As this is my last term at Camosun College I have a pretty good grip of the ins and outs of surviving college life at Lansdowne, especially for the cold, dark, and dopamine-depleting winter semester.
I thought that I’d share my bountiful wisdom with the student body because I’m nothing if not a philanthropist—that, and my editor asked me to.
Best study spots
Something that I’ve learned over time is the importance of leaving the house to study. It truly makes a world of difference. I find that sitting in a studious environment with no distractions is the key to success. Mostly because I’ll start cleaning my kitchen or attempting to cut my cat’s nails to avoid sitting down and actually doing homework if I’m left to my own devices.
But where to go on campus? There’s the obvious choice of the library, which is equipped with study rooms, computers and printers, quiet areas, and one of the most important features: assistance from the knowledgable librarians (more on that later). I love booking one of the study rooms for group projects, using the printer services, and talking with the librarians. However, even with its impressive resume of services, it’s not my go-to.
I prefer the sanctitude of the quiet study room in the Wilna Thomas building. Located in room 204, the room has the necessary components for a study sesh, with fashionable dividers between desks, beanbag chairs, and the most pleasant lighting I’ve encountered at this school. It’s been acting as my haven for when I need to be alone with my books. Additionally, the various benches and study rooms in the building make for great places to hunker down and work with classmates on a group project (or to vent to your friends about participating in group projects).
Honourable mentions for best study locations go to the study nooks on the second and third floors of the Fisher building and the large study area on the top floor of the Young building, which has an additional connecting room filled with comfy chairs, and a relaxing atmosphere that looks very inviting for a nap—I’ve avoided it in times where lucidity is required.
Best and worst college food
As far as the food at Camosun goes, I’ve ben advocating for the cafeteria to offer healthier food options since the dawn of time (or, 2022, when I started here). Health qualms aside, I’ve navigated the ups and downs of the cafeteria more than I care to admit.
Ignore everything you’ve heard about food groups because I’ve created my own, which I’ve filtered into two categories: “indulge” and “avoid.”
Indulge:
The poutine at the college is my escape for when I hate myself, after a stressful exam, or whenever I want to be lulled into a carb coma that lasts for the remainder of the day. Specifically, I go for the buffalo chicken poutine. (If you can’t handle spice, there are other options, like the original poutine or mushroom poutine.)
But my poutine addiction is hardly helpful advice, so what I’d suggest is to take advantage of the customizable options at the cafeteria—from my experience, the staff have always been extremely friendly and willing to accommodate. They can make sandwiches and bowls, and they often have tasty specials available. Also, during the especially cold and frigid months try the soup: I’ve never been disappointed and it leaves me feeling good and not overly weighed down like the poutine does.
Or sometimes, I’ll have a slice of pizza, which is usually fresh with a variety of flavours. I will say, I’m extremely annoyed that the Interurban campus has a pizza machine, and Lansdowne doesn’t. Whoever picked Interurban over Lansdowne for a pizza robot has no place in my life, and I want them to know that.
Avoid:
Unless you like slightly chewy sushi and underwhelming dumplings, I’d avoid the “sushi” area of the cafeteria. It’s not horrible when you’re in a pinch and aren’t feeling like a plain sandwich, but as far as good sushi goes, it missed the mark, unless that mark is a C-. I realize that this next critique is probably more subjective than not but I don’t think the burgers are worth the price; they have relatively slim patties and don’t fulfill my junk-food fantasies like a burger should.
Get resource-ful
The last and most important piece of advice I have to offer is to use the resources available to us. A portion of our student fees are allocated to these resources, so there’s no excuse to not tap into them. For example, the librarians I mentioned earlier carry with them a wealth of knowledge, and they’re vastly supportive. Any time I’ve been stuck in an endless sea of research, academic sources, and questions, they’ve acted as a lifeboat, saving me from the storm and placing me in the right direction.
If you’re away from the library and have a question there’s also an amazing feature called AskAway chat on the college library’s homepage.
Through AskAway, you can message with a real librarian who will assist you with any questions you have, and, in my experience, they’ve always responded within minutes. Trust me, this service has saved me so many times and will continue to do so until I graduate.
A habit I fall off of in times of stress is one that I actually should’ve leaned into during those times: visiting my teachers’ office hours. I’ve had countless talks with my teachers that have been a contributing factor to my success on a project or exam. If you want to boost your letter grade, meet with your teachers and ask them questions—nine times out of 10 it will make all the difference. You can thank me later.
Of course, there are a plethora of other resources available; these are just the ones that I found helpful. But get your hands dirty and do some research—there are many available options to help you during your time at college.
Happy studying, and I hope this new semester is a successful one. See you on the other side.