Alyssa Pekarek
My favorite place to visit at Cal Poly Pomona is the Japanese Garden near the rose garden gazebo. There is a sizable reflective pond, a flowing waterfall, pathways, and other attractions that can be found in the landscape. There are plenty of koi fish to watch swimming around the pond, unique nature to look at, and a cool bridge to take photos of and walk across. Some of the nature includes bonsai trees, lily pads floating around the pond, and a fair share of different bushes. The Japanese Zen Garden blooms with traditional Asian flora, creating a modest oasis of calm in the middle of campus.
According to Jennifer Parsons in “Paradise Found,” the Aratanis' significant contribution helped restore an original natural spring-fed pond on campus into an authentic Japanese garden, which inspired the university to name the garden after them. Takeo Uesugi, a scholar of environmental design at Cal Poly Pomona, developed the Aratani Garden. He is also the lead landscaping designer for the Torrance Cultural Arts Center's Pine Wind Japanese Garden. For his effort on the Japanese garden at the cultural arts complex, he received an architectural prize. Designers went to the Recreation Park in Long Beach several times to ensure their layouts fit well with the city's scenery and the park's surroundings. They also worked with the Yokkaicha Sister City Association and the Long Beach Department of Parks, Recreation, and Marine.
The Japanese Zen Garden is the first place I think of visiting when I feel stressed and want to decompress while attending class on campus. This year, in 2021, is the first year back on campus after COVID-19 took over. So far, every day this semester that I was on campus, I have visited the Japanese Zen Garden to remind myself that while education can be stressful at times, you should still find the time to relax and appreciate the environment around you. This way, I do not let school overwhelm me, and I can take some personal time to relax. While I love being on campus and think that I get more out of my education through in-person classes, I think attending in-person campus during the fall semester of 2021 was premature. I believe that the spring semester of 2022 should have been the first term of in-person classes with the option of a zoom-class replacement if students did not feel comfortable being on campus. Then the fall semester of 2022 should be the first semester of fully in-person classes.
Right now, I have my classes set up in such a way that I can attend all my in-person classes on Mondays so that I only have to commute to campus once a week. This means that I have stacked my classes back-to-back from 08:00 AM to 05:15 PM on Monday and Wednesdays, which helps me save money on gas because I have a sixty-mile commute. However, due to taking eighteen units this semester, I have classes Monday through Friday. The Tuesday through Friday classes are all on zoom which is extremely helpful to not only my budget but mental health. I dread being on campus on Mondays because there are not many food options available. Because I have stacked my classes back-to-back, and the campus restaurants are only open from 11:00 am to 02:00 PM, I am unable to have breakfast or lunch while on campus. If I do not bring a packed breakfast and lunch, I would not have any choice but to wait till my classes are over to obtain a meal.
If the on-campus restaurants were open longer and the ordering process was more user-friendly (students must order through online apps to buy food on campus), I would enjoy being back on campus this semester. While I am not enjoying the in-person classes this semester, I think that it is a good thing Cal Poly Pomona decided to try in-person classes out. This way, when next semester rolls around, the small issues, like my food situation, can be worked out for the spring 2022 semester, especially for the students that have classes stacked back-to-back like I will be doing again due to my long commute.
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