by Kyle Nguyen & Suzane Jlelati, Staff Writers
In spite of the gloomy rain that Southern California experienced two weeks ago, teachers on campus haven’t noticed any substantial changes in their students’ mood.
“It’s rainy and cloudy so people are more sheltered, but I haven’t noticed any anxiety or any sadness or anything of that sort,” said Gina Carbone, AP Psychology teacher.
Appropriately named SAD, seasonal affective disorder is most commonly seen in Seattle and Scandinavian countries where it rains often and leads to a depressed mood due to dark and gloomy weather.
“It rarely ever rains here, so a month of bad weather isn’t going to lead to SAD. Fortunately for us, we have enough light here in California for it to not affect us,” said Carbone.
Light therapy has been introduced to SAD patients in areas where there is little to no sunlight and results have shown a significant difference in their mood. However, how does this sudden heavy rain affect our students who aren’t accustomed to such conditions?
“It doesn’t bother me since I’m in my classroom all day. But it’s horrible for the students because we’re such an open campus, spread out over acres and acres of land and kids have to go class to class in the rain without umbrellas,” said Carbone.
Fortunately, aside from having to replace a pair of shoes, there hasn’t been any outward signs of discontent, according to Joseph MacDonald, Social Psychology teacher. Although there have been few more absences in his classes due to the rain, the majority of the time, he’s observed the same level of enthusiasm like any other day. There’s a level of excitement, he says, that comes with the rain since it’s “something new every year”.
“All in all, the rain was so fantastic and calming. Although a lot of people don’t like the rain, it gives the perfect opportunity for people to sit back and relax and better yet, it helps to alleviate the drought we’ve been experiencing,” said Carbone.
