuse to not shower, not eat, or not get enough sleep. No matter how hard the major is, don’t forget to take care of yourself as well. I never pull all-nighters because I love getting my sleep. I find out that if I don’t get enough sleep for a night, I end up feeling terrible in the morning. The same goes for when I don’t eat a proper breakfast (dining hall breakfasts are the best, although I hate when Brandywine runs out of ketchup!).

When you feel like you are tired, take a break. If you feel as if you have studied the material for too long, take a break. Self-care is just as important as academic success, and it’s important to never neglect your personal health.

Some of these tips may not work for everyone. Many of you have probably heard these tips before from numerous sources, but I personally find them to be helpful. Nonetheless, good luck with your studies, my fellow readers!

Zot zot zot!