Residence staff at Bear Hall hosted What Color is Math?, a hands-on presentation where students learned study tips and how to create a Bullet Journal Sept. 28. 

Bullet Journals are a trademarked “mindfulness practice designed as a productivity system” according to bulletjournal.com. 

Kaitlyn Smith, a resident assistant in Bear Hall, led the presentation. 

“I’m the programming assistant this year,” Smith said. “So that’s kind of my whole job, is to put on programs for the residents here.”

The presentation was open to all residents in Bear Hall and is part of the residential curriculum, which includes monthly presentations such as this one.

“I actually started Bullet Journaling in high school just for fun. It was kind of the popular thing to do at the time that I kept seeing on social media,” Smith said. “Last year, I was a resident assistant and I got the chance to do this program and it was kind of a fail, so I wanted to bring it back this year with a little bit more oomph.” 

Housing staff gave free journals to the first 10 students to arrive and after the presentation attendees could decorate their journals with art supplies. 

Smith showed two YouTube videos explaining the process of Bullet Journaling and different ways you can organize the journal. She also shared study tips before letting students loose to decorate and organize their journals.

Students sat around tables in the lobby of Bear Hall and used art supplies to personalize their journals while residence life staff asked them about their schedules and what goals they had.

Jason Sparkman, a sophomore computer science major in attendance, said he wanted to use his journal to help get “all my homework and stuff done, on time and right,” and said he was keeping the design “as simple as possible.” 

Freshman Kortnee Sykes said one of her goals with her bullet journal is to “lose weight.” 

Smith said promoting the event on Instagram and in campus group chats, as well as hanging up posters and sending RAs door to door in Bear Hall inviting residents, led to a greater turnout for the presentation than last year.

“I’m very happy with the turnout,” Smith said. “For our second program this year, it’s been very well.”

Other residence life staff were at the program assisting Smith and talking with attendees such as Kendra Erickson, a residence life coordinator who helped Smith procure supplies for the program.

Erickson said, “My resident assistants tell me what program they want to do and get a shopping list. I say ‘OK, here’s what we can do,’ and figure out where to buy it.”

“I really try to let them have free rein to organize,” Erickson said. “I talk to campus partners, like I reached out to the Office of Student Success to get some of their tips and tricks on organizing schedules.”

Erickson, who graduated from UCA in May with a master’s degree in college student personnel administration, said she Bullet Journals occasionally.

“Definitely not as much anymore, but when I was a student I would do that as well as Google Calendar,” she said.

Smith said she hopes more students will attend events in their residence halls.

“Come to the programs in your residence halls, a lot of thought and a lot of attention goes into them,” Smith said. “Your student staff are students too and they really just want to get to know you and help you succeed.”

Bear Hall will host another program for residents next month. To keep up with Bear Hall, follow them on Instagram @ucabearhall.