Spring has finally sprung in Berkeley. The ASUC campaigns on Sproul have been replaced with the mischievous giggles of middle-schoolers on their first college tour. The flowers and cherry blossom trees are in full bloom, filling the campus with vibrant color and sneezes. The sun-covered slopes of Memorial Glade are covered with bikini-clad girls overdosing on vitamin D. However, while the seasons may be changing, your class schedule is not. If you find yourself caught in long daydreams about all the springtime loveliness you’re missing out on because you’re stuck in class, you may have a case of Academic Spring Fever.
It seems like every student reaches that point in the semester at which he or she just gives up, at which the proverbial breaking point is hit and work ceases to happen. The most likely time for a serious case of Academic Spring Fever to take hold is the limbo state between midterms and finals that results in a feeling of stagnation. Combined with the inviting Berkeley sun and nice weather, this makes spring a particularly dangerous time for the work ethic of Berkeley students.
We at the Clog attribute this to the highly contagious nature of Academic Spring Fever, a condition in which daydreams, sun and sleep take precedent over attending lecture, doing homework and being a functional human being. Symptoms of Academic Spring Fever may include but are not limited to: using your textbooks as doorstops, watching entire seasons of television shows in one sitting, ditching class to soak up the sun at Strawberry Canyon, sleeping 10-plus hours a day and experiencing harmful levels of procrastination. In more advanced stages of the disease, you begin to procrastinate on your procrastination, unashamedly giving up on activity altogether.
People at risk for developing Academic Spring Fever may have been exposed to a prolonged absence from school (i.e. spring break). The best explanation we can come up with for this academic crisis is the loss of one’s intellectual momentum. At the beginning of the semester, it is typical to be filled with vigor and energy. While this initial enthusiasm may die down, it usually settles into a more even-keeled rhythm. The tricky part, then, is forgoing any disruption to this rhythm.
Experts in this field have done extensive research and found that after taking a break from school, it is much harder to come back with the same stamina. Part of what makes being a student so difficult is not the intellectual demands of Berkeley but the psychological ones. We all choose to go to school, and every morning, we wake up and continue to make that choice. Once you make an allowance and cause a break to occur in this intellectual momentum, it becomes exponentially easier to allow another break, and another, until you’ve stopped working altogether.
While there is no absolute cure for this state of mind, there are several treatments that have been approved for home use based on small clinical trials. There is the “buddy system” remedy, wherein patients rely on friends to keep them honest. Incentivizing studying with a friend makes this method particularly useful (one King Pin donut hole for every math problem completed). There is the timer method, in which you set an alarm on your phone or clock for 45 minutes. From the moment the timer starts until it goes off, you must force yourself to do some productive work. Not only does the pressure of the clock counting down make you work faster, but mentally, it’s much easier to wrap your mind around just 45 minutes of work instead of your entire to-do list. If you’re feeling good after this, take a break and set your clock for another 45. If all else fails, just try chanting your new mantra, “C’s get degrees.” If you’re truly a UC Berkeley student, the acquiescence to such mediocrity should be intolerable. Realizing that you’ve stooped to such a level should get you moving … after just one more episode of “Mad Men,” that is.
Contact Meagan Kane at [email protected]