KADIE GURLEY, EL NICKLIN, RENZO POCASANGRE | Daily Forty-Niner
It’s the busiest time of year for a student as everyone is studying for finals at various pop ular study spots around campus.
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Iranian protesters utilized the World Cup to draw attention toward the ongoing issues in the region.
After the United States won against Iran in the World Cup, many U.S. fans celebrated the win while Iranian fans protested the underlying problems of the Iranian government.
Iranians continue to protest the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she died in police custody for allegedly wearing her hijab loosely in Tehran.
The Iranian government has de nied involvement in Amini’s death and the United Nations has condemned Iranian leaders for the treatment of protesters.
The World Cup was rescheduled to November because of the sweltering heat in Qatar during the summer. Iran qualified for the tournament and pro testers used the games to draw more attention to the ongoing human rights situation.
The Iranian soccer team used the spotlight and position to address the protests, with the team captain offer
ing condolences to those killed by po lice.
The Iranian soccer team did not sing their national anthem during the opening game against England as a form of protest, but received backlash from the protesters after singing in their second match against Wales.
The Iranians hoped for a win or a tie against the U.S. Men’s National Team during their final match of group play, but Iran lost 1-0 after Christian Pulisic scored a goal in the first half.
In the Kurdish region of Iran, there was a massive celebration after Iran’s defeat. In Amini’s hometown of Saqqez, many cars were also in the streets celebrating.
Mehran Semak was shot in the head by Iranian forces in the city of Bandar Anzali after the 27-year-old continuously honked his car horn to celebrate Iran’s defeat.
A member of the Iran soccer team, Saeid Ezatolahi, was one of Semak’s childhood friends and posted his sen timents about their friendship and the ongoing problems in Iran on Insta gram.
Here at the 49er we acknowledge that the school we report on is located on the sacred site of Puvungna, “the gathering place”. We are on the land of the Tongva/Gabrieleño and the Acjachemen/ Juaneño Nations who have lived and continue to live here.
We also acknowledge the Gabrieleño/Tongva (pronounced: GABRIEL-EN-YO/TONG – VAH) and Acjachamen/Juaneño (pronounced: AH-HACH-AH-MEN/JUAN-EN-YO) as the traditional custodians of the Los Angeles region along with the Chumash (pronounced: CHOO-MOSH) to the north and west, and the Tataviam (pronounced: TAH-TAH-VEE-YUM) and Cahuilla (pronounced: KAH-WEE-YAH) Nations to the east.
We respect and value the many ways the Tongva/Acjachemen cultural heritage and beliefs con tinue to have significance to the living people and remind us about the sacred and spiritual relation ship that has always existed here at what we now call California State University Long Beach.
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Match against the United States draws attention to that country’s ongoing issues.
This fall semester is the first time some Long Beach State students take their finals in-person since the COVID-19 pandemic when classes and tests were taken online.
Evan Garcia, a second-year environmental science and policy major, said taking tests online were easier than cramming for an in-person exam.
“I feel like online you have access to view your notes and in person you wouldn’t have that anymore,” Garcia said.
Garcia said he spends his time in the university li brary going over his textbooks and creating a study guide to be prepared for his upcoming final exams.
Students like first-year business finance major Bry on Gonzales are taking their first in-person college final since graduating high school. Gonzales said college was a different environment from high school, noting the big lecture halls compared to smaller high school classes.
“I feel like it’s a little bit of a jump because of the at mosphere … I feel like it’s an environment change,” Gon zalez said.
A study of 2,000 college students reported that 52% of students learned less during the pandemic and 23% of college freshmen felt unprepared, according to Inside Higher Education.
Quantitative analysis professor Katarzyna Slowinska is conducting her students’ finals in person rather than online, and said she noticed students were more stressed when school was online during the pandemic.
“They were definitely much more stressful during the pandemic because of the technology issues and some students had problems staying connected,” Slowinska said.
Slowinska said she changed her chemistry final exam into two parts to help ease the transition from online test taking to in the classroom. The in-class portion will be multiple choice and the second part will be a take-home lab where students have a 48-hour window to complete.
The university library is one of the many spots on campus students migrate to for late-night study ses sions, offering several areas to study, librarians available to help with projects and a Caffeine Lab to provide coffee and tea and snacks.
By Rosaura Montes Chief Copy Editor
Having productive study habits is always important, but what else are students doing to help them focus on studying?
Students usually listen to music to help ease their anxiety and stress to prepare for tests.
It’s not uncommon for classical mu sic to be on study playlists, but there’s a certain genre that has been on the rise since the pandemic; lo-fi music.
Lo-fi stands for low-fidelity music and most college students have heard of it, even if they don’t realize it.
These hip-hop, slow tempo, boom bap, chill instrumental beats bring a sense of comfort for those listening to it and it’s perfect for studying.
Freshman environmental science and policy major Vanessa Polk said her favorite part about lo-fi is that you can listen to it whenever you want. From walking to your next class to cramming for midterms, or reading a book, Polk said lo-fi is the perfect background mu sic for any activity.
Demon Gummies is Polk’s favor ite lo-fi artist and is her ideal genre to listen to while studying or working on creative projects.
“Audio samples like vinyl cracks, rain, bird calls, VHS tape noises scratch a certain part of my brain that I can’t explain,” Polk said.
Lo-fi’s slow, medium-tempo beats help Polk stay calm and not feel anx ious. The calm, repetitive loops also help her not be distracted while work ing, unlike with pop and rock n’ roll.
A report from Stanford University said music with strong beats stimu lates the brain and causes brainwaves to resonate in time with the rhythm. It also mentioned that studies of rhythms and the brain have shown that a com bination of rhythmic light and sound
stimulation has the greatest effect on brainwave frequency, although sound alone can change brain activity.
This type of music is usually play ing in the background of TikTok videos and has been around since the 2000s with the late Japanese artist Jun Seba known as Nujabes.
He is notably remembered for being involved with creating the soundtrack for the anime “Samurai Champloo.”
Lo-fi recently rose to fame again with Lofi Girl all over the internet during the pandemic. The Lofi Girl an ime girl character became the face of the genre.
Lofi Girl currently has 11.7 million subscribers on YouTube with two pop ular live streams. One is dedicated to a loop of study beats, while the other
concentrates on beats to sleep to. Stu dents can take advantage of these free live streams to study.
Nadav Cohen, known as Amess, is a 23-year-old producer and instrumen talist from Australia with three albums produced under Lofi Girl.
“Working with the Lofi Girl team is a pleasure and it’s nice to be support ed by the beautiful community around them,” Cohen said.
He felt creating lo-fi music in 2020 was the next step in his creative space after making ambient and cinematic music for the past few years. He started to add points, percussion and drums to his sonic palette.
Cohen believes that his music is great for playing in the background to relax, unwind or focus.
“I’m very honored to regularly re ceive beautiful messages from fans and listeners telling me about their experi ence in my music,” Cohen said.
Lo-fi artists have been making their own creative remixes by using samples from different songs to give them a chill vibe.
Songs from Studio Ghibli films are among popular remixes, including songs from “Howl’s Moving Castle,” “My Neighbor Totoro” and “Princess Mononoke.”
Demon Gummies has their own Studio Ghibli remixes alongside their own original beats. Their “Study With Howl” EP includes remixes titled “al chemy with howl,” “riceballs with haku” and more.
By Marlon Villa Staff Writer
Students will be able to stay late on campus as the University Library announces additional hours as finals approaches.
With finals approaching, the University Library an nounced that it will expand its hours starting Dec. 4 un til Dec. 16 from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m.
CSULB University Library Interim Dean, Tracey Mayfield, stated that students have both benefited and taken advantage of these extended hours every time they are offered.
“Many students, for a multitude of reasons, want a place that is comfortable, where they can spread out, and where they can study,” Mayfield said. “We provide not only those spaces, but the resources as well, whether those resources are print, online, tools or actual people to help them.”
Karina Serrano, third-year public relations major, said although she wasn’t aware of these extended hours the library was offering, she will be, “taking advantage of them since the end of the semester is coming fast.”
The library normally places an announcement of its extended hours in front of its website, but this year they promoted it by relaunching the university library social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram where they blasted the hours on there as well.
Mayfield said the administrative team keeps count of how many people go into the building.
“We go floor-by-floor and count how many people we have in the building. By understanding how many people are in the building during which hours, we can better understand how late we need to stay open,” she said.
Some students are planning to take advantage of the extra hours to study and believe its beneficial, such as third-year child development major Jasmine Villa.
“These new hours during finals are really helpful be cause I can be more comfortable in the library without the feeling that it’ll get late and I’ll get kicked out,” said Villa.
With the end of the semester ap proaching, students are preparing to brace up as final exams are around the corner.
The last thing needed in the holiday season is to stress about exams. That’s why it’s recommended to set up a plan prior.
Don’t worry. Here are five tips on how to help students excel and stay jol ly during finals.
Start off by creating a detailed study plan. It can be difficult for some to
make time to study, but it’s necessary to remain focused. Writing in a plan ner, calendar and even typing notes on a phone are helpful ideas that help or ganize what to study along with what time during the week to go over course material.
With that being said, utilize color coding specific notes and important terms. It provides structure and it is easier on the brain to remember. Don’t over do it and focus too much on high lighting and post-it note everything. Color coding is just a tool to gather in formation together and steer the mind to memorize the notes quicker.
Make it a priority to refrain from any distractions. As students it is often
easy to get preoccupied with phones, TV and playing vibrant music. By turn ing off the TV and temporarily hiding accessible electronics like a phone, can make a difference positively towards studying. Listening to calm music like jazz, instrumentals, lo-fi or soothing sounds will not be as disturbing as listening to loud or too much catchy songs because it can be addicting.
Please get a good rest. Studying is important, but so is mental health. Lack of sleep can cause stress, worsen the immune system and a messed up sleeping pattern. As much as students like to stay up late to glance through lectures and such, it is important and should be prioritized to take a break.
Going to sleep on a timely schedule can help jumpstart the day.
Another way to jumpstart the day before taking exams is to eat a healthy breakfast. Consuming ‘brain food’ like oranges, apples, granola bars or nuts are just some options to choose from when deciding what to eat in the morn ing of finals. Try not to overeat because it could affect performance during an exam. Eating can help retain informa tion as well.
Any of these tips will be helpful as students prepare to take the final exam of the semester. Do not forget to utilize the library as there will be extended hours starting Dec. 4 through Dec. 16 and will be open 7 a.m. to 2 a.m.
There is a lot of academic pressure on young adults. The stress of selecting the best institution, getting excellent grades, and landing the best intern ships, all in an effort to thrive in one profession, can have a negative impact on the mental health of many young adults.
Students may feel pressure to do well in school due to societal pressures, family expectations, or high goals. Stu dents may also be inspired to succeed by their coaches and administrators.
Academic pressure, regardless of its source, may negatively impact one's wellness on a variety of levels. Some young people think that obtaining ac ademic achievement must come before all else, including their physical health and relationships with friends and family.
The quality of a student's college experience is directly impacted by their mental health. Additionally, it can af fect a student's long-term employment chances, financial security, and general wellness.
The degree of academic pressure on students has heavily increased due to the competitive environment seen at universities. The pressure that parents might impose on their children could have a detrimental effect on their men tal health. As a result, students might go through a lot of hardships, setting off their early anxiety and sadness.
At this point, stress has become a normal part of academics.
Understanding the origins and ef fects of academic stress is essential for the development of suitable and suc cessful therapeutic approaches to ease the pressure.
The various internal and exter nal expectations placed on students, along with mental health conditions, can affect their vitality, attention, de pendability, mental capability and op timism, which may hinder their perfor mance overall.
Setting high standards and push ing hard to achieve goals can place a lot of pressure on a student, and when they don't obtain the grades they want they feel bad about not working hard enough. You are more than your grades.
Exams and assignment scores are not reliable indicators of your value. Although academic accomplishment is excellent, it won't make you stand out from the millions of other students that achieve academic success.
Consider your skills, personal traits and extracurricular activities if you have the propensity to be harsh on yourself when it comes to your aca demics. Perhaps consider taking part in more extracurricular activities to push yourself, grow as a person and fo cus on enjoying your studies.
I am aware that grades are the most significant aspect of our academic ca reers, but I'm comfortable with simply passing a class. I know that for some it may be stressful, but it's okay not to maintain a 4.0 GPA or receive straight A's.
Remember to always put yourself first. Grades are important, but mental health lasts forever.
By Sam Farfan Opinions AssistantWith finals week around the corner, students can oftentimes feel the crush ing pressure of achieving academic excellence in their exams weeks in ad vance.
Considering that many students have full class schedules, work parttime jobs, and participate in other or ganizations or clubs, these feelings of extreme stress and mental exhaustion are rightfully justified.
In order to ensure that students are optimizing their time and energy ap propriately during finals season, taking the necessary steps to prevent any add ed stress is key to attaining high marks.
Developing consistent time man agement skills can help in preventing last minute stress, since planning as signments and projects ahead of time can limit the chances of procrastina tion on important assignments.
Outlining daily schedules, dividing tasks throughout the week, and plan ning the steps needed to complete a project well in advance are just some of the techniques recommended to man age your time appropriately.
Having a lack of motivation is a common factor that prevents students from completing their work ahead of time, but finding ways to make study ing seem more enticing can help com bat that obstacle.
Whether these efforts consist of in cluding friends into your study sessions or finding the best study spot with the right ambiance, ensuring one’s finals preparation starts beforehand can make a significant academic difference. Seeking academic help is an obvi
ous recommendation, but many stu dents don’t take advantage of the re sources available to them on campus.
Reaching out to teacher’s assis tants for individual help, going into a professor’s office hours to seek clarifi cation, or accessing tutoring through The Learning Center’s personalized ac ademic resources are all ways to obtain further assistance.
Prioritizing mental health during these stressful times is also essential in making it through finals season. This is because constant overwhelming stress can hinder a students academic perfor mance.
Methods that can help boost the mental well-being of students include taking advantage of the Counseling and Psychological Services program, as they provide professionals who spe cialize in counseling, referral services and crisis intervention.
Prioritizing a balanced lifestyle is also highly advised as it goes hand-inhand with mental health. Finding time to see loved ones, taking periodical breaks to de-stress, and partaking in relaxing hobbies are all great ways to combat high stress levels during finals week.
Another factor to consider when implementing a more balanced life style is adopting better sleeping habits. This is especially important as sleep deprivation is commonly known for decreasing physical and mental health, affecting memory and decreasing ones overall quality of life.
Although the end-of-semester slump that students often face can lead to poor procrastination skills, this up coming finals season is the perfect op portunity to develop better academic habits resulting in a better mental and physical wellbeing.
Weekday nights are going to start getting a lot brighter as the Long Beach State softball field is getting new lights for the upcoming season.
The field, known as the LBSU Soft ball Complex, has been the home of the Long Beach State softball team since 1993. The team has hosted nearly all its home games in the daytime because there are currently no fixed lights at the facility.
In September, construction began as fences rose around the field. The plan was to install six new lights and a few emergency lights and gates.
The total project cost is $1,765,960 and was funded by money set aside for construction projects.
The construction is set to be fin ished around December, right before the 2023 softball season begins. While construction is underway, no one, ex cept for installation workers, is allowed inside the field.
Although the season is a few months away, the team is busy practicing and preparing for the upcoming season. Since they have not been able to use their home field, they have been forced to use the nearby recreational field.
Funded by the school, the new lights have been a long-awaited addition to the field. It not only allows the addition of games scheduled in the evening, but also passes certain regulations.
“One of the things the lights allow us to do besides night games is to host NCAA tournaments,” said Mike Habu ra, Associate Athletic Director of Facil ities and Event Operations. “It’s a re quirement to have lights at the field in order to host.”
Long Beach State has historically
been able to host NCAA tournament games. In order to pass the regula tion on lights, temporary lights were brought onto the field. However, the temporary lights have often been ex pensive and cumbersome to bring in.
In 2021, Long Beach State athlet ics received an estimate of $32,000 per week for temporary lights, but the school was not chosen to host the NCAA tournament. All six of the lights at the field are already put up, as of ear ly November.
“They are currently just doing a lot of testing on the lights,” Habura said. “They have been using lasers in order to map out where every light shines on the field.”
The 2023 softball schedule has not been released, but with the installation of the lights, there should be more flex ibility.
“There are going to be a lot more night games on the weekdays,” Habura said. “The weekend games should still be in the early afternoon with some be ing at night.”
With the busy schedule of students on campus, the addition of night games should make attending a weekday game more accessible.
In addition to the new lighting and electric installations at the LBSU Softball Complex, Blair Field will also receive an upgrade. The home of the Dirtbags is receiving a fully digital vid eo board.
The new video board will replace the old hybrid board, which featured a small video and analog display.
Privately funded by Bryson Finan cial, the board is planned to be fully set up before the 2023 Dirtbags season.
“The new board is going to cover a lot more space, which allows us to be more flexible when it comes to what we put on the board,” Habura said. “Com pared to the old board, we’re able to
fully customize the scoreboard and do things like play ads on the screen.”
The addition of the new video board brings Blair Field to the standard of many professional stadiums, where a large video board displays everything about the game. Typically video boards
play videos from the team, advertise ments, game replays and fun game mo ments like live video of fans.
Fans and students can check out the new board when the Dirtbags play their first game on Feb. 17.
Tori Harris played her first home game on Nov. 12, with the new addition of her shooting range, she helped lead the women's basketball team to a win.
Her teammates would repeatedly raise their fingers up as she attempted a three-pointer. She made three out of six attempted shots during the game.
Long Beach State won against La Sierra 76-34. La Sierra was visibly fran tic besides the natural chemistry of The Beach, who had already begun to mesh with their newly transferred teammate.
Harris had six rebounds and three assists in the span of 22 minutes on the court. The home debut stats were promising for the new player who just graduated from St. Bonaventure Uni versity.
She played two seasons and aver aged 31.3 minutes per game and made 86 three-pointers.
Harris has known basketball all her life. She remembers the times her mom would get her ready to travel with her brothers for tournaments while her dad coached on the sidelines.
"It was crazy chaotic," she said. "Just every weekend I remember my mom like, pack your bag of coloring books and toys."
Her family has also known basket ball. Harris’s brother Tobias has played in the NBA since 2011 and is currently on the Philadelphia 76ers. Their father also played collegiate basketball before coaching them in their youth.
Before playing basketball she did dance, but eventually took notice of her siblings and their love for basket ball. That's when she decided to try it
out for herself.
"I remember once I started basket ball I like fully stopped going to dance and then kind of dedicated all my time into basketball," she said.
She was inspired by her oldest sis ter, Tesia.
"I saw her play and I was like she's a girl and I'm a girl, I wanna play like her,” Harris said. "It was just kind of natural. I wanted to do what she was doing.”
Growing up with a family invested in basketball, she's grown accustomed to the after game debrief in her family
group chat.
"After a game I can come back to my family group message chat of a hundred messages of them talking to each other about the games," she said.
Since graduating from St. Bonaven ture University with a degree in sports media in 2022, she transferred to Long Beach State to finish her master's in sports management.
Harris also played at James Mad ison University during her freshman and sophomore year. She made her collegiate debut in 2017.
"She's a woman of integrity and
character," Jeff Cammon Long Beach State head coach of the women's bas ketball team, said. "She has amazing spirit, kind, caring, loving spirit."
He's noticed Harris' history as a student athlete and affirms she's fitting in with the team.
"She's in a really great environment and around really great people. I think she feels at home here," Cammon said.
Her game still has another level to be reached, something that Cammon hopes to be able to unleash.
Since her debut Harris has contin ued to grow into her role with the team. She currently averages the third most points for the team and finds herself on the floor the longest of any player besides senior guard Malia Bambrick.
"Tori shoots the ball really well, she puts a lot of pressure on defenses with her shooting," Cammon said. “She's so talented she hasn't hit that ceiling, that potential."
With expected growth still to be found in Harris' career as a student athlete, she also feels that there's room for more growth within the game of basketball.
"I know people on the team said our fan section is empty all the time," she said. "I'm hoping we get more fans in the stands this year."
Even though Harris isn't competing under the WNBA, the lack of popular ity of women basketball has shown in the stands of the Walter Pyramid.
She believes that the people who don't come to their games are missing out.
"I feel like here at Long Beach we're a really talented team and I think we play so fast and energetic," she said. "I think we're really talented so it's not like, you know, I'm telling you to come to a bad game."