Don’t call yourself broke so flippantly
Posted February 29, 2012 at 9:32 pm in Columns, Opinion
College students face many struggles. Deadlines, essays and exams can really weigh a person down.
But I can’t understand students who complain about not having money.
Finding an impoverished student in any USC classroom is difficult. Maybe it’s the flood of illuminated Apple symbols emanating from the $1200 laptops, or maybe the rows of $200 longboards.
It’s also difficult finding the struggling student when walking through the campus center plaza. Boxes from Seeds Marketplace and California Pizza Kitchen lie on every table. Has anyone contracted scurvy yet from subsisting entirely on ramen noodles?
Maybe the true issue is the frugality of the student.
According to DegreeCentral.com, students in the United States spend approximately $10.5 billion a school year.
Of this $10.5 billion, 40 percent goes to extra funds — electronics, traveling and social life — while only 4 percent goes to books and supplies. Make no mistake about it: The occasional bout of binge drinking burns through funds.
The starving student is nothing more than a luxury-seeking scholar, spending too much money on fad headphones and smartphones while complaining about being broke.
Realistically speaking, it is near impossible to not spend money in a college environment. The quick bite to eat relieves you from cooking and it saves time. For many students, the weekend isn’t complete without a drink. If there’s free cable, the apartment will obviously need a television.
Budgeting and wise spending leads to savings, eliminating the common complaint of not having any money. Before taking these steps, however, students should refrain from calling themselves broke.
We should at least wait until we’re debt-ridden alumni.
Andrew Gomez is a senior majoring in philosophy politics and law. His column “Bête Noire” runs every other Thursday.
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I hate to be so nit-picky, but I think you’re playing into the University of Spoiled Children stereotype. Not all of the students are here can afford to be here. Personally, I have no one helping me out–I had to get scholarships, grants and get loans co-signed by a family friend because my own family refused to do so. I then had to get a job just to pay for the gas to get here and for that food you so derisively mention (perhaps the issue is the fact that food on campus is waaaay to expensive and buying it does make us students broke). I’m sorry, when I complain about being broke I literally mean that I have no money in my bank account, wallet or in my piggy bank at home. Sometimes I’m too broke to afford the gas to make it to school and have to sit at home, trying to study on my own. And most of the time, when I can make it to campus I walk around hungry because I have NO money. I know that I’m not the only one. Don’t assume so much. You aren’t fixing anything by criticizing people, maybe the next time someone complains about being broke you should ask what they mean and not assume everyone to be so sheltered.