Juggling classes and work could be difficult if it is your first year or you are a transfer student. It is especially difficult to meet new people at a new school.

Since CSUN is a campus in which most people are on -the-go and involved with a million other things besides school, it is hard to just walk up to someone and expect them to have time for you.

But, like anything else, it takes some time to adjust to an environment such as CSUN and it definitely takes a little bit of effort when it comes to getting to know people in your classes or anywhere on campus.

You could just walk up to people you do not know and try to introduce yourself and be friendly but we all know this is not an easy thing to do, and most people won’t give you the time of day. They may even look at you like you are weird for not being as busy as they are.

Being a CSUN student myself, I am well aware of the difficulties of meeting people and how hard adjusting to college life can be. So in my own experiences, miscues and failures, I would like to give five tips CSUN students can use to meet people on campus.

1. Do not assume that other people do not want to talk to you. If you are interested in someone, be assertive and say hello. This may seem odd to some people because they are not used to someone being forward, but you may be surprised to find that people can be friendly. Introducing yourself to someone is the easiest and simplest way to break the ice. Sometimes an introduction sets the stage for the next time you run into the person. The next time you see each other it will be easier to start a conversation. You could then meet after class and talk in detail about your classes or assignments.

2. After you have broken the ice and have a good conversation, ask them if they would like to study with you sometime. Set a time and place, such as Starbucks or the Freudian Sip on campus. Welcome him or her to bring other friends along top make things more fun and social.

3. During the weekends, several plays and musicals are put on by CSUN. You can you can ask people to join you or you can go on your own if you want to meet people at the shows.

4. The Satellite Student Union has a pub where you can hang out. This place was made so that people could socialize. The environment makes it easier for people to initiate conversations with strangers.

5. If you know anyone that lives in the dorms or you live in the dorms, you can have parties or soirees, and invite people you’ve met on campus to just hang out. Of course, you should not attempt to have these parties until you are comfortable enough with the people you have just met.

Why go through your years here at CSUN not knowing anybody or solely keeping to your own “click?” College is about meeting new people with different interests and from different cultures.

Make college life easier by opening up and saying, “Hi, how are you?” instead of acting as if people around you do not exist.

Elisha Burke can be reached at spotlight.sundial@csun.edu