For Californians, the months of August and September brought record-breaking heat waves and disastrous wildfires, adding additional challenges to the many students already struggling with remote learning.
Some students have expressed that these added conditions due to extreme heat waves and poor air quality from the wildfires have made long-distance learning tougher amid these unconventional times.
Twenty-year-old student, Timothy Dyekns, shared, “In regards to the air quality, I am mainly affected by this at home, where I am mostly in a room with open windows…I experience headaches as well. Besides this, I am asthmatic, and the air quality, the longer such calcine lingers, the more likely I will experience respiratory issues in the proceeding days or weeks.”
The County of Los Angeles Public Health has published releases from August to September 27th, advising the public to take extra health precautions with the poor air quality and heat.
Los Angeles County Health Officer, Muntu Davis, MD, MPH, advised people living or working in the affected areas to minimize outdoor activities especially those with autoimmune diseases.
August and September are typical months for heatwaves in California, but many people do not know what to expect out of 2020 anymore.
The LBCC Viking News reporters sought out advice from other students on how they are coping with the extra restrictions that can impede their long-distance learning at the moment or in the future.
Dyekns, said, “The heatwave and fires have a generally negative effect on my being. I find the heat unbearable.”
When asked what advice he would share with others Dykens said, “They should seek outlets they find comforting in the reduction of stress…Managing stress is not an easy feat for everyone; across the board, meditation is one of the best ways to handle stress, and is largely supported by modern psychology. This can be meditation in the stereotypical sense, or it may find its form as something one finds simply to be meditative.”
He also suggested students have a backup plan ready when power outages occur due to extreme heat, such as finding “a friend with working electricity and power.”
A first-year student at LBCC named Amier Morris has lived in Bellflower for 10 years.
When it comes to wildfires and power outages he said, “With heat and wildfires, I have had bad mornings because I get a very dry nose. Power outages don’t happen very often, but when they do they aren’t very long.”
Even though wildfires and power outages are happening more, Morris said it doesn’t affect his online learning experience.
With these conditions at hand with COVID-19, wildfires, and power outages. Morris suggested, “Best to probably keep up with an air humidifier and keep up as much of your place and home dusted.”
Many factors can come into play that affect LBCC students in these extraordinary times, especially when long-distance learning is concerned.
Students coping with extra struggles in their education should always seek the help of a professional or friend or classmate that may be experiencing the same thing that they are experiencing.