Ring declined to reveal how many police departments it is currently serving, but according to one police memo dated April 22, 2019, “over 225 law enforcement agencies” are engaged in partnerships with Ring, which was snatched up by Amazon in April last year. Through these contractual relationships, Ring grants police access to an online platform—or “portal”— which can be used to acquire video footage captured by Ring’s doorbell surveillance cameras. However, the footage can only be obtained with the permission of the device’s owner, who must also be a user of the company’s “neighborhood watch app,” called Neighbors. […]
Because there are already thousands of Ring users in major cities across the U.S., one of Ring’s primary goals in its police partnerships is encouraging existing customers to download Neighbors. To ensure that police stay on message when promoting the app, or answering questions about it, Ring not only provides police departments with talking points but widely seeks to secure contracts that grant it the absolute right to approve all police statements about its services.
Contracts and other documents obtained from police departments in three states show that Ring pre-writes almost all of the messages shared by police across social media, and attempts to legally obligate police to give the company final say on all statements about its products, even those shared with the press. (In exchange, police are also given the ability to approve any Ring press releases that directly reference the partnering police agency.)
Pick a new study space (a library you haven’t visited before, a coffee shop perhaps, or rearrange your room a bit so that it looks different)
Keep up with your health
Eat well
SLEEP
Exercise, even if it’s just for a few minutes everyday
DID I MENTION SLEEP
Don’t spend all your time studying, remember that you can only be productive for so long before you start to get tired. Don’t study while you’re tired - you’re probably not going to remember anything. Take breaks and do something that doesn’t require mental effort during your breaks
Like listening to music (unless your assignment involves music, then don’t)
Making yourself a snack
Reading a magazine
Read for fun. Preferably something that still makes you think, like a pop sci article or a political debate. If you’re taking a lot of classes in one particular area (humanities, social sciences, STEM, etc.) it will be good to read articles in a different field.
Pay attention to your personal appearance. At some point in the semester you might end up wearing the same jeans and sweatshirt every. single. day. for a week (am I guilty of this? ahahahaha) but for many of us, putting a little extra effort in to our appearance (I’m not talking anything crazy, just 5 mins in the morning, although u can go longer if u want to) can really help.
Stay productive over vacations and breaks. Wow there have been so many times when I’ve returned from winter / summer vacation and oh my have I forgotten how to function. Staying a little bit productive (reading fun books, magazines, volunteering, doing something you enjoy) will help. Actually, you don’t even have to be that productive. But at least avoid a 5AM-2PM sleep schedule. (am I guilty of that too? y o u b e t)
Here is a masterpost of MOOCs (massive open online courses) that are available, archived, or starting soon. I think they will help those that like to learn with a teacher or with videos. You can always check the audit course or no certificate option so that you can learn for free.
