Tips for crashing classes

VANESSA GONZALEZ Features Editor vgonzalez.roundupnews@gmail.com

College can be a little hectic sometimes, especially on the first few weeks of school when students are still getting used to their schedules.

A recurring problem at Pierce is many students don’t know when their registration appointment is, which causes them to be unable to add the classes that they may have wanted to begin with.

When they realize that they were supposed to add classes sooner than they tried, the classes that they wanted may no longer be available.

However, if you have been unable to add courses online, then don’t worry because you can still crash the class and test your luck.

Many students are especially worried on the first week if they are trying to crash classes that they were probably unable to add before.

Students may be worried that they won’t be able to add the class that they need and it will take them longer to complete their educational goals.

It may be a bit chaotic attending classes the first week, but by being determined and prepared anyone can add a class that they are crashing.

One tip that has helped me successfully add classes is to always show interest. Another tip that has helped me is, before deciding to crash, check the Pierce College website to see when you are able to register for classes and if you are still able to do so. This may still allow you to register for a course without going through the hassle of add slips and long lines.

Another tip includes attending the class sessions and adding your name on a waiting list. After doing so, go to class each meeting because people usually drop after realizing the class was not for them after all. Students usually drop a class within a week, giving anybody who may want the class the opportunity to add it. Speak with the professor before and after class to verify if there are any spaces available. You will also have a better chance of being added if you attend the classes that aren’t as popular. If you desperately need a class, crash the sections that are early in the morning, late at night or even on Fridays. Plan what classes you’d like to take ahead of time. Make sure to arrive early to demonstrate your determination. This allows you time to introduce yourself.

Lastly, be attentive during class and participate in class discussions. This will show the professor how much you want to be there. Follow up with the instructor via email or during their office hours to ask if any spots have opened up.

Although these tips may help while crashing classes, always consider other potential courses. Good luck.

Opponents to this idea argue that women should learn to expect their menstrual cycle and plan accordingly by bringing feminine products with them.

However, while it is true that women have a rough idea of when they will start their period, it does not necessarily follow that they have or will ever narrow it down to an exact science.

According to Kiana Deffenbaugh,

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Living on campus helps new students ease their way into adulthood while enjoying everything university life has to offer. The abundant support, access to amenities, and the academic focus on-campus living provides is tough to beat when weighing alternative off-campus options. There is an amazing support system in place on college campuses designed specifically to help students. There is academic support which includes having the opportunity to collaborate with and learn from each other no matter how informal, and this sets a foundation for the collegiate experience.

Some students want to move out of the house but are not quite sure that they are ready to have their own apartment. Living on campus can provide an in-between step, allowing students to live independently without having to worry about paying rent, handling utilities, and everything else that’s associated with renting an apartment.

Although I would enjoy weekend trips home so my mom can do my laundry and I can enjoy her hot homemade meals, not everyone has that privilege. What on campus living does give us is knowledge; we learn to take the a maintenance worker managing the North and South Gyms, she only knows of three dispensaries that are currently installed.

“We don’t stock them. We don’t have the supplies to stock them.” Said Deffenbaugh.

86 percent of women in the U.S reported they have unexpectedly started their period in public without access to feminine products, according to a 2013 online survey by Free the Tampons.

In the same 2013 survey, when women were asked about their emotional experiences when caught in a restroom without a pad or tampon, 57 percent of women felt embarrassed, 43 percent felt anxious and stressed and 35 percent felt panicked.

No one walks into a restroom expecting it to be absent of toilet paper, paper towels and soap. Generally, those things are provided as a form of sanitation and personal security. Why is it that feminine products are left out of the mix?

By not addressing this issue, colleges will be ignoring over half of its student body. According to an article by the Boston Globe, 55 percent of students currently enrolled in college are women.

The availability and easy access to feminine products within Pierce’s restrooms will provide women with peace of mind and will prevent situations of social humiliation and panic often felt when one begins her menstrual cycle.

While any student can go to the Health Center and be provided with a tampon or pad, many students have classes across campus or may be unaware that the Health Center provides them.

When confronted with an unexpected start to their period, without easy access to the necessary supplies, women have been known to cut class or stay at home. Many women are forced to improvise with toilet paper or other means if they lack access to them - possibly risking infection.

After a 49-0 vote on legislation that would require feminine hygiene products to be provided free of cost in bathrooms in New York public schools, homeless shelters and prisons.

Mayor Bill de Blasio quoted City Council Member Ferreras-Copeland, “ ‘A young girl should not have to tell her teacher, to then tell her counselor, to then be sent to the nurse’s office, to then be given a pad to then go back to the bathroom while a boy is already taking his exam in his classroom.’ ” red shirt out of the pile of whites so that we don’t get pink socks, we learn not to put aluminum in the microwave, or to walk away from top ramen while it’s on the stove. We gain more respect for people and their property and we become more aware of fiscal habits.

Based on New York’s statewide estimation, the total cost of providing feminine products averaged $2.5 million — which is only a fraction of the $20 million women in California currently pay annually in luxury taxation alone of feminine products.

According to Nancy Kramer, founder of Free the Tampons, it would only cost a school $4.67 annually per student to provide pads and tampons in restrooms.

Pierce’s Health Center would only have to install tampon dispensaries to all bathrooms on campus and provide its student body with the necessities already available to them. The only difference would be that they would be more easily accessible where women actually need them.

Living on campus is also very convenient. It puts you within arm’s reach of numerous fellow undergrads. Yes, living in indoor rooms is a fabulous way to meet new people and cement friendships. There’s almost always someone to hang out with, grab lunch with, or attend social activities with and the relationships you establish will form your college experience as much as your time spent in the classroom or hitting the books. Dorm life translates into easy living. Living on campus guarantees that all sorts of facilities and amenities will be readily accessible, from the gym and dining hall to your classrooms and the library. Beyond the quick commute living on campus means you’ll probably have a meal plan which means you won’t have to worry about buying groceries or setting aside the time to cook,everything will be done for you.

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While applying for transfer to a fouryear university, students are often faced with the decision of either living on or off campus. While each option has both its pros and its cons, I believe transfer students should live off campus.

One of the biggest issues with living on campus are dorm rules. Some institutions enforce rules such as no overnight guests, and implement a curfew. It would not make sense for adults old enough to make their own decisions to have to follow them.

Living off campus allows you the freedom you want during your college years.

Another benefit to living off campus is the ability to choose your own roommates. You are able to hop apartment to apartment and choose the home you want. With dorms, you are assigned a roommate and a designated living space.

Another disadvantage to living on campus is the fact that you rarely leave and explore outside of campus. You never get a break from school. However, when you live off campus, you are forced to leave school grounds and familiarize yourself with your surroundings.

At an age where you are mature enough to travel while still enjoying your youth, why would you want to get stuck in a building full of barely-legal freshman? While most freshman students are barely beginning their college career, you are already at least two years into your own. literary endeavors, publicity releases, poetry or other such materials as the Editorial Board deems not to be a letter. The deadline is 11:59 p.m. the Sunday prior to the issue date.

I cannot imagine being stuck in a hallway full of people who have yet to experience what I already have. I would imagine they lack some of the knowledge and maturity that a junior has.

In addition, you would already be spending thousands of dollars for a dorm room so you might as well gain the independence and responsibility while doing so.

In fact, most students go apartment hunting because, typically, renting a room off campus is actually cheaper than applying for campus housing. Considering the fact that they can search for a home within their budget and split living costs with several roommates. Aside from splitting the costs, it could potentially be cheaper to have your own place, because you are not paying for a specific meal plan on campus, which can be pricey. Instead, you create your own budget and use it as a guide to help save money.

All in all, I personally believe if you are spending two years away from home to embark on a new journey, you might as well get the full experience of being independent.

Editorial Policy: The Pierce College Roundup position is presented only in the editorials. Cartoons and photos, unless run under the editorial masthead, and columns are the opinions of the creators and not necessarily that of the Roundup. The college newspaper is published as a learning experience under the college journalism instructional program. The editorial and advertising materials published herein, including any opinions expressed, are the responsibility of the student newspaper staff. Under appropriate state and federal court decisions, these materials are free from prior restraint by the virtue of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. Accordingly, materials published herein, including any opinions expressed, should not be interpreted as the position of the L.A. Community College District, the college or any officer or employee thereof.