While in college, one of my friends liked to brag that her boyfriend was quite a catch. When he mysteriously checked in to the campus health clinic one day, she seemed distraught, but oddly embarrassed. An STD? I wondered silently.

Finally, she confessed the truth. He’d been admitted–for scurvy.

Scurvy?! I exclaimed. How on earth had he gotten scurvy in this day and age? Wasn’t that what pirates used to suffer from when they were on the high sea for weeks?

Yes, she explained patiently. But you could also develop scurvy due to a lack of vitamin C in your diet. Apparently, her “quite a catch” boyfriend had been subsisting on Ramen noodles and peanut butter sandwiches for the past semester.

I was shocked, but oddly complacent with myself. Obviously, I had enough common sense to pick up an orange and eat it. After all, oranges weren’t that much more expensive than peanut butter sandwiches. Yet….I later realized my diet wasn’t much of an improvement over the boyfriend’s.

After discovering “Rich’s” (Let’s call him “Rich” to protect his identity) malady, I sat down and wrote a list of everything I’d eaten that week. The list turned out to be pretty pathetic. Apparently, I was eating a lot of fast food. Aside from the enormous amount of calories I was taking in each day, double cheeseburgers and fries weren’t exactly bursting with vitamins. Yeah, I was drinking a High-C Orange with my meal, but it wasn’t the same as buying a fresh piece of fruit. After studying the list, I resolved to make a change to my diet. But how could I eat healthy while also staying within my meager budget?

Then it hit me. Subway.

Technically, Subway is fast food. You can walk in and out of the little sandwich shop in under 15 minutes. But unlike the Wendy’s, White Castles, and McDonald’s that clutter the city streets, Subway is actually healthy. They use freshly-made bread in a number of varieties (including garlic, multi-grain, and whole wheat). No processed hamburger buns here! And instead of a thin piece of mystery meat slapped in between the buns, you get real protein–like ham, turkey, or meatballs. You’ve also got a great selection of fresh veggies to choose from. And finally, there’s fruit! Also on the plus side, Subway is affordable. I usually order the $5 footlong and a pack of apples slices for the side. Thus, I can walk out of the store with a filling meal for under 7 dollars.

And, since you’re a student, Subway offers you an awesome discount to make eating fast and healthy even more affordable. Check out their coupons here! And remember, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”…and prevents scurvy.  

Written by Megan Soyars, Campus Clipper Blogger

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After the thick coat of frosting New York received yesterday morning, the city streets resembled something close to a cupcake melting in the sun. As is predictable, the LIRR canceled numerous trains, leaving pacing passengers to wait for the next train in the cold, fretting the relationship between pools of slushy, freshly melted snow and the state of their shoes. To add insult to injury, passenger after passenger piled onto the platform of Babylon station to find that the already large crowd of their average commute had been tripled by all of the riders from the canceled trains. The idea of an express train was out of the question, and what would have taken an hour and change to arrive from Babylon to Penn Staion took a whopping two hours.

Luckily, as any connoisseur of public transit knows, I had a novel tucked in my travel sack. I scrunched down into my seat, squeezed neatly between two bag-ridden men in suits, and delved into the warm solace of Tobias Wolff’s This Boy’s Life. Wolff’s gentle prose did exactly what a good novel should do, alleviate the pangs of stress and extricate the tethers of reality. Erica Jong once said something along the lines of: a book burrows into your life in a way that nothing else does because the act of reading isn’t passive. I want to avoid images of escaping the world, because reading is less an escape and more an enhancement of the imagination.  A novel can illuminate in its reader the sweetness of life that is always there, yet frequently covered by the foggy stressors of a city life. Shakespeare and Co. Booksellers has become a home away from home, supplying me with all of my cravings.  Luckily, they have a student discount, which saves me an unimaginable amount of money. Otherwise, I might be selling my assets to obtain what I consider an expensive, junkie like lust for the written word.

Another way that I’ve tempered the cold, gray days boring into my unconscious is to box. Boxing is the best workout that does not involve the same repititive motion; it requires focus and strategy that make me forget I’m even exercising. In the realm of exercise I typically considered lugging my Norton anthologies strenuous and worthy of a doughnut. Now I’ve realized that my lack of physical exercise was not due to laziness (maybe a little),  but instead the frustration of doing the same task over and over again with what seemed to be little result. I’ve also found a pilates class at Synergy. I clear my mind a little, brush off the weariness of a long day, and I look a little nicer in my skinny jeans.

Despite the chilling temperatures, and the ash gray slush piling up on the sidewalks, I still love New York in the winter. I love to see people bundled up in their snow gear, sporting fashions that are sweet and modest. The snow, ironically, seems to make people a little warmer, as people bunker down together to avoid the chills and reinstate a little but of solidarity in the human race. Still, if you’re feeling a little Picasso blue this winter, get a good workout and snuggle up with a book.

While in college, the spring semester always seemed to follow too closely on the heels of the first. I’d just finished celebrating Christmas and New Year’s and then, boom, it was time to fork up that Best Buy giftcard Granny had given me to buy some supplies. I always seemed to need more than I’d realized. It was like all my pens, pencils, and binders had somehow gotten sucked into a black hole in that interim between semesters. Plus, I usually needed a new book bag because my old one had gone out of style. (Those super-cute Vera Bradley bags were popular, but they were also $80.) 

Like me, you’re either preparing for the winter session (which–yipes– is only a week away!) or the spring semester. Either way, you need to restock those school supplies. If you don’t have a generous Granny like I do, don’t worry. There are still ways to save money this year!  

First of all, Blick Art Materials is offering a great 20%  off coupon here! You’re sure to find all you need at Blick, whether you’re an art or design major, trying out a couple creative classes, or just want to pick up some pens and paper.  Utrecht Art Supplies also provides students discounts. And finally, don’t forget to stop by the Unique Copy Center. Whether you’re designing a newsletter for your campus club, creating a mock-up for your magazine writing class, or have just run out of printer paper before your 20 page thesis is due, check out the Copy Center. And don’t forget this discount!

I wish you a great New Year and a great new semester! With these discounts, you’ll definitely have all the supplies you need to end the school year in style.

–Written by Megan Soyars, Campus Clipper Blogger

Get great more Student Discounts!

Download our NEW App on iTunes!
Become a fan on Facebook and follow us on twitter!

Don’t forget to sign up for our bi-weekly newsletter for student promotions and coupons and download the coupon booklet NOW