Heavy rain drenched Los Angeles Monday and Tuesday, bringing 1.5 to 2.5 inches of rainfall and triggering flash flood warnings.
Dr. Sarah Van Orman, the chief health officer for USC Student Health, in a student health briefing, urged students to have an emergency preparedness plan and supplies.
Students, however, see the storm as manageable.
Stella Badrutt-Baer, a music industry major from New York, said Los Angeles rain hardly compares to what she’s used to at home, and that a rainy day does not “ruin the appeal of Southern California.”
Fine Arts major Erika Novitsky said attending class simply required preparation.
“I mean, yeah, I have an umbrella,” she said, describing her easy decision to head out despite the weather.
While she acknowledged it would take “a crazy storm” to keep her home, Novitsky said there is “a bit of humor in going to class and suffering with your peers” on rainy days.
She added that the storm makes her feel “really relaxed” and productive indoors.
Other students raised practical concerns. Cade Huggins, a business administration major, said some elevators in his building were shut down due to the weather, calling it a “little minor inconvenience.”
Still, Huggins, as a native Angeleno, said he enjoys the rare rainfall.
“We don’t get a whole lot of rain,” he said, adding that he appreciates the greenery that follows.
Rainy weather can affect mood or motivation, said Dr. Steven Siegal, chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the Keck School of Medicine and USC’s chief mental health and wellness officer. However, Siegal clarified that a few days of rain are unlikely to have significant psychological effects.
“We don’t really see a lot of that here,” said Siegal. “The seasons in Los Angeles are greatly attenuated relative to other places.”
However, Siegal said that if students are feeling overwhelmed or simply want someone to talk to, mental health services are readily available on campus.
“USC has, without a doubt, and I say this without hubris or exaggeration, the best student mental health program in the world,” said Siegal. “There’s certainly no other university in the United States that’s even close.”
The Department of Psychiatry has 100 faculty members and they only provide services to USC students.
One specific feature in USC psychiatry programming that Dr. Siegal noted was the Mental Health Assessment, a “proactive, adaptive testing platform,” according to him.
Every year, USC sends emails to all students to take the eight-to-ten minute assessment. Upon completion, students receive an instant presumptive diagnosis and severity score, as well as links to appropriate services based on their answers.
Siegal calls it a “labor of love.”
As rain continues and midterms approach, Siegal encourages students to take advantage of the available resources.
Heavy rain conditions are expected to last until Thursday, but mental health resources are available to students year-round.