I love going to stores and viewing the house-ware departments, slowly drooling over the kitchen supplies and storage items I do not need but wish I could place in my imaginary apartment. I only recently got an old desk moved into my already cramped room and needed some sort of shelving system under it to store books and whatnot. Problem was, the specific dimensions I needed and particulars I wanted the shelving to have was almost impossible to find. 28″ high and 14″ wide, shelving so no drawers, something I could stack or take apart. And finally, preferably plastic since wood was hard to maneuver.

I went to Target, Staples, Kmart, Costco, even 99 cents stores. I had no ride to Ikea and after weeks of searching last night I finally gave in to the pile of books scattered on the floor that consisted of sketchbooks, school books, folders, library books, and memo pads. I found cardboard boxes and stacked them accordingly. Tetris at its finest.

So there was my solution: DIY poor man’s shelving. But it does the job.The books are stacked on the desk and below and everything is organized. So you never HAVE to spend money on storage items, even though they do help. For temporary cases it never hurts to be creative. Even people who buy actual items from Ikea have found ways to manipulate them to serve their purposes.

For other DIY furniture needs, or even just regular dorm (or dorm sized) items, CampusClipper is here to help with a coupon for Ace Hardware. Keep saving my DIY friends.

Sophia, Rochester Institute of Technology

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The first New York I knew wasn’t a cramped café or an avenue with expensive stores.  It was a street where all the houses were too close to each other.  It was a street where the neighbors sat on their porch, front yard barbeques blazing.  It was where kids played ball and where drivers honked just trying to get through.  It was a few blocks away from a grocery store with familiar provisions from our home country.  It was a street where everyone knew each other by their nick names.

I moved to New York with my family at the beginning of high school.  My family settled in Queens because we had relatives there.  It was a comfort for me to know that I had a few cousins nearby and it was a comfort to my mother to have a grocery store nearby where she could get most of the provisions that were native to our country; cassavas, eddoes, bitter melon and jackfruit.

The move to New York seemed at first impossible to imagine.  I didn’t quite know what to expect, but for me, it was an easier transition to live in Queens first.  This fast paced city could be overwhelming for anyone who isn’t used to  city life.  I came to know the city on my own terms.  I did the forty minute commute into the city for college and for work.  I didn’t mind it at all.  I still don’t mind it.  After a few intervals of living elsewhere, I moved back to Queens.  I enjoy the city but I also enjoy living just outside of the city, close enough to commute.

I have the best of both worlds and wouldn’t have it any other way.  I live in a quaint and quiet neighborhood.  I can see the city from the rooftop of my building in the midst of clouds and tall trees.  Sometimes I reach my hand out and feel just how close I am to one of the greatest cities in the world.

So for those of you who are still getting adjusted to the city or find it overwhelming, there are other boroughs just adjacent to the city that could be convenient and enjoyable.  New York City is amazing and there is so much life, culture, entertainment and memorable things to do, but the boroughs of the city could be rewarding in other ways.

While you are still exploring the city, check out the Campus Clipper for coupons for some great places to eat.

Rona, Columbia University, School of General Studies.

Rona, Columbia University, School of General Studies

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Click here  to download the Campus Clipper iTunes App!

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Interested in more deals for students? Sign up for our bi-weekly newsletter to get the latest in student discounts and promotions. For savings on-the-go, download our printable coupon e-book!

My history in the kitchen is a blurred series of chaos and smoke.  I’m the one that was responsible for burning the brownies, overcooking the chicken and apologizing  a million times for ruining dinner.  But I was never discouraged.  I kept on burning, setting off smoke alarms and apologizing until I began to get it right.  My grandmother, aunts and mother are all great cooks.  I assumed that the talent would be an innate trait and I couldn’t quite grasp why I was so off.  I was clumsy in the kitchen for a long time, unlike the women in my family, who made cooking seem so effortless.  Even my brother got it right way before I did.  That annoyed me a bit.  So it took me a bit longer.  For me, it was a matter of practice, trials and errors and patience. The key, I figured out, was to cook things I like to eat.

A midst the smell of burnt steak that was to be my father’s dinner, I realized that I wasn’t cooking things I like to eat.  And that smokey revelation was the beginning of my cooking success story.  So I began with the simple delights that make me happy- lentils, stews, pasta and soup.  With that, I began to finally get it right.  Now I’m good at cooking the things I like, and sharing it with the people I love.  And I’m slowly venturing towards bigger tasks like, lasagna and creamed spinach, and I’m having some success.

I love to cook.  And it’s always fun when I find a coupon for great supermarkets like Wholefoods.

Rona, Columbia University School of General Studies

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Click here  to download the Campus Clipper iTunes App!

Follow Campus Clipper on Twitter or keep current by liking us on Facebook

Interested in more deals for students? Sign up for our bi-weekly newsletter to get the latest in student discounts and promotions. For savings on-the-go, download our printable coupon e-book!

‘Man on a Ledge’  premiered yesterday in theaters across the world. The film starring Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell, Ed Harris, and Edward Burns, has been one of the mot anticipated releases for 2012. When I first saw the previews in theaters, I found myself counting down the days until its premiere.

When January 27 finally arrived,  I got my boyfriend and a group of our closest friends for a Friday night group date, which is the best way (in my opinion) to enjoy a movie of this sort. The ironic thing about this group date was that everyone involved, except for my boyfriend and I, studied criminal justice at John Jay, which actually made the outing so much more enjoyable and interesting.

Before I go to see a movie I always check out the reviews, just to get an idea of what to expect. For this film, the reviews were slightly dismal and made me a bit skeptical. But naturally all my friends wanted to see it, so I had no problem paying to see it as well because I was in such good company.

Now, for those of you who are not familiar with the film ‘Man on a Ledge,’ here is a quick synopsis fromMovieFone:

In the heart-pounding thriller ‘Man on a Ledge’, Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthington) makes a desperate and life-threatening move to prove his innocence after he is framed for the theft of a rare, prized diamond. Recently escaped from prison and with nowhere else to go, Nick climbs onto the ledge of a towering skyscraper, inviting the eyes of New York City to anxiously watch as one wrong step could mean plunging to his death. But as one police negotiator soon learns, Nick’s daredevil stunt, captivating the eyes of the public and media, masks a dangerous ploy to reveal the truth about his tarnished name. With the help of his brother and with time running out, Nick’s intricate plan must work perfectly, but when you’re on the 25th floor ledge of a building, going down takes on an entirely more hair-raising meaning.

I would give this movie 4 out of 5 stars.  From the start of the movie, I was drawn into the plot. One would think the story line to be cliched and predictable because there are so many movies about people trying to prove their innocence, but there are tons of twist and turns in this movie that you wouldn’t expect. What I also enjoyed about this movie was the fact that there were bits of comedic relief during moments of suspense in the film. What kept me from giving this movie a 5 was the fact that I was left with a lot of questions at the end about a few things that happened in the plot and about a few of the characters.

Although I enjoyed the movie, I thought my John Jay friends would be the movie’s harshest critics but to my surprise they all enjoyed it and one of them even said that movie reminded them of why they chose this career path in the first place. I speak for all of us when I recommend seeing this film.

If you can’t see the film this week, but would love to have a movie night with a group of your closest friends, here is a coupon for DVD Funhouse (click the photo for a printable page):

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