Saving cash in college

So you’re in college now, and the odds are pretty high that your money situation is less than ideal. Welcome to the ranks of poor college students everywhere.

Being in school, even if you’re a full-time student, is all-consuming.

Between going to class, doing homework and projects, writing papers and studying for tests, there is little time for much else. On top of that, in order to pay for school and things like food, clothing and rent in many cases, you have to balance work.

While some still live at home with parents, many others have apartments and are often found lacking in the cash department.

Going to school doesn’t exactly leave your schedule open for a full-time job, and even if you have one, without the education you are currently pursuing, the jobs available to you are more than likely going to offer minimum wage or only slightly more.

So how do you survive when everything costs money? Start with a budget, and then get creative.

If you save 10 percent of everything you make it adds up pretty quickly and enables you to buy things you could not otherwise afford, such as a new iPhone or a cute new bag.

Food tends to take over more of your money than you probably realize. If you’re eating at fast food restaurants, on campus at the Freudian Sip or at food trucks, buying snacks from vending machines and going to Starbucks a few times a week, it can make an impact, leaving you without money for a majority of other things you need at home.

Try shopping for your food and snacks in bulk and bringing food with you instead of buying as you go. Impulse buys might seem good at the time but a typical vending machine snack costs a dollar or two. If you buy a box of granola bars or fruit snacks, you will pay only 20 to 35 cents per item.

Likewise, a banana at Starbucks costs a dollar, but if you buy them from Trader Joe’s, you can get five bananas for that dollar.

It’s easy to make your own food and save money that way, but saving when you want to add variety to your wardrobe can feel impossible. Secondhand stores are a good option, but many people don’t want to go on a hunt for something decent or they feel weird about wearing a stranger’s old clothes.

Instead, organize a clothing swap party. Get a bunch of friends together and have everyone bring five items of clothing or accessories that they no longer wear or want. Put all the items on display, and then take turns picking out new items, drawing numbers to see who gets to choose first. Everyone walks away with something new, and best of all: you have fun while saving money.

-Corrections-

Volume 120 Issue: 1

Page 1: “Pierce Ap” should read “PierceAPS”

Page 2: The Poll was conducted by Nadine Gostantin and Stacey Arevalo.

Classes where teachers are willfully lenient in grading and in turn use their time as an opportunity to advertise their own personal events outside of school do not provide a meaningful experience for those enrolled. An immediate conflict of interest exists if the faculty member is more concerned with filling seats at an event as opposed to actually teaching.

A teacher who begins to make statements about his or her personal beliefs anywhere outside of a class specifically discussing that subject has deviated from anything relevant. Students might mistake this ranting for information which will show up on a test.

Why should anyone have to sit through a class where the material being lectured on amounts to nothing more than an advertisements for something which is in no way related to the coursework? At best it can be merely entertaining, and at worst it’s like being a captive audience to a bad performance.

Professors should not advocate beliefs by representing them as valid theories. Suggesting validity in the works of disreputable unqualified authors on subject matters scientific will lead students to make false assertions.

When a student reports this behavior it needs to be taken seriously. The current policy has room for improvement; advisers should be able to conduct investigations into cases without prompting the student to sacrifice anonymity. This way the whistleblower can avoid the wrath of a professor scorned, as students who openly disagree with a professor’s personal belief run a risk of having their grades affected.

Rules to prevent this behavior exist for the protection of students. They need to be enforced. As an accredited institution, Pierce College has a good name to protect. To preserve it, immediate intervention in cases of a professor abusing his or her place in the classroom must become the standard operating procedure.

A quality professor should be able to pursue academic freedom without preaching to students or promoting their own events wherein there exists a vested interest. Those who cannot separate those worlds are not qualified to teach at Pierce College.

Restrooms fail to deliver relief to student body

Opinion

Jessica Boyer jboyer.roundupnews@gmail.com

Another typical day passes by at college, and while the professor is droning on about the endoplasmic reticulum someone in class inevitably can only think about the incessant, distracting urge to scurry to the restroom.

Class finally ends and students make their way to the door, but one leaps out of their seat, walking as fast as possible, without looking ridiculous, to the nearest restroom.

Arriving to hover over the porcelain throne because of a lack of seatcovers, waves of relief wash over, and as a hand reaches for the toilet paper, fingers grasp into the air at nothing. Because there isn’t any toilet paper. There isn’t even a paper towel. It’s a case of poorly maintained restroom facilities, and for the student captive in the paperless stall, all hope is lost. At Pierce College, this is a frequent occurrence. Not only is there a lack of toiletries, but overall maintenance can’t keep up with the needs of the student body.

People want to spent time in the restroom without the worry of being unprotected from a toilet seat that is writhing with millions of worm-like bacteria. Students don’t want to be confronted with overflowing trash cans, clogged toilets and a lack of paper towels. It’s a major inconvenience to the students when the campus restrooms are lacking essentials.

There are several resolutions one may contrive to the matter of unkempt restrooms, but some can be put in place immediately to help alleviate the issues students face.

The campus must implement new maintenance schedules to replace the paper towels, toilet paper, seat covers and soap which properly accommodate student needs. Scheduling staff to maintain these facilities more often would surely improve the appearance and functionality of the restrooms.

The students have a responsibility to aid the school in the upkeep and cleanliness of the campus restrooms, because really, the students are the ones who use them the most. People should flush the toilet and throw away their trash in the respective trash cans. This includes paper towels, toilet paper and toilet seat covers.

Together we can make a difference, even one as small as contributing to the cleanliness of our beloved campus restrooms. It’s not ok to throw garbage onto the ground, and taking personal responsibility is a way to avoid this. Ultimately the facilities need to be well maintained by both the staff and those using them.

-COMIC STRIP-

News Briefs

- Compiled by Tracy Wright

Anthropology Lecture Series [3/13]

The Anthropology department will host Erica Vogel for their third lecture in a series, titled “K-pop in Mexico: Flashmobs, Gender Norms, and Global Desire,” The lecture is on Thursday, March 13 from 1-2 p.m. in Behavioral Science Room 1308.

HIV/AIDS Awareness Week [3/17-3/27]

HIV/AIDS Awareness Week begins March 17 through March 27 and speakers will be available to visit classes and discuss their experiences.

There will be free HIV testing in Parking Lot 1 on March 24 through March 27. For more information, contact the Student Health Center at 818710-4270.

Farm Center Fun

The Pierce Farm Center will open on Saturday, March 15 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. offering fresh local fare. Movies on the Farm will begin Friday, April 4th from 5-10 p.m.

Media Arts Department recognized at banquet

Students journalists with the Roundup and the Bull Magazine won several awards from the California College Media Association.

The following students won awards:

1st place news photo, Kristen

Aslanian

2nd place A&E story, Kate

Noah

2nd place features photo, Bobak Radbin 3rd place magazine website, thebullmag.com

Incident Report

2/28 - Student incident - A Pierce football player was attacked at his home by a fellow teammate. The victim reported the incident to the Pierce Sheriff and the Los Angeles Police Department.

3/3 - Vandalism - An unknown suspect scratched a student’s car with an unknown object in Parking Lot 6.

3/3 - Petty theft - An unknown suspect stole a Pierce College Media Arts Department camera from Room 8300 in the Village.

3/3 - Vandalism - An unknown suspect scratched a student’s vehicle with an unknown object in Parking Lot 1.

March 2 - March 8

– Compiled by Genna Gold

3/4 - Student ill - A paramedic was called to Village 8407 for an ill student who was transported to the hospital.

Program paves accelerated path to Cal. State Northridge

General Education Paths plan assists students with a seamless transfer route

Meghan McGillicuddy Roundup Reporter

Pierce College is offering a program that will make it easier for students to transfer to Cal. State University, Northridge. The General Education Paths program is an attempt to make transferring to CSUN more efficient and timely. Students who enroll in the program will take courses that are tailored to certain educational routes.

“The idea of the Paths program is for students to complete at least some of their transfer requirements in a thematic way, so the GE experience is not disconnected,” Mia Wood, an assessment coordinator for the program, said.

It will take a student about two years to complete a path, according to Dr. Raymond Lim, the lead faculty coordinator. Students can take more than one path at a time, however Lim discourages this because it is more time consuming.

Right now, these paths include: aesthetics and culture, global studies, health and wellness, social justice, and sustainability, according to the GE Paths webpage.

“By going through these paths, it will help students to appreciate what we offer because it will help make sense of the classes they take,” Lim said.

Anne Bruzzese, one of the assessment coordinators of the GE Paths program, agreed with Lim’s statement.

“This kind of program encourages a deeper understanding of the complexity of real life issues, as well as unintended consequences of solutions offered from just one discipline’s perspective,” Bruzzese said.