Be Safe in College: Campus at Night

Hello everyone! Before I get on with my post I just want to say that we just passed the 30 post mark!! Thank you to all my viewers and editors for helping to make this blog a huge success. As we get closer and closer to the 4th of July, I figured I would make another post about night life safety, so here it goes!

Most campuses always have something going on, meaning you might have to walk home when it's late a night. Maybe you were staying late at the library or maybe you were partying, either way being safe is a must. Most campuses themselves are very safe places. The only thing you have to remember is that anyone can get into campus. There's no doors or fences keeping people out. Here are some things to consider that'll keep you safe:

• Inform your roommate. Giving your roommate a general idea of where you are and when you'll be back is a great safety practice. Also, if you are planning on coming home late, it's courteous to let them know so they don't think someone is breaking in. If something were to go wrong, they'll have an idea of where you were.
• Avoid walking alone. There's always safety in numbers. Try to walk with other people as often as you can. 
• Watch where you walk. Some walkways around campus are safer than others. I know at MSU it's probably not a great idea to walk behind Mcdonel at night. Try to walk where there's lights.
• Know your surroundings. Many campuses have features built in to keep you safe. For example, MSU is covered with multiple green emergency lights. No matter where you are on campus, you can see one of them. They're on every dorm floor and scattered around outside. If you hit one it immediately gets you in touch with a 9-1-1 dispatcher and help will be on the way.

These are easy tips that you can use while staying on campus. For the most part a college campus is a very safe place to be. These are just some small things you can do to better guarantee your safety. 

Thanks for reading! And here's to post 31!

~Anthony











And if you have time, please check out my two posts, "Calm and Cool" and "Bending the Bars" on the Equature Blog. If you want to learn a thing or two about public safety it's definitely worth a click!

How do I Know What to Study?

One of the biggest challenges for me was figuring out what exactly to study when it came to test days. College classes cover material at alarming speeds, and if you ever get lost in a lecture or miss a day of school, you could really fall behind in a class. When it comes around to test time, I had a difficult time figuring out what was considered important information and what wasn't. When it comes to knowing what to study, here are a few tips to try:

• Get a feel for the class. Every class is different and will test you in different ways. In my Spanish classes, we were tested more on our ability to use Spanish rather than memorize it. These tests were harder to study for; mostly practice and a general understanding of the language will get you through it. On the other hand, my criminal justice class was built around numerous vocabulary words and definitions. For this class I ended up making note cards and that served me well.
• Listen to the professor. Many professors will give you hints as to what they will test you on. Also, many will take time out of the class to review and go over how the test will be structured.
• Go to office hours. Some professors won't tell you what the test is about during class time. If you are unsure, I would highly recommend going to office hours. This shows the professor that you're willing to take time out of your busy schedule to meet with them. Also, some will give more hints to those who show up to office hours because it shows that the student really cares about the class.

Sadly, it is hard to get a grasp on what the professor tests on until after the first test. The first exam is your first exposure to how the course material is tested. Many students end up doing poorly on first tests, but once they see how the professor structures exams, they have a much better grasp on how to study.

Thanks for reading!

~Anthony










Also, if you have a second check out my newest post on the Equature blog! It's about keeping a cool head in high pressure situations.

Training for College: Cleaning Up Social Media

Social media plays a huge part in our lives today. We use websites like Facebook and Twitter to meet new people and stay in touch with current and old friends. Sites like these are great tools in college to create study groups and get to know the people who live around you. Keep in mind that you're going to college for two reasons; to get an education and arguably more importantly, to get a job.

Throughout your college education (and perhaps the rest of your professional life) you should really pay attention to what you share on social media. Many companies will search you on social media to learn more about you and how will you will fit in their company. What do you want them to see? Do you want them to see some pictures of you enjoying campus with some friends or pictures of you from some party last night that you only remember half of? (In one of my classes a teacher pulled up the Facebook profiles of students in the class to say what to do/not to
do)

Here are some things to consider this summer while your preparing for school:

• Status safety. What do you statuses say about you? I would go through and evaluate what is on your feed. Avoid posting too many negative things that make you seem whiny. I'm not saying to be super excited and positive all the time, but find the common ground.
• Picture presence. What do your pics show? Do they show you as a partier or just another college student? I would recommend taking down any pictures showing you either partying or doing something you're not supposed to (I would also recommend never posting pictures of yourself holding any kind of cup or drink, we all know what may be in there). Save these pictures for you phone only. 

Remember employers and internship coordinators want to learn all they can about their candidates so they will be doing tons of research on social media. Control what they see!!

Thanks for reading!

~Anthony










And if you have time, please read my first posted article on the Equature blog website and pass it along!

Ideas for Future Articles

Hello all! I hope my blog is providing some insight as to what college will be like and how to best prepare for it. I would like to take this time today to gather some feedback. Please message me with what you think of the blog and what topics you would like to see addressed. I created this blog to make the switch from high school to college easier and I want to see how I'm doing. I'm not too familiar with Google+ so please message me through.....

• Email. Send me a quick email of what you think of my blog so far. My email address is ajvogel95@gmail.com
• Facebook. Leave me a message on Facebook :)

Thank you for reading and also I would like to state that I'm also posting on a new blogging website as well. This blog is about numerous topics in public safety. Please give it a read and pass it along to those working in the field of Police, Fire, and EMS. The url for my first post is http://blog.equature.com/index.php/bending-the-bars/. 

As always, thanks for reading!

~Anthony

Training For College

Hello all! I hope college prepping is going well for you. I just want to share my blog series, "Training For College" with you. It is full of different things to take into consideration before showing up at school in the fall. It covers topics such as sleep, roommates, and keeping clean at school. Be sure to give this series a look before the fall:

• Time Management
• Room Cleanliness
• Learning The Library
• The Resume
• Overcoming Stress
• Sleep
• Cleaning up Social Media

Give these a look this summer and try incorporating them!

Thanks for reading!

~Anthony

Training for College: Time Management

School, class, homework, club meetings, projects, papers, friends, parties, sports, fitness; sounds like a ton of things to keep straight, right. Learning to time manage is crucial for any college student. With so many different activities and meetings planning out your day, it is going to be of utmost importance. When it comes to time managing, I do have some tips to keep your semester in order:

• Apple calendar. If you own an iPhone and Macbook, this tip will work for you. Apple has a calendar application that can sync between your computer and your iPhone. This is what I used in order to keep myself organized. I put everything up there from classes to club meetings and even planned study sessions.
• Paper calendars. Some people prefer writing everything out on a desk calendar. I tried this but I found these were too small for my handwriting so I gave it up. Also, studies show that people who write their things down tend to remember them more often.
• Daily agendas. I was in a class and an upperclassman told me that along with a paper calendar she would write down everything she needed to get done for that day. This helped her allocate her time to get the work done.
• Using your mind. This might get tricky but there are some people who rely solely on mind power to remember when test days are and due dates for homework and projects. I used to be like this but then I had a couple assignments slip my mind. I don't recommend this method but it does work for some people.

Remember, different methods work for different people. Find the one that best fits you and use it to your fullest potential!

Thanks for reading as always!

~Anthony

Declaring a Major vs. Going Undecided

Sometime during your college education you'll have to decide what you want to do for your career. Picking a major is the first step towards finding out what you want to do. However, many college students don't declare a major their first year; however I declared my major of criminal justice immediately. I believe there are some advantages to picking a major over going to school undecided:

• Building your resume. If you know what you want to do, you can be on the lookout for events and internship opportunities to help you land your dream job!
• Picking classes. You can pick classes to move you towards getting your degree. If you end up going in undecided, you run the risk of not having all your classes transfer over to your major of choice, meaning you just wasted credits.
• Meeting with major specific advisors. If you know what you want to do, you can meet advisors that only advise students in your school. These advisors can often give you insights to certain classes and programs available within the major.
• Joining major specific clubs. These clubs often bring in speakers and have events centered around what you want to do.

If picking a major is too hard at this point, don't worry. Take core classes your first couple years and pick your major later. There are also tons of events hosted by the different fields of study that will help you better understand them! Lastly, doing a little bit of research on your own will help too :) 

Thanks for reading!

~Anthony

How to Deal With Your Resident Assistant

Resident Assistants (RAs) are tasked with the duty of keeping law and order on the floor. Most of time they're pretty chill and won't keep the floor on a leash. However, if you become a problem, they're required to take action. Follow these tips in order to stay out of trouble with your RA.

• Feel them out. In the beginning of the year most RAs will tell you what they tolerate and what they don't. Most RAs don't cause trouble for you if you don't cause trouble for them. My RA was somewhere along the lines of "I won't look for trouble but if I see it I have to write you up."
• Always listen to what they say. Most RAs will let you off with warnings as long as you obey them. RAs are college students like you and they want to avoid doing as much work as possible. Making giving out a warning more appealing than filling out paperwork. Most RAs won't be strict until the Residence Hall Director (RHD) tells them that they need to crack down and 99% of the time they'll send out an email saying that they have to stop being lenient. 
• Don't be the problem room. If you keep breaking the rules, the RA will have to cite you or they'll get in trouble.

These easy tips will keep you out of trouble with your RA. My RA was also my suite mate. I wasn't really friends with my RA, but we got along and he let my roommate and I off with a ton of warnings (mostly because we kept the bathroom stocked and cleaned!). Needless to say we never had any problems.

Thanks for reading!

~Anthony