Posted on March 12, 2024 by Rachel

The Student’s Guide to Campus

UW Bothell and Cascadia College sign at the main entrance of campus.

As I am a senior and graduating this quarter, I wanted to give back by sharing all of the knowledge I have gathered about the University of Washington Bothell and Cascadia College during my time here. In this blog post, I will provide a complete overview of essential services, ways to get involved, things to do, and helpful tips to make your experience as easy and enjoyable as possible. I loved being on this campus and hope that you can takeaway some of my advice, so that you can also have the best college experience!

Where can I find…

Homework Help

University of Washington Bothell

If you are a UW Bothell student in need of help with your assignments, you will likely want to visit the Academic Learning Commons in UW2-030.

It is home to the Quantitative Skills Center (QSC), which offers FREE academic peer tutoring both drop-in and online. They tutor in most STEM courses/majors, such as Computer Science, Biology, Engineering, Math, or any other course that requires quantitative reasoning. They also offer support in using different software and technology, test preparation, and test anxiety.

The QSC also provides a range of different equipment for students to check-out, including calculators, textbooks, molecular modeling sets, whiteboards, and more. Just be sure to bring your Husky Card!

Academic Learning Commons room filled with many tables, chairs, students, and staff. Image is focused on a student working on a laptop and iPad and tutoring staff is showing them something on their iPad. — Photo credit: www.uwb.edu

Also in UW2-030, is the Writing and Communication Center (WaCC). If you’re looking for assistance writing a paper, creating a presentation, or writing a personal statement, this is the place to go. You can make an appointment via the Navigate Student app, their appointment form, or drop-in online through Zoom. The WaCC is super helpful and will provide you with feedback on your work no matter what stage of the writing process you are at!

Another resource on campus is the Open Learning Lab (UW2-140). Not only is this a space for all students to access and use computers (both Windows and Apple) with pre-installed software, such as Final Cut Pro, Adobe, ArcGIS, and more, but the Open Learning Lab also provides drop-in tutoring on all of these tools listed, as well as general digital media software help.

And, one last tip – don’t be afraid to reach out to your professors for help on your assignments. Take advantage of their office hours to go over the homework or ask questions. Remember they are here to teach and support you!

Cascadia College

For Cascadia students, you will want to visit the Bock Learning Center (CC2-060). There you can get free in-person and online tutoring, computer services, calculator rentals, as well as general workspace. This is also where you can acquire your Cascadia student ID card. Tutoring is available in subjects, such as math, chemistry, writing, and even public speaking. You can also print and scan documents here.

Two students working together and writing in a notebook. — Photo credit: www.cascadia.edu

Career help

University of Washington Bothell

Are you looking for an internship, job, help with your resume / cover letter, or interview prep? Visit Career Services in UW1-160!

Career Services aims to guide Huskies in their career journey by empowering them in their interests, helping them build their skills, and connecting them with professionals and employers. They offer appointments via drop-in and online in a variety of areas, such as resume/cover letter review, mock interviews, LinkedIn profile review, job/internship search strategies, and graduate school application prep.

I personally have submitted my resume for review at Career Services when I was in the process of applying to internships and they provided valuable feedback in under 2 days. One time a Career Services staff even came into one of my classes to do a workshop on salary negotiation, which I learned A LOT from. They gave our class so many tips and actionable items that will help us now and in the future, so I definitely recommend checking out their services.

Career Services also provides a schedule of career-related campus events. They host workshops, career fairs, and information sessions that you can attend to build your professional skillset and network. I recommend taking advantage of the career fairs, which are hosted each quarter, because there is no better way to get your name out there, connect with employers, and explore different companies all in one place! They typically have a general career fair, a STEM career fair, and sometimes virtual fairs.

Large event space filled with many people and booths for a career fair. — Photo credit: www.uwb.edu

Cascadia College

For Cascadia students, you can visit the Career & Transfer Office (Kodiak Corner, CC1). They offer assistance with planning for your future careers and with the transfer process. The Cascadia College “Career Exploration” website also has a page for all things career-related, such as job searching, career assessments, major info sessions, application help, and any upcoming events. This is a super helpful resource and includes a lot of useful information and tips for students who are currently looking for jobs or want to build the skills needed to pursue a certain career.

Kodiak Corner front desk with multiple students in-line and having conversations with the desk staff. — Photo credit: www.cascadia.edu

Study Spots

Campus Library

Though I may be a bit biased because I work at the library, I think one of the best study spots on campus is the library! It has three levels worth of study area for students – the first floor is best for group collaboration and zoom calls (normal chatter level), the second floor has lots of comfy chairs as well as bigger tables for group work (lower chatter level), and the third floor is perfect for quiet studying with many individual study carrels, study rooms available for reservation, and our silent reading room with a beautiful view of the wetlands through the floor to ceiling windows (quiet-silent chatter level).

I really like using the study rooms when I need a quiet space to call into a Zoom meeting or want to study with friends. The study rooms can be reserved online for up to two hours. You can only have one active reservation at a time and you can book two weeks in advance. Each study room contains a projector/TV, whiteboard, scratch paper, and writing utensils.

Room dimly lit by table lamps, floor to ceiling windows along every wall with sunset in the background, and many wooden group tables and wooden chairs. — UWB/CC Library 3rd Floor Silent Reading Room, Photo credit: sites.uw.edu

Activities and Recreation Center (ARC)

Another great place to get work done is the ARC. The top floor (ARC Overlook) is a big open space filled with lots of tables and chairs, as well as a video game alcove and gaming tables if you ever need to take a break during your study sessions. This floor is also lined with giant windows, so you get some natural light and a nice view!

They also have meeting rooms available to students that are first-come first-serve if they are not already booked by student clubs/organizations.

Large open event space filled with many circular group tables and chairs. Floor to ceiling windows along far side of the wall. — ARC Overlook, Photo credit: scout.uw.edu

Zoom Pods

A new addition to the campus are Zoom Pods! There are several located in the UW2 building on the first floor near the cafe / Gold Brew. They are individual pods available on a first-come first-serve basis with a limited use of 90 minutes. These are a great option if you need to quickly jump on a call or join an online class.

Study Alcoves and Other Resources

Each building on campus has study areas and alcoves on most floors. I’ve used these spaces to do a little homework or review for an exam before my class begins. It is super convenient on days I have classes, because I don’t have to account for the walk time to the classroom after my study sessions.

Building lobby with several circular tables with four green chairs around each of them. Floor to ceiling windows along one wall of the lobby. — UW1 Second Floor Lobby, Photo credit: scout.uw.edu

Lobby with multiple gray couches, orange cloth chairs, tables, and large rolling whiteboards. — Discovery Hall First Floor Lounge, Photo credit: scout.uw.edu

Another really useful resource is the Scout website. It lists in detail every study space available at UW Bothell. You can scroll through each building, look at photos of each spot, and find where on campus works best for you!

Food and Drink

Terrace Dining Pavilion

Over the past couple of years, the campus has been undergoing many renovations and changes, one of which includes the construction of the new dining hall! This is super exciting, because the campus has never had an official dining hall before. It is located next to the new residential and dorm building on the north side of campus (near the bus stop). The dining hall has multiple spots for different types of food, lots of seating on both floors, and to-go and online ordering options.

The lower level has FoodLab and Clean Plate, which are two a la carte options. FoodLab has a variety of to-go bowls that rotate each week. Clean Plate has acai and create-your-own bowls, and is great if you’re looking for a more allergen friendly option.

The upper floor has Urban Kitchen and Market Bar, which offers to-go burgers, flatbreads, and sandwiches, as well as “all-you-care-to-eat” options including a buffet and salad bar. There is also The Drop, which features burgers, chicken, burritos, and fries. They open in the evenings, so it is the perfect place to satisfy your late night cravings!

Top view of a bowl of food containing different types of vegetables, fish, and rice. — Photo credit: www.uwb.edu

The POD Market

The Market is right next door to the Campus Library and sells a variety of small food items and snacks. They have candy, chips, refrigerated drinks, traditional household essentials, as well as Alki Bakery sandwiches, parfaits, and pastries. If you’re looking for something quick to eat or need to grab a little food in between classes, the POD Market is the place to go.

Inside of the Market - multiple black food stands filled with fruit, snacks, and refrigerated items. — Photo credit: www.uwb.edu

Gold Brew

Gold Brew is the campus cafe! It is located on the first level of the UW2 building. They serve Starbucks coffee and tea and Alki Bakery sandwiches and sweets. Gold Brew also has a selection of other refrigerated drinks, such as RedBull and juices. There is a lot of seating in the cafe area where students eat their lunch or study with a yummy drink in-hand! Fun fact: Gold Brew has microwaves that students can use to heat up their food.

Husky Pantry and Kodiak Cave

An amazing resource on campus for both UW Bothell and Cascadia students is the Husky Pantry (ARC-120) and Kodiak Cave (LB2-006, right next to Campus Safety), respectively. They are both food resource centers for any student facing food insecurity. Whether you’re in between paychecks or need a little extra help to get through the week, Husky Pantry and Kodiak Cave are there to meet your needs.

Husky Pantry offers grocery staple items, seasonal products, hygiene and toiletry products (all non-perishable). Kodiak Cave offers both perishable and non-perishable items, such as kitchen essentials, breakfast items, soups, frozen fruit, frozen and canned meat/proteins, dairy, and more. Both centers function as a “choice pantry,” so students can walk-in and pick the items they need.

For additional food and wellness resources or questions, visit the Health and Wellness Resource Center (HaWRC) in ARC-120 or view their website.

Getting Involved & Things To Do On Campus

Events

The best way to be more involved on campus and feel like a part of the student community is to attend campus events. There are not only educational events, such as career fairs, workshops, and seminars, although there are many available to students, but the campus also organizes fun recreational events, too. For instance, I’ve seen events for open mics, movie nights, and even prom! There is also a Welcome Week at the beginning of each academic year for both new and returning students to participate in fun games, win school swag and prizes, and meet new people. Usually, at many of these events they provide free food, as well, which you can never pass up!

Campus promenade outdoor event with purple and gold balloons and decorations. Many people standing and checking out the booths. — Photo credit: www.uwb.edu

For more information about upcoming campus events, visit the UW Bothell event calendar or Cascadia event page.

Clubs

Another great way to get involved is joining a club! UW Bothell and Cascadia have a variety of clubs in a number of different categories, such as academic, cultural, religious, political, recreational, and even some that might be related to your favorite hobby. For example, we have STEM clubs, business/marketing clubs, student associations, book clubs, dancing/singing clubs, gaming clubs, and many more.

If you don’t know what you’re interested in or want to explore more about the clubs on campus, a club fair is hosted every quarter where you can walk around to their booths and get to know what their club does. There is also fun activities you can participate in and swag you can win if you visit enough booths. Most club tables have some goodies you can take with you, too!

The clubs themselves host lots of events and meetings throughout the year that you can attend regularly. I think finding a community of people who share the same interests as you is the perfect way to make new friends and feel more involved.

Three people and the UW Bothell husky mascot with their arms up releasing a string of flower balloons for a club event. — Photo credit: www.uwb.edu

I have personally joined and am an officer for the Bothell Women in Science and Engineering Club (BWiSE) and love interacting and spending time with other students who have similar goals and passions. Although we all get quite busy with school, I think it is so beneficial to be involved in extracurriculars or dedicate some time towards things outside of classes as it will help you feel more fulfilled during your time at college and it allows you to surround yourself with people who you know will support you.

To view a full list of all the clubs and organizations, you can visit the UWB club directory or CC club directory.

Activities & health and wellness

Video Game Alcove

On the first and second floor of the ARC, it has a video game alcove, as well as games that students can get from the front desk to use. The library also has a selection of video games for multiple different consoles that students can check-out and play at the game alcove. It is a great space for socializing with friends and a fun activity that you can do while on campus!

Fitness Center and Classes in the ARC

The ARC also has a fitness center on the lower level with a bunch of different types of gym equipment. No need to pay for an expensive gym membership elsewhere – students can use the campus fitness center for free! It’s open 8am-10pm on most days.

They offer group fitness classes almost every day, such as yoga, pilates, indoor cycling, and more. This is definitely something to take advantage of while you’re a student here, so that you, again, don’t have to pay for those classes, and the location is also super convenient since you’re already on campus anyways and you could even sign up with one of your friends/colleagues here.

Inside the fitness center - lots of equipment and a few people in workout clothes scattered standing near them. — Photo credit: www.uwb.edu

To view all upcoming fitness classes, go to the ARC calendar.

Intramural Activities / Sports

Another thing that the ARC organizes is intramural activities, where students have the opportunity to gather and play traditional team sports or other leisure activities regardless of skill or ability at no cost. This includes leagues, play-offs, and tournaments. Some examples of the activities are basketball, flag football, soccer, card games, board games, and alternative gaming.

Basketball court with two teams playing against each other in blue and neon green jerseys/shirts. One person is shooting the basketball into the hoop. — Photo credit: www.uwb.edu

This is a good way to be part of a team, meet new people, relieve stress, and even obtain leadership roles. To sign up for intramural activities, you can go to their website sign-up page.

Outdoor Wellness

UW Bothell and Cascadia have a super cool community group called “Outdoor Wellness.” They offer outdoor programs, events, and trips, including activities like hiking, indoor rock climbing, camping, snow sports, and many more! For information about their upcoming events, check this schedule.

Several people with large backpacks on walking on the beach rocks with a sunset in the background. — Sunset on an Olympic Coast backpacking trip, Photo credit: www.uwb.edu

Don’t worry if you’ve never tried any of these activities or feel like you’re still a beginner, because they have trip options for all skill levels. Also, if you don’t have your own gear or equipment, you can rent some at no cost at the Nest Gear Shop (lower level of ARC) for 14 days. They have a variety of gear, such as backpacks, camping essentials, clothing and footwear, climbing/snow/water gear, and much more. You can also use the gear for your own personal outdoor trips! It is first-come-first-serve, though, so be sure to plan in advance by contacting the shop early about gear availability. To find more information or view a comprehensive list of gear offered, you can visit their website.

Two people talking with pieces of equipment on the counter. Different colored hiking backpacks hanging on the wall behind them. — Photo credit: www.uwb.edu

Also related to getting outside, the campus has a beautiful wetlands that you can visit by walking along the paved sidewalk on the perimeter of the wetlands or go down the boardwalk into the wetlands (just be sure to stay on the path/boardwalk – you will need a permit to explore further). It is located past the ARC building and next to the sports fields (see map). Going outside and being surrounded by nature is the perfect way to clear your mind and de-stress, especially during the hustle and bustle of your school days. When visiting the wetlands, please remember to be respectful by keeping noise to a minimum, not leaving trash, and not disturbing the plants or animals.

Top view of the wetlands and the boardwalk. Many green trees and a marsh. — Photo credit: www.uwb.edu

If you’re the kind of person who likes more of an exercise though, the same trail you cross to get to the wetlands is also called the North Creek Trail where people can bike, walk, and run. It is an easy route to follow and is usually very peaceful as you won’t encounter many other people. It is super accessible for those on campus and is a great place to take a break while getting in a little exercise.

Side view of a heron-looking bird with white and blue feathers standing in the river. — Photo credit: www.google.com/search?q=north+creek+trail

Visit the Collaboratory

Another cool space on campus that recently got renovated is the Collaboratory (DISC-152). It is a creative and open environment that provides a range of equipment and materials in which students can use to work on academic or personal projects, prototypes, art/design, and fabrication. They have machines, such as 3D printers, laser cutters, cricuts (computer-controlled cutting machines used for cutting paper, felt, vinyl, fabric, and more), button makers, modeling softwares, and more, as well as materials, such as printing filaments, woods, plastics, and metals. These resources are all free to students, however since they have limited materials they do ask that you try to bring in your own supplies after your first few visits.

Before your first visit, it is required that you complete their Collaboratory Orientation by filling out this form if you plan to use any materials from them. You can also go there in-person and speak to a staff member who can walk you through how to use the equipment – they are always happy to help!

Coming to the Collaboratory and getting creative is a great way to spend time on campus, especially when all the supplies are already provided to you. One of my coworkers made a beautiful personalized keychain with her own custom print and last time I was there I watched someone 3D printing a piece of their Halloween costume!

Five people in the Collaboratory sitting around a table discussing. There is machines and equipment behind them. — Photo credit: www.washington.edu

Visit the Mobius Art Gallery

Another wonderful thing to check-out on campus is the Mobius Art Gallery located in the CC3 building. There is always an amazing exhibition on display and they put out a new one every couple of months or so. Currently, an exhibition called “Where We Are” by Sarah Dillon is in the gallery with a theme of self-reflection, creativity, social analysis, and human interaction. To see information about the current exhibition, as well as previous ones, you can check out the gallery’s website.

Similar to being outside in nature, I think visiting the art gallery is a great space to find relaxation, inspiration, or reflection. I find that putting myself in a quiet, peaceful place and viewing art can help calm my body and mind. It is also fascinating how art can elicit different feelings and emotions, and even help in sparking creativity. The Mobius Art Gallery is definitely a must-see during your time here on campus!

Three people admiring the colorful artwork hung up on the wall. — Photo credit: www.cascadia.edu

“Did you know…”

- The new STEM building, Innovation Hall (opened Winter 2024), is shared between both the UWB and Cascadia College campus.
- The Campus Library offers a 24/7 live librarian help-chat for all your research and library needs.
- The Campus Library doesn’t just have textbooks! They have a large selection of recreational books and other items available for checkout (fiction books, graphic novels, comics, video games, and more).
- Students get 6 FREE 45-minute counseling sessions per academic year in the Counseling Center (UW1-080).
- UW Bothell alumni within 3 years of graduation can schedule an appointment with a career coach at Career Services (UW1-160).
- The WaCC doesn’t just offer services to current UW Bothell students, but also to anyone who is applying to UW Bothell or is a UW Bothell alumni.
- Campus Safety offers safety escorts for anyone that ever feels uncomfortable, fearful or apprehensive about walking alone between points on campus.

Posted on March 8, 2024March 8, 2024 by monsea

Attending Community College Doesn’t Have to be Shameful

Graduating from high school is a well-known life milestone. At this point in your life, one of the most frequently asked questions that you receive is “What university are you going to?” This question can be intimidating for many reasons. Some people aren’t committed to a university yet, some people aren’t pursuing higher education, and maybe some people are going to their family’s long-time rival university. For me, however, this question was intimidating because I wasn’t enrolling in a university: I was enrolling in community college.

For as long as I can remember, community colleges have been perceived as the schools for delinquent students who will end up working dead-end jobs. Upon further research, it appears that the media consistently portrays community college students as “mediocre, probably losers, and usually unsympathetic,” often making them the punchline of a joke (6). Because of the negative connotation latched on to the idea of community college, I became hesitant and embarrassed to share my post-high-school plans. When I would tell people about my plan, I would hastily add that I planned to transfer to UW Bothell after receiving my associate’s. Now that I have graduated from Cascadia College and am in my second year at UW Bothell, I realize that attending community college is truly nothing to be ashamed about.

One of the advantages of community college (and one of my main reasons for going to a 2-year institution) is that it is much more cost-effective. According to an article published by US News & World Report, the cost of tuition for community college is about ⅓ of the cost of tuition for universities (7). For example, the typical in-state tuition for Cascadia College is slated at around $4,678 while in-state tuition for the University of Washington is $12,224 (4). If you’re planning on transferring to a university after college, another advantage is that many universities have programs with community colleges that allow for easy transferring of credits. This type of education plan is referred to as the 2+2 model (3). Additionally, community college offers great experience and training for jobs. Martha Parham, the senior vice president of public relations for the American Association of Community Colleges, has stated that different career programs offered by community colleges have a “highly applied nature” that “prepares students for entering the workforce” (7).

Now having experienced community college classes and university classes, I can say that the quality of education between these two is the same. One of the other stereotypes of community college is that the classes are not rigorous or of good quality, however this is not the case. During my time at Cascadia College, the classes I took definitely required a great amount of effort, with the material being challenging and engaging. One of my worries upon entering UW Bothell was not being prepared enough for my classes. Because my foundational knowledge about biology was gained in community college, I felt that I would fall behind in the biology classes at UW Bothell. Fortunately, I realized that Cascadia did prepare me for these classes. Many of the topics discussed in classes had already been introduced in my previous classes, and I was able to easily comprehend new topics. Furthermore, the amount of homework between these institutions did not differ greatly, which was another worry of mine.

Despite my good experience with community college, I understand some of the discrepancies that people may have with it. For example, a study found that the percentage of community college students who did not earn a degree and that were no longer enrolled in community college was around 50% (5). That being said, more disenfranchised groups have a higher likelihood of attaining that bachelor’s degree (1). Additionally, a portion of funding for community colleges, especially in Washington state, depend on property taxes (2). As a result, the community college experience will vary depending on the location of the college. Because of this, I also recognize that my experience at Cascadia is not going to be universal for community college students everywhere. I do believe that many of the problems that face community colleges lies within a much larger conversation about federal funding and stigmatization.

In summation, community college has its own great benefits that should not be overshadowed by its 2-year institution status. The knowledge gained in community college has the same educational value as classes from a university. Many benefits can be gleaned from community college, such as work experience and lower tuition costs. While more work needs to be done in sufficiently funding community colleges nationwide and in removing stigmatization surrounding community college, there is nothing inherently wrong about attending community college.

Check out Cascadia College and University of Washington Bothell!

References

(1) Brand, Jennie, et al. “The Community College Effect Revisited: The importance of attending to heterogeneity and complex counterfactuals.” Sociological Science, vol. 1, 27 Oct. 2014, pp. 448–465, https://doi.org/10.15195/v1.a25.

(2) Burke, Ethelda, et al. “Key Facts about Higher Education in Washington.” Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board, 2011.

(3) “Community College.” U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, 28 Aug. 2023, educationusa.state.gov/your-5-steps-us-study/research-your-options/community-college.

(4) “Compare | College Scorecard.” Collegescorecard.ed.gov, collegescorecard.ed.gov/compare/?toggle%3Dinstitutions%26s%3D236948%26s%3D377555. Accessed 2024.

(5) Goldrick-Rab, Sara. “Challenges and opportunities for improving community college student success.” Review of Educational Research, vol. 80, no. 3, 1 Sept. 2010, pp. 437–469, https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654310370163.

(6) LaPaglia, Nancy. Storytellers: The Image of the Two-Year College in American Fiction and in Women’s Journals. LEPS Press, Northern Illinois University, 1995.

(7) Warner, Andrew. “5 Reasons to Consider Community College.” U.S. News & World Report, 19 May 2022, www.usnews.com/education/community-colleges/articles/reasons-to-consider-community-college.

Posted on February 3, 2024February 3, 2024 by Rory

Pareidolia: The Phenomenon of Seeing Faces Everywhere

Have you ever looked at a car and saw a strange or funny face staring back at you? Maybe it looked like it was smiling, or like it was just really disappointed for some reason. This is the phenomenon known as “pareidolia” (par·ei·do·lia), and originates from the Greek combination of “‘para’ (para = beside or beyond) and ‘eidos’ (images, appearance, looks)”. (NIH) It is defined as, “the tendency for perception to impose a meaningful interpretation on a nebulous stimulus, usually visual, so that one sees an object, pattern, or meaning where there is none.” (Wikipedia) The term was coined by psychiatrist Klaus Conrad in his 1958 publication about the beginning stages of schizophrenia. He similarly defined it as the “unmotivated seeing of connections [accompanied by] a specific feeling of abnormal meaningfulness.” (Conrad) Whenever you recognize a face somewhere it shouldn’t be, you are experiencing a perfectly natural response to the world around you. And in fact, this human experience can be anywhere, and has some very interesting biases accompanying it.

“Your brain is superattuned to see faces everywhere,” says Susan Wardle, a neuroscientist who studies pareidolia (Wollan) and a name you will see often throughout this blog. Take a smiley face for example, it consists of usually only a couple lines as the eyes and a curved one as the mouth, and yet is widely recognized as the symbol for a happy face. “You only need this minimal information to see a face because it’s more adaptive to make a mistake and see a funny face in a cloud than to miss a real human face,” Wardle explains. Just like the smiley face, the same logic applies to cars, with the headlights (the eyes) and the grill (the mouth), a face is formed. As a car enthusiast as well, I strongly believe the “face” of the car is what makes so many car designs instantly recognizable. While cars are not the main focus of this post, I think they are a good jumping off point for those unfamiliar to pareidolia as they simply and effectively illustrate this common occurrence.

Let’s take a look at some car “faces” now.

A very happy Austin-Healey Sprite (Photo: Raphaël Labbé/Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0)
A tough looking Dodge Charger (Photo: Dodge/Chrysler)
A very suspicious vampire in the rear of a 1950s Chevrolet Impala (Photo: r/Pareidolia)
A smiling, shy Mazda Miata (Photo: Cars and Bids via Motorbiscuit.com)
And a very happy Mazda3 (Photo: Ulrich via NYT)

Do you see the faces? It may be a little tricky at first, but even those unfamiliar with pareidolia can come to see what I mean when I say “cars have faces” if you look at it enough or in the right way. In David Robson’s BBC article on pareidolia, he quotes geometric morphometrics expert (learn more about what that is here) Sonja Windhager’s study about this phenomenon. Windhager found that, “[while she was traveling countries] questioning people on the roadside and in small restaurants [about whether they saw faces in the pictures she presented them], she was initially met with surprise. ‘They thought we were a little crazy,’ she says. But even though the Ethiopians had not been exposed to films like Disney’s Cars or The Adventures of Herbie, they soon understood the purpose of the study, and rated the pictures in much the way that Europeans do. For instance, cars with a big windscreen, round headlights and a small grill tend to be considered young and feminine …while those with flatter headlights and a bigger, squarer under-body are older and more masculine.” (Robson)

What’s more, this is further affirmed by the fact that people tend to buy cars with more “aggressive” faces. At least that’s true according to this slightly outdated article from 2008 by Live Science’s Jeremy Hsu, but I believe that still holds to the modern day. In fact, I think cars have only become more aggressive in styling, which reflects the evolution of general consumer interests clearly when comparing the current looks of many modern cars to their predecessors. My point is to say that not only do we consciously or subconsciously see these faces, but we can find ourselves more drawn to certain ones than others. I think new cars tend to radiate more masculinity with their “aggressive” looks than they have historically due to natural cultural shifts in what we perceive modernity looks like. To visualize this change, let’s take a look at the 2003 Honda Accord vs. the 2023 Honda Accord. Same make and model, just 20 years later. I think the 2003 version of the accord is more cutesy, and feminine than the 2023 – which tends to be the trend in many cars from the 2000s to early 2010s. Do you agree? Which of these two cars looks more feminine or masculine to you?

2003 Honda Accord (Photo: hondanews.com) vs 2023 Honda Accord (Photo: Marc Urbano, Car & Driver)

According to Robson, the 2003 version of the Accord is the more feminine car due to its small grill, and larger headlights. No matter how you answered though, gender bias actually seems to be ingrained in pareidolia, with people most often assigning cars and objects that are more “plain” or “aggressive” in design as male. In Forbes’ “Illusions Of Faces In Inanimate Objects Are Often Male” article by Eva Amsen, Amsen provides that, “It’s an interesting cognitive bias, and it’s part of a much larger phenomenon. In all of the most simple depictions of faces, the female version is usually shown as having something extra, like long hair, eyelashes, or lipstick. By extension, the basic face without those added features is considered ‘male’.” (Amsen) Looking back at the first set of car images, which cars did you count as masculine and feminine? Pareidolia and its gender bias extends to other things as well. It’s possible to see faces in anything! Take a look at a few more examples below. Here’s a strange bunch of faces in common, daily objects. Which ones do you count as male or female?

From left to right, top to bottom: A small appliance making a “ :o| ” face; angry and neutral wall outlets; a happy mug of coffee; a perplexed, dazed, or even hungry looking faucet; a “ : | ” face on a mailbox; and a silly-faced washing machine (Photo: Wardle, et al.)
A burger that somehow resembles Steve Harvey? (Photo: Twitter/@KNTYfemme)
A happy wall outlet (Bill Ebbesen via Wikipedia)
A frightening (or frightened) tree trunk (Betty Rose Nagle, Ph.D. via PsychologyToday)

How about on campus? Are there faces here too? Yes! Take a look at a few of my own examples I’ve taken from campus… Do you see them? Do these faces have a gender bias as well? They may be a little bit trickier to see this time around.

A window with a sideways robot face
Trash cans with very pronounced cheek and brow bones
Our library book drop has a ” : | ” face on its slot
A tree that looks like an angry anglerfish
A penguin face in a space heater

Maybe these faces aren’t immediately apparent. I tend to see faces like these quite often so I’ve become a bit of a natural at it. Well, as natural as anyone can be when our brains are already programmed to make faces out of random things. Some websites claim that being prone to pareidolia may indicate you’re on the more creative side… Maybe that’s true, maybe it isn’t. On a personal note, I actually enjoy seeing these faces. Sometimes it brightens up my day to see a little happy face in my dishes, or be face to face with one on the front of a house – but I digress.

Continuing on, Susan Wardle in collaboration with other researchers, created a thorough study on gender bias in “illusory faces.” Below I’ve included the graphics that Wardle and her team created to compile their data and findings. Do you agree with the gender biases in these examples? What about the emotions that they are supposedly expressing, are these true as well?

(Photo: Wardle, et al)

Here’s more interesting data sets from Wardle, et al below. Take your time looking at these graphs. Once again, they confirm that objects with faces are overwhelmingly projected as male. But going into the social and cultural implications of that would be an entirely different can of worms. For now, let’s leave it at that. If you want to read Wardle’s study, I’ve linked it here. Now you know what pareidolia is and about its implicit gender bias, how exciting! Next time you see a face in your food or in your car, you’ll know that this is just your brain doing what it naturally means and wants to do.

(Photo: Wardle, et al)

Posted on August 24, 2023August 24, 2023 by Rachel · 2 Comments

Learn How to Code With These Free Websites and Resources

Have you ever wanted to learn how to code? Do you know how to code, but want to enhance your skills or learn a new one? As an undergraduate computer science and software engineering student myself, I have used various resources and tools outside of my college courses to build on my knowledge and practice my coding skills. In this blog post, I would love to share some of my favorite online and/or free websites and other materials that I use and recommend to anyone interested in or pursuing computer science.

Of course, I don’t think any of these tools could replace the learning experience of my college courses, however I think they are wonderful for those who are just getting started, want to learn at their own pace, or those who want to expand their existing coding skills and/or prepare for interviews.

Codecademy

Codecademy is a free online website (and mobile app) that provides a growing catalog of courses, learning paths, and career paths designed to help users build their coding knowledge and explore the skills needed for different technical careers (front-end and back-end engineering, data analytics, game development, web development, etc.). It is an interactive platform that helps students learn-by-doing and offers “classes in 12 different programming languages including Python, Java, Go, JavaScript, Ruby, SQL, C++, C#, and Swift, as well as markup languages HTML and CSS”.

In addition to coding courses, they also have resources for interview prep and allows you to earn professional certificates that you can put on your resume after successfully completing a course.

While the majority of Codecademy’s courses are completely free, there are also a few more advanced courses that require the Codecademy Pro membership. As a college student though, you can receive complete access to the full interactive curriculum for over 55% off the regular price!

I am currently enrolled in the “Data Scientist: Analytics” Career Path as well as the “Back-End Engineer” Career Path, and have really enjoyed my experience working through each of the lessons. I think Codecademy does a fantastic job of introducing you to new concepts through articles, videos, real-world examples, and short quizzes. It gives me hands-on coding experience within their learning environment and even provides hints if I ever get stuck.

DataCamp

DataCamp is another interactive learning platform that offers hundreds of courses and several career track certificate programs in different technologies and coding languages, such as SQL, Python, R, Power BI, Tableau, and more. DataCamp aims to help users build data science, statistics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence skills. They note that 80% of Fortune 1000 companies use DataCamp to upskill their teams, including top companies, such as Google, PayPal, eBay, Microsoft, and Uber.

My STEM scholarship mentors actually recommended DataCamp to me, because their company’s Data and AI team sometimes uses the courses to hone in on their skills. Since then, I have completed DataCamp’s “Introduction to Python” and “Understanding Data Science” lessons.

Courses usually include short videos and interactive exercises that are catered to everyone – from beginners to those already in the industry. The courses are taught by DataCamp instructors and all the lessons allow you to practice and apply the skills you learned through different problems and projects.

Similar to Codecademy, DataCamp also has the option to upgrade your learning plan to unlock more advanced courses, however, you can again use your status as a college student to receive over 50% off the regular price if you do decide to explore more courses. They also offer professional certifications as part of the premium plan, as well.

LeetCode

LeetCode is a bit different than the above platforms in that it is mainly used to practice solving coding problems and prepare for technical interviews. The primary users of the website are software engineers.

It offers over 2750 free exercises, which each have a level ranking of “Beginner,” “Medium,” or “Hard.” The coding questions focus on data structures and algorithms and supports multiple programming languages.

When you complete a problem, LeetCode will judge your solution based on how many test cases it passes, runtime, and memory usage compared to other submissions. LeetCode also has an option to view other users’ posted solutions and provides hints when you’re stuck on a problem.

The website offers study plans, crash courses, and challenges. Some of these will guide you through how a technical interview might look like at some of the big tech companies, such as Google, Amazon, and Facebook.

The questions are very similar (if not sometimes the same) to ones that are asked in technical interviews, so it is a really great tool to use if you know you’ll be applying to jobs or internships in the tech industry soon. Some people recommend completing at least one LeetCode question a day to consistently build your skills and better prepare for your upcoming interviews.

Library Resources

The UW Bothell / Cascadia College Library contains a plethora of wonderful books and other materials for anyone pursuing computer science and software engineering – and they’re free! On the third floor of the library, in the QA section located in LB2, you can find a wide range of computer science textbooks that can help you learn a new programming language, explore specific concepts, or you might just need them for one of your CSSE courses. Here are just a few examples pulled right from our collection:

A popular book that many UWB professors and other professionals in the field highly recommend is “Cracking the coding interview: 189 programming questions and solutions.” You can get it here at the library in our Career Books collection located on the first floor next to the Research and Computing Help Desk.

“Cracking the coding interview” is a great resource for preparing for the technical interview and dives into what skills you need to succeed. It provides 189 problems and walks you through how to approach each question, how to break down the question into manageable chunks, as well as how to derive the best solution. Some topics include big O time, data structures, and algorithms.

Instead of spending hundreds of dollars on books for your classes and career, you can get them at no cost from the campus library! I really recommend perusing our physical collection or using the UW library search catalog to find specific titles or topics. You can checkout the materials at the front desk or you can place a hold on an item online and pick it up. All you need is your campus ID card (Husky card or Cascadia College card) to check out items.

Additional Resources

Glossary

Definitions for the terms mentioned in this blog post.

front-end engineer: focuses on the “user side” of software, meaning everything a user sees and interacts with while using an application

back-end engineer: works on the server side of the software, aka the software’s infrastructure (parts that aren’t visible to the average user)

data scientist: a problem solver who prepares and analyzes data to provide organizations with insights that help them make better business decisions

software engineer: a person who applies the engineering design process to design, develop, maintain, test, and evaluate computer software

upskill: teach (an employee) additional skills

runtime: the amount of time in which a machine takes to run a program’s code

memory: stores information, such as data and programs for immediate use in the computer

big O time: the time it takes to run an algorithm as the input grows (time complexity)

data structures: a data organization, management, and storage format that is usually chosen for efficient access to data

algorithms: a set of coded instructions used to solve a problem or perform a task

Glossary resources: The Forage, Wikipedia, Oxford Dictionary, SimpliLearn

Posted on August 17, 2023August 22, 2023 by dilark

The Magic Behind Creating a Persona Concert

When I first picked up Persona 5 during quarantine, I fell in love with it and developed a hyperfixation on the series. But little did I know that it would inspire me to plan a tribute concert to the Persona series and this feat would be the most stressful, yet exhilarating of my life. To give a frame of reference to people that may not know what the Persona series is all about, it’s a Japanese Role Playing Game (JRPG) series created by Atlus. Each of the games revolves around high schoolers that explore dungeons and fight enemies with a manifestation of their inner being, referred to as a persona. The series is ripe with psychological themes surrounding confronting the darkest parts of oneself, friendship, and most importantly awesome music. I had started to learn many of the songs from the soundtrack during quarantine and dreamed of putting on a concert once lockdown restrictions were lifted. And as Vice President of UW Bothell’s very own music production club, I gradually started to get accustomed to a position of power that would allow me to make this show happen. The idea was initially rejected by Oliver, the president of the club, for being a niche topic, but with enough persistence, I was able to get the idea greenlit at the very start of Fall 2022. As I was going to be spearheading the project, I would mainly receive his assistance through working with club council and facilitating meetings. I started off a bit slow being overwhelmed by my vision. I had all of these clubs I wanted to reach out to, tons of effects, a live band, and costume changes. But the overwhelm of all of those things distracted me from the bare minimum of what I needed to do to make the show happen. So I talked to my voice teacher and with her advice, I formulated a new action plan, one that would be so much easier to follow through with. I’d be collaborating with the Digital Arts Club instead of handling multiple collaborations, singing to backing tracks (barring one instrumental song we would be doing), and I would not be having multiple costume changes.

Resources I Needed to Put The Project On

Music Production/Scoring

The main resources I used for the music production process were Reaper, Musescore, GarageBand, and Google Docs. In a separate google document, I made a list of every song in the set list and tried to look for its corresponding karaoke track. I was able to find karaoke tracks for the songs I would be singing except one which I would need to make from scratch. I organized all of the tracks by set list order and listed what types of modifications they would need or if none were needed at all. This would make it easy for me to keep track of which ones I needed to work on. I was able to download the videos for the karaoke tracks I had found as mp3 files and drag them into Reaper to record background vocals. Before going into recording anything, I listened to the parts of the songs that had harmonies over and over again with headphones to really be able to hear all of the details. I then got a sheet of the lyrics and wrote the notes for the melodies over the lyrics, using different colors to differentiate different parts from each other. I would then do my best to sing each of the parts I had extracted from listening to each track, adjusting certain parts using trial and error until I honed in on the exact sound I wanted.

As for music transcriptions, I was going to originally have my guitar teacher in charge of those because music transcription is not my strength at all and I don’t enjoy it. But he was not able to do so for the two songs in the set that were going to have instrumental accompaniment on them. So I was left to my own devices. I downloaded Musescore, which I had not touched in ages, found some arrangements for the songs that I kind of like, and did minor reworking to the arrangements to make them stripped down to the instruments we would need (piano and violin). This reworking process took about a couple months. As I did not have Reaper installed on my Mac, I ended up exporting the audio of each part into GarageBand tracks so the performers I featured and I would have something to practice with.

Club Collaborations

The first and arguably most important task that would kick off the project would be to hold a meeting with the Digital Arts Club in which I planned to pitch the idea of the show, give an official set list along with rough visuals for each song for the artists to reference, and talk a small bit about featuring one other performer to play keyboard and rap on two songs in the set. Oliver was my rock throughout the initial stages of planning this show and it wouldn’t have succeeded on the scale that it did if he didn’t help me. For reference, here’s a snappy little list of the things that he did to help me prepare for this meeting and beyond:

Oliver helped me prepare the documentation for the meeting by taking note of what I had already written down and organizing it into a template that I could flesh out in time for the meeting. This allowed me to take the grandiose vision I had of the show that made me overwhelmed in the past and ground it in reality; what can actually be achieved on a low budget by college students.
He helped me narrow down the initial set list which was massive in my documentation. He encouraged me to only pick a handful of songs I liked. Once we had decided on the songs, we ordered them into sections based on what games they were from (Persona 3 songs would go first, then Persona 4 songs, then Persona 5 songs) and marked which ones would have instrumental accompaniment or feature another performer. After the list was cut down the set had 11 songs, but I was going to have Oliver feature as a violinist for two songs and would later on recruit Joe to do keyboard and rapping parts.
During the initial meeting, Oliver redirected me whenever I went on tangents regarding music production, recruiting performers, or theatrics. Since this meeting was with the club that was going to be doing visuals for us, everything else had to be kept to a minimum. I didn’t have a lot of experience conducting meetings so this was incredibly helpful.
Oliver took on the role of logistics coordinator as he chose to handle the club council interactions that would allow us to reserve and decorate the space for the event as needed.

Space Reservations

Oliver had a bit of trouble getting a hold of club council to schedule a meeting for reserving a space for the concert. When we thought we had secured a date, it ended up being moved around a couple times until we could get in contact with them. We showed up with our documentation and I described what kind of stage, decorations, and refreshments we might want for the show. We were looking to hold it in the ARC some time during spring quarter. They gave us a couple dates and times we could reserve the ARC for the concert and the best one was on May 30th. During hell week. The show would literally be put on during the time of the quarter where people are hunkering down to catch up on schoolwork or studying for finals. Neither of us wanted it because we knew we’d be risking low attendance but it was the best option they gave us so we took it. All that was left to do was actually get ready for the show and a big part of that was practicing.

I had scheduled a when2meet with the two of them and asked Oliver to reserve the usability studio in the discovery hall for us to practice. He was able to reserve the usability studio for the next month up until the show, which was good, but also very stressful because we would only have a month to practice. Because we’d be only playing some parts from the musescore arrangements I prepared, I exported the audio of the parts that wouldn’t be played and put them in a timeline on GarageBand so we could play along to them. Before our reservation of the media space started, I was able to get Joe to practice with me on campus outside of the library. Which was pretty fun as we gave the campus a little sneak peek into what we had prepared.

Creating Key Visuals for Artists

Gearing up for the show, I also had to create a more organized mood board of visuals for the artists. I created a chaotic set of potential visuals in the meeting notes, but the artists creating the visuals wanted a more specific set of references to work with so I decided to create a canva presentation which was basically one massive moodboard. Since the entire set list would have three sections categorized by songs from a singular game, I wanted the visuals to reflect that heavily. The presentation I ended up creating consisted of the following:

A slide denoting each section of the set list and a color palette to go with the corresponding Persona game
Default visuals for each section
Specific visuals to transition from one section to the next.

Both of the artists I had recruited were in their senior year working on their capstone projects so it was very important to emphasize which parts would require the most effort and which ones they could cut corners on.

Advertising

As the concert date creeped closer and closer, advertising became a much more concerning factor. And a big part of that was coming up with an official name for the concert. I had always referred to it as the Persona concert but Oliver thought that was uninspired so we sent out a Google form for people to suggest what the name of the concert should be. We got a lot of suggestions ranging from ones that I thought really captured the essence of the show and its set list to very funny ones. Eventually, I decided to make a list of my top 5 and originally, the name I had chosen for the show was at the very bottom of the list. But it rose to the top quickly when I had drafted a poster design that I thought would complement the name well. The next step was to actually make official posters.

I had planned on designing the posters in Clip Studio Paint as I thought at the time that would make the advertising process go by faster. For reference, the show was over a month away and I was looking at getting 3-4 weeks of advertising. I then had to bite the bullet as I realized I still had backing tracks to finish mixing at the time and tried to lend the task over to the Digital Arts Club. They denied the request to make the poster since they had only agreed to do visuals as part of their collaboration, but redirected me to the Multimedia Graphic Designers. With the help of Oliver, I filled out a form that described what logos we would need on the poster, the poster colors, along with a google drive link of the draft design I had sketched. After communicating with the graphic designer and waiting for her revisions, I got a result I was proud of and it was time to start putting up posters on campus. CEB was advertising a prom event which was happening around a similar time so we made sure to post our flyers next to theirs. We also got sandwich boards, one of which we put outside the library and another of which was outside the ARC. For online spaces, we posted the flier in the Bothell Beats discord, the UWB discord, the Digital Arts Club discord, and other respective UWB club servers such as Husky Gaming Club and Husky Game Dev. I also made sure to post about it on my personal Instagram account once the final draft of the poster was finished along with a very heartfelt description.

What The Show Was Like

Actually doing the concert was an incredible experience. Pretty much all of my friends were there and considering that the show was held during dead week, we got pretty good attendance. The audience gave me such joy and made it such an incredible experience. It was transcendental almost. I had so much anxiety about whether people would enjoy the show, how I would be perceived on stage, but in the moment, it felt like so much of that didn’t matter and all the work I had put in paid off. I did what I always wanted to do: to share music from my favorite video game series with the people I love, to perform songs that mean so much to me. And finally, I finally had the perfect outlet for that. But more importantly, I finished a large scale project which is such a rare accomplishment for me and I had put on a major performance after so many years. I was reminded of what I love about performing, the adrenaline rush of being on stage, the comradery felt in connecting with an audience, and just an overall ability to be myself, physically and mentally. Not just that, but an ability to feel in tune with myself, which is something I don’t get very often being a busy college student.

Reflection and Conclusion

Most of the things that I wish could have been better don’t necessarily correlate with the end product itself, but more so with the process. I wish I could have started earlier and allowed my vision of the show to be more malleable to constraints and resources in the beginning. I’d rather reverse engineer my way to a possible final result than thinking everything must match the exact vision I have in my mind and forcing myself to be perfect in the process. I think my perfectionist mindset and my executive dysfunction definitely fed off of each other in that regard for the entire project. I also wish I could’ve prioritized this project rather than forcing myself to do a million things at the same time because many parts of this project took up more space in my life than I initially thought I would. I’d also want to make sure to stay in contact with any mentors that could help me during the initial stages. The last thing, I seriously wish I could’ve delegated more tasks to people than forcing myself to do almost everything. While the Digital Arts Club was working on visuals and Oliver was handling a lot of logistics, I was left with pretty much everything else and that was extremely overwhelming. Even in regards to little things like mixing tracks or transcribing sheet music, I think I should’ve accepted help more quickly so I could focus on being a better leader. Even with all of the things that I would do differently next time, this project was a major success in regards to learning leadership skills, helping Bothell Beats cross new frontiers, and most importantly performing the music of a video game series that allowed me to pursue my true self. And yes, that is a Persona reference.

Library Voices

Category: UW Bothell & Cascadia College Campus