Center offers help for students distracted by the sun

When the sun peeks out in early spring, students predictably make their ways to the small… When the sun peeks out in early spring, students predictably make their ways to the small patches of grass near campus, toting towels and flip-flops.

The ones who don’t make it to the lawn are often sitting in class thinking about sunbathing.

“Seventy-five and sunny on Soldiers and Sailors is the conscientious student’s kryptonite,” Pitt student Chris Yakscoe said.

Charie Daviston, a coordinator in Pitt’s Academic Resource Center, said students often lack motivation when they return from spring break.

Daviston and the staff at the center train peer tutors to facilitate workshops designed to help students channel their inner Superman. Workshops in March focused on time management and avoiding procrastination, as well as staying motivated while studying.

Students learn several key skills at workshops, such as deciding on a clear-cut goal for themselves. Studying chemistry two hours per week serves as a good example. Goals enable students to balance work with play, because, as Pitt student Eileen Chan said, “The weather outside is just too nice to want to sit inside and study.”

Yakscoe has to fool himself to study.

“A good trick is to close your blinds in your room to trick yourself about the weather,” he said.

Annie Plunkett, another Pitt student, said she sometimes goes home for the weekend to finish her work. “I know my mom will force me to,” she said.

Yakscoe and Plunkett are doing exactly what tutors at the center are teaching their students to do, which is getting rid of potential distractions.

Students need to separate their study time and their television time, as well as make sure they eat healthy foods and sleep between six and eight hours every night, Daviston said.

Perhaps this is why the Academic Resource Center urges students to consider why they’re studying in the first place. When students specify a cause for studying, the tutors at the center can “give them the kind of pep talk that they need,” Daviston said.

Workshop facilitators frown upon procrastination, but different study habits work for different people.

“I get my papers out of the way, and then I have one less thing to worry about,” Pitt student Jen Bebey said.

The Academic Resource Center offers Pitt students Final Exam Preparation Workshops to help keep students on track before finals.

Workshops are offered three times a week. Daviston said most of the students who attend the workshops are freshmen and sophomores even though students of all levels and majors can attend. More than half of the students who use the services are repeating participants.

Students continue to populate Schenley Plaza, donning sunglasses and shiny wristbands they have yet to take off after trips to Cancun and Panama City, Fla. That’s fine, but like Daviston stresses, remember why you’re here at Pitt, and use your resources.

Final Exam Preparation Workshops will be offered at the Academic Resource Center on the following days:

Tuesdays April 13 and 20 from 7 to 8 p.m. in the William Pitt Union, room 837.

Wednesday April 14 from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m., location to be announced.

Thursday April 15 from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Cathedral of Learning, room 139 (Scottish Nationality Room).

Students who want to schedule a Final Exam Preparation Workshop can call the Academic Resource Center at 412-648-7920.