On January 17th, 2014 it was declared that California was in a state of emergency caused by drought. California’s Governor has asked all residents to reduce their water use. Santa Barbara County has joined the State in declaring a drought emergency and has asked for a 20% reduction in water usage.

Coinciding with the State’s and the County’s efforts, we ask you to please be mindful of your water usage. We appreciate your personal efforts in helping our community reduce our water use as a whole.

Here are some things to think about when you are using water, which can assist in our conservation efforts:

• When brushing your teeth, don’t let the faucet flow. Use a glass of water for rinsing your teeth.
• Wait until you have a full load of laundry before you do a load. You’ll save water, energy, and money for laundry.
• One way to cut down on water use is to turn off the shower after soaping up, then turn it back on to rinse. A four-minute shower uses approximately 20 to 40 gallons of water.
• Report any water related maintenance issues immediately to the Tropicana Front Desk. 

Together we can conserve and extend Santa Barbara County’s limited water supply.

In Santa Barbara, we occasionally hear the rolling sirens of ambulances nearby, speeding past our windows. But I’ve come to ask a pestering question. What about the ailments that don’t get a siren? Like a broken heart, a collapsed pride, or a mental breakdown? College sees a lot of the latter. As second quarter veterans of UCSB, we have all experienced the stresses that come with the close of a quarter. Finals have become the dreaded inflictors of such pain, but no hospital, no medication can cure us. Here are some ways to therefore prevent mental breakdowns and to do so as early as now:In Santa Barbara, we occasionally hear the rolling sirens of ambulances nearby, speeding past our windows. But I’ve come to ask a pestering question. What about the ailments that don’t get a siren? Like a broken heart, a collapsed pride, or a mental breakdown? College sees a lot of the latter. As second quarter veterans of UCSB, we have all experienced the stresses that come with the close of a quarter. Finals have become the dreaded inflictors of such pain, but no hospital, no medication can cure us. Here are some ways to therefore prevent mental breakdowns and to do so as early as now:

1. Get some sleep.
   If you feel your eyes drooping, and see the words on those pages blurring together, just stop. No matter how much more you have to do, close that book, set aside those notes, and get some sleep. There’s no sense in robotically reading without retaining information. You’ll actually be hurting your ability to focus later on due to the continued lack of rest. Without that necessary energy you will read and think slower and, possibly, incoherently as I’ve experienced. I call it my “Lost Sleep Loopy-ness”. Your body needs downtime to complete the processes it usually goes through while you sleep. Depriving your body of that opportunity can mess up your system.
   
   
2. Review your notes early on.
   I won’t lie. In the past, I’ve left a class proud of what I’d learned enough to ignore the notes and just take a nap/get on with my day. But the average hour and fifteen minutes of class can actually go over a lot of information (which some of us realize when we miss a class and try playing catch-up for the next week). Now imagine that multitude of information over a quarter’s worth of classes. This is the information we crammers try to fit into our studies in the span of one or two nights before finals. It is more beneficial than many realize to just review each class’s notes the day after as a simple refresher while eating breakfast or while drying your hair after a shower. You don’t need to dedicate too much time solely for your review and you feel much more confident in the information learned when you encounter the topics again in the course afterwards. This, in addition to your specifically dedicated study time and class participation, can make you one kick-butt expert on any course.
   
   
3. Remain positive.
   It’s always easy to let the large, double-digit amount of pages you have left to review stress you out enough to distract you. Then you find yourself scrambling to finish faster, re-reading passages because you were too busy freaking out to really pay attention the first time, and on the brink of surrendering to your negativity. Breathe. Hone in on what you’re supposed to accomplish. Let everything else, all distractions, fall away into the background. Don’t let yourself think about anything but the content you’re studying. Be in the present. And if you’re like me and need incentive to finish at a timely pace, promise yourself a reward after. When you’re finished, you can enjoy your prize (Ice cream? Music break? SLEEP? One episode of your show?) and most likely, GOOD GRADES.

Going to college is like taking the ‘you’ you’ve known and worked on for so long and plonking yourself in a completely new environment. Our comfort zones have now been stripped away and we are encouraged to adapt to our new surroundings. In the shuffling mess that is moving and adjusting, how do we go about making new friends? How do we segue from feeling the absence of old friends? The transition is actually a lot simpler than we realize. The first step has nothing to do with seeking out a companion, but actually begins with studying oneself. When changing environments, it is very easy to stress out. The same applies for changing the homes of animals and pets. Everything around us seems to be changing. It then becomes difficult to remember or to gauge who we are, though we might have known it extremely well before the move. Start small. Observe your reaction to the change. Do you like it? Are you happy? Are you ready to let go of the past and embrace your new life? Answering positively to these questions is paramount to forging new, successful relationships. When you feel ready, others around you can feel that you’re ready as well. Take out your headphones, smile a bit more, let your happiness show. People tend to gravitate more towards others that know themselves and are happy rather than downers.

Now that you’ve fixed yourself, it’s time to meet some people. The best way to go about doing this is to do things that interest you. Through this method, you will encounter people with the same interests. When your friendships solidify, you can then fangirl together, start an epic bromance, or even date? It is also important to keep in mind that sticking with what you know is not good enough. This is college! There are plenty of social opportunities to try new things. Got some extra time on your hands? Join a club! Take chances! Do things you wouldn’t normally do! Now, I’m not saying to jump off a cliff in the interest of finding a bungee-jumping friend or doing things you know are wrong just to make a new circle of dangerous acquaintances, but are you not sure if you’ll take to a theater class? Take it and see! You’ll get GE credits out of the way whilst meeting a myriad of people. Who knows? They may be trying to make friends too and in your mutual struggles, you can find each other!

In short, everyone is clamoring to find out who they are. The thing is, there will never be a definite answer because we will change and change and change again over the course of our lives. Face it. Who you are now is A LOT different from who you were freshman year in high school. We ditched the braces, cut and dyed our hair, our bodies and confidence filled out a little bit more. But if you make a positive experience out of your changes, we can all grow up together and make some lifelong friends out of it. So don’t be afraid to discover yourself and what you want and make yourself approachable.

There’s loud music blaring in the courtyard, students are all decked out in their blue and gold gear, several people are sporting UCSB facepaint… what could that be? Well, a number of things, actually, but this time, Trop’s going to the soccer game! We’ve got our school spirit up and roaring and our tortillas hidden safely in our pants, hoods, and anywhere else they won’t check! It’s GAME TIME!

UCSB vs Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is kind of a big deal. They’re our biggest rival, and it’s important to kick their butts! And have fun while doing so, of course. But still, kick their butts! And throw ALL the tortillas when we make goals and win! I can’t really say more about how important it is to beat SLO, not because I’ve said enough or even because the need to win is that strong, but because I’m kind of a noob with sports, and I know next to nothing about soccer. I mean, I know that goals equate to points and goalies are like Keepers in Quidditch, but that’s really about it.

This game is important on a personal level too, because it’s the first official sporting event that I’ve been to in my life. Ever. I’d never been to high school football or basketball games, or been to a Laker game, or anything like that, so I was super stoked to be going. But because I know nearly nothing about soccer, I came basically just so I could be loud and raucous and throw tortillas than to actually see players play. Oops. Well, going to the game was free, anyway. So I figured, why not?

There was nothing really going on in the first half of the game. At least, until the last ten minutes. Then we made a goal! Yay! Then it was halftime and we momentarily got to sit down, which was really nice. When the game started again, it was more exciting and more intense knowing that we were in the lead. The second quarter mostly consisted of trying not to let SLO get the ball. We made another goal in the last five minutes, which was great, and tortilla madness rained on us all.

All in all, it was a great experience to go to my first game. It was fun partaking in UCSB chants and rituals, like counting down to 4:20 or making fun of the opposing team. People get so into it. It was so crazy, but also kind of amazing.

I probably would not have gone to the game, had it not been for where I live. Tropicana del Norte is really awesome, and I thank them and all the RAs that work so hard just to give us cool events like a pre-game sesh, among other things. It was awesome seeing everybody so pumped and so psyched. Before the year started, I had multitudes of people telling me that “You end up being really proud of your first dorm,” and “School spirit is contagious.” At first, I didn’t really see any of that becoming a reality. I thought they were insane, die-hards who were too happy to be in school. But now I see that yeah, they’re kinda right. It happens.

Let’s face it, the dorm environment and college life aren’t typically known as beacons of health. In fact, it would almost seem as if the odds are against you in maintaining healthy eating habits- a problem that causes many students to gain the “freshman 15” their first year at their new school.

As a self-proclaimed healthy living girl, I had to completely relearn many of my engrained habits as I was faced daily with all-you-can-eat dining commons, hours of schoolwork, partying, and the lack of motivation to make it to the campus gym.

In the end, putting in the effort to stay fit and healthy is one of the most important things you can do during your college years and will help you feel confident, happy, and comfortable in your own skin.

1. Just Because It’s All You Can Eat, Doesn’t Mean You Should Eat All You Can

   Now that’s a title for you. Many college campuses boast all you can eat dining commons with a huge variety of different cuisines and flavors, but keep in mind that getting multiple plates of food to sample can be a major pit-fall. While greasy burgers and fries are an okay treat once in awhile, having them for lunch and dinner along with a plate of pasta will not only devoid you of essential nutrients, but leave you feeling sluggish and bloated from the extra sodium. Instead, try sticking to one main entree and a side salad for each lunch and dinner and oatmeal, egg white omelets, or yogurt with fruit for breakfast.

2. Snack Smart

   Many students have the option of keeping a mini fridge in their room, but don’t take full advantage of what a great resource it can be to their health. Keep your fridge stocked with items like greek yogurt, fruit, hummus, and veggies for when you’re up late and feeling munchy. Try to avoid processed snacks such as the classic Cup of Noodles and potato chips which are full of sodium, refined carbs, and saturated fat.

   Eating small meals helps keep your blood sugar stable and will keep you from crashing and binging on all the unhealthy options around you.

3. Skip the Soda and Sugary Drinks

   We all know that soda is chock full of sugar (think 50-80 grams per can!), but often label fruit juices as “healthy” alternatives. While fruit juices may contain more vitamins and nutrients, many contain sweetened syrup, lack fiber from the juicing process, and contain huge amounts of sugar and calories. For most people, drinking their calories leaves them no less hungry and can contribute to weight gain if drank in excess. As an alternative, try to make drinking plain water, tea, and milk a habit- your body will thank you!

4. You Can Be Social Without Eating

   This one was a tough one for me to conquer. Many times, a late night trip to the dining commons or local pizza place with friends makes bonding and establishing friendships seem dependent on food and drinking. Keep in mind that making this a habit can lead to weight gain and that there are plenty of other options for socializing. Instead, try grabbing a group of friends together for a walk or fun activity such as ice skating or hiking.

5. Don’t Skimp on Exercise

   Eating habits are only half the equation when it comes to finding a balanced lifestyle and skimping on exercising can be a huge problem. Exercise provides countless benefits, such as controlling your weight, improving your mood, fighting cardiovascular disease, strengthening your bones and muscles, and helping you sleep better at night. Many colleges offer A-grade gyms complete with weight and cardio machines that you can pop in to in-between classes.

   
   Make a point to hit the gym and break a sweat at least a couple of times a week. If the gym isn’t your thing, there are tons of other fun options such as going for a group run, hiking, swimming, and biking.