A new year is upon us and with that brings the fresh start that so many of us desperately yearn for. We forget about what happened the year before and focus on the future and what we can do to ensure ours is the best that it can possibly be. As we start to think of exactly HOW this is going to be done, we usually end with a huge list of things and run for the hills due solely to its overwhelming nature.
We all strive for self-improvement (or at least I would like to think so) and we know that it’s way more than just jotting down whatever you can find wrong with you on a piece of paper, it takes a lot of commitment. Knowing yourself and your limitations is also very important.
I’ve always took a “one goal a year” approach when it comes to things like this. I think it’s important to know where you want to improve as a person and just focus on that. I know life will happen regardless but it’s more a matter of not stretching yourself too thin.
One thing I would love to focus on in 2013 is just letting people know that I care for them more and doing my best to be more emotionally available. I know, I know…that’s two things but I feel like they’re related in a sense. I’ve also learned that this is something I needed to work on based on the supreme workaholism I developed earlier in the year and in turned shunned out my friends and everyone who I care about.
Don’t worry, my family and friends understand that I’m busy, that’s not really the point. This is something that I’m doing for the betterment of ME that will in turn strengthen already existing friendships and relationship and helps create strong new ones.
So, that’s my goal, what’s yours? Whatever it may be let’s approach them with the most resolute of attitudes.
Happy 2013 from all of us here at Campus Clipper. 🙂
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It’s no secret that we’ve just experienced what could arguably be one of the worse natural disasters in our city’s history, and even though we’re almost a week past the event, it’s still all anyone can really talk about. That’s mainly because we are still suffering from Sandy’s wrath and will possibly be for the next couple of months.
By “suffering” I don’t mean we’re at the mercy of devastating winds and arctic rain, I mean it in almost every other aspect besides the most literal. The level of damage done to public transportation is still unknown and parts of the city are still without power. Trains are running on a “limited service” schedule anywhere in the city…above 34th Street. If you’re headed anywhere else in the city, you’re going to have to walk.
Brooklyn commuters may have it worst of all. With substantial amounts of damage done to the borough and parts of Lower Manhattan, getting into the city seems like an almost impossible task. A simple 20- to 30-minute commute may end up taking almost three hours at the height of rush hour. We can only hope that things get better soon, but it will take weeks and maybe months to get the subways running the way they used to (hopefully even better.)
A line to catch a bus into the city, the only way to commute into Manhattan from Brooklyn.
There is a slight positive to all of this madness. With all the difficulty that comes with the commute, the MTA has granted free train rides for the next two days. Here at Campus Clipper we’re all about “free,” so this was really great news for us to hear. Although it did take me about 2 hours to get into work today, I have to admit that not paying definitely made it a little bit better.
All of us here at Campus Clipper hope everyone is okay and doing their best to return to normalcy. We can all use a little “normal” after the week we’ve had.
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Being broke is not fun. Your friends are out having the time of your lives and you’re stuck at home due to lack of funds. Although a night out on the town doesn’t need to cost much, you can only get so far with a wallet full of hopes and dreams. With that being said, here are a couple of tips to help turn you into the thrifty man or woman you always knew you could be . . . I’m talking borderline parsimonious.
Saving and budgeting doesn’t just factor into one aspect of your life—it should greatly affect ALL aspects. College savings are important because you are on your own and you want to prove that you can live on your own. Managing your money is the first step to being able to do what you want when you want.
Transportation tends to be one of the biggest expenses in the city. Whether because of gas prices or MetroCards, a large amount of our money goes into getting from place to place. How can this be cut down? Skateboarding, rollerblading, and biking have gotten quite popular. Commuter cycling has doubled since 2005, and there are bike sharing programs around the city whose memberships are substantially cheaper than a monthly MetroCard. Carpooling to class can be a great way to not only make friends but save money, and, if all else fails, you can walk.
Thrift stores are more popular than they have ever been. Places such as the Salvation Army and Goodwill can provide you with basic t-shirts and jeans as low as $2. Venture to the nook and crannies of some of Manhattan’s shopping districts and you’re bound to find a Buffalo Exchange or a Beacon’s Closet. These thrift stores sell name brand clothing for ridiculously cheap prices. If you’re a fan of vintage styles and trendy clothing then these stores are for you.
Cheap dates are usually the next thing on your mind since you have the ability to actually make it and the clothes to step out in. Magazines such as <em>The L Magazine</em> and <em>Village Voice</em> are always advertising free movie screening and shows. MyFreeConcert.com is one of my favorite websites for not only concerts but also art exhibits and fun (and, more importantly, free) nights out.
After running around the city you’ve probably worked up quite the appetite. Luckily, the Campus Clipper is here to help. We offer deals across the city, helping students keep the green in their pockets while taming the growling in their stomachs. The $9.99 all-you-can-eat lunch buffet at Bombay Talkie is highly suggested, or if you and a friend need a caffeine boost, there’s a coupon for a free cappuccino or latte with a purchase from The Bean.
So there you have it: proof that you can have fun in the big city and keep a majority of your cash at the same time! Now go out, have fun and be frugal.
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Carlos L., Monroe College. Read my blog!! Follow me on Twitter and Facebook 🙂
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It’s about that time: school is right around the corner and so are professors! Not only do you have to worry about making sure your bank account is on point and getting your student savings, but you have to make sure you make a good first impression with your professors.
Meeting a professor for the first time
Particularly if you’re a first year student en route to your first real college class, you might be a little nervous when classes start. Depending on how big your College or University is, a typical 100-level class can range from 60 to 200 students! The professor can try his or her best to get to know everyone, but seeing as professors’ schedules are so busy, it’s up to you to make them notice you. You also have to keep in mind that in the future you may need a recommendation from a professor for a job. With that being said, not only do you want to do well in the class and build an academic relationship, but you also want to build a personal one. One tip is to simply go up to the professor after class and introduce yourself. You can choose to introduce yourself with your name and year in school or perhaps just your name—it’s up to you. Then, simply tell him or her that you are excited to be in the class this semester. These simple lines are going to introduce you to the professor but will also tell them that you are serious about the class and care about forming a relationship.
Taking a class with a professor you had before
If you have had the same professor for a new class, you are already at an advantage in terms of building a quality professor-student relationship. However, whether a great deal of time has passed or not, you still want to be able to maintain that relationship. After the first class with a well-acquainted professor, go and say hello. Tell him or her that you are excited to be taking the class and look forward to having a great experience like that of the last class you had with him or her. This move and can make your relationship stronger and will let the professor know that you are a serious student.
Note: the above advice is intended if you did well in the previous class with that same professor. If you failed or didn’t do as well in the class as you hoped, and you end up taking the class over, I would advise something different. Instead of going up to the professor after class, you should visit the professor during his or her office hours. Meeting a professor during office hours can set a more intimate and professional meeting atmosphere and gives you more time to communicate. Tell your professor that you are thankful to be allowed to take the class over and that you look forward to doing better this time around. Your professor will know that you mean business, and he or she will have a clean impression of you instead of the one you last made.
I have only touched upon a few of many ways to make good first impressions on professors. If you would like more tips or advice, leave a comment and I will get back to you!
Joanne, Simmons College ’15. Read my personal blog!
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Created by Michael Patrick King and Whitney Cummings, the nationally-syndicated show on CBS, 2 Broke Girls, manages to transcend the thin line that constitutes political correctness. It wholeheartedly—for cheap laughs, nonetheless—embraces ethnic stereotypes and sexism and, by doing so, further solidifies it in the audience’s consciousness.
King was in a heated debate with the show’s creators in a panel discussion about the racial and sexual overtones used throughout the show:
“The big story about race on our show is that so many are represented,” King said. “The cast is not only multi‑ethnic, including the regulars and the guest stars, but it’s also incredibly not ageist. We represent what New York used to be and what is currently very much still alive in Williamsburg, which is a melting pot.”
On the show’s Asian character, Han Lee, King said:
“I like Han. I like his character. I like the fact he’s an immigrant. I like that he’s trying to fit into America. I like the fact in the last three episodes we haven’t made an Asian joke, we’ve only made short jokes … Would you say the ‘blonde rich bitch’ is a stereotype? Would you say that the tough‑ass, dark, sarcastic‑mouthed waitress is a stereotype? I like all of them.”
King uses his sexuality to try to defend his use of stereotypes, saying, “I’m gay! I’m putting in gay stereotypes every week. I don’t find any of it offensive, any of it. I find it comic to take everybody down.”
King conveniently forgets, however, that Asian stereotypes were extremely hateful up until the 1960s, when both black Americans and Asian Americans were finally given the right to vote and participate in civic duties.
There were a string of riots against the Chinese in the early and late 19th century by Americans. In Los Angeles in 1871, seventeen Chinese were massacred in broad view of public eyes. In fact, the public enthusiastically took up violence along with the perpetrators. “Hang them!” was a common phrase exclaimed by the bystanders and “as the Chinese were hauled up, a man on a porch roof danced a jig and gave voice to the resentment many Americans felt over the Chinese willingness to work for low wages. ‘Come on, boys, patronize home trade,’ the man sang out.” Seventeen Chinese men were lynched in front of men, women, and children. (Scharf, J. Thomas, “The Farce of the Chinese Exclusion Acts,” The North American Review. Jan. 1898. Volume 166, Issue 494, pp. 85-98.)
I’m surprised that the show doesn’t have Lee wear some “traditional” Asian attire and have him speak in a farcical “Chinese”language to further drive him from the realm of the American. When King says, “I like the fact in the last three episodes we haven’t made an Asian joke, we’ve only made short jokes,” he means, Asians are short, so we’re going to run with that. The New Yorkercalled the show “so racist it is less offensive than baffling.”
Look at successful comedies out on television now: How I Met Your Mother pokes fun at contemporary social life with complex characters (Barney Stinson is an enigma), New Girl shows character-layering while still allowing Zooey Deschanel be her bubbly self, Modern Family portrays all likable characters who, although they may follow some stereotypes, are able to present complexity, and the cast of the long-cancelled Arrested Development consists of diverse characters all with their own specific personalities, not just a quick scheme to establish what’s already known in our collective consciousness.
“Every time Han gets to say something on 2 Broke Girls, the undercurrent is that it’s funny because it’s broken English. Plus he’s really short and geeky and non-sexual (there may have been other stereotypes to plop on top of him, but maybe creators Whitney Cummings and Michael Patrick King thought too much was enough, which would certainly stick with the general theme of the show). In any case, what CBS is doing every Monday night is trotting out one of the most regressive and stunning racist devices a network has produced in five or more seasons.”
King does admit that he wants to flesh out the supporting characters, but that’s what stereotypes create—one-dimensional figures for the sake of cheap, unwitty and predictable laughs. Count the number of times you hear the laugh track played throughout the show—you’ll understand what I mean.
I’m surprised the show hasn’t ended up yet as two broke writers. Michael Imato and Michael Anderson call the show “creatively bankrupt” and “just bloody awful.” I also found a comment on Grantland to be very poignant:
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Growing up, I thought the only combo better than peanut butter and jelly was a pen and paper. I have always had an affinity for writing and using it as a tool and an art form. However, I didn’t see my writing as a talent until I started writing poetry, performing in open mics, and participating in talent shows. Once I discovered my immense passion for poetry, I knew I had to reach out and get others involved in their own talents. When I first started writing, I saw poetry as my salvation. It introduced me to new people, new experiences, and taught me that life exists beyond the L train. This post is about how you can use your talent to help others see that their life can change, as well as how to use your talent to help your community.
Looking for people with the same affinity for using their talents to help others, I found Victoria (also known as Vee) Rossi, a 20 year-old photographer/college student.
“I started doing photography after my aunt passed away my senior year of high school. She used to own a photo lab in Barrington, Rhode Island and was the relative who always had her hand attached the camera at any family function. She loved looking through pictures, collecting pictures, taking pictures, and I guess I picked that up from her after she passed away, sort of paying homage to her. I do photography because I love creating things and I especially love creating images and having the capability of manipulating emotions and making people feel one way or another or see something or realize what they haven’t seen. Some of my favorite things or people to photograph are the dancers in my mom’s dance studio in Cranston, Rhode Island. Not only are they brilliantly talented but they’re willing to push limits photographically and also in the areas of dance. It’s always nice to photograph them also because they’re so eager to create something beautiful. I help them and they help me. I also will go to the dance competitions and photograph them while they’re in their prime competing because that’s when you really see the intensity. I not only see photography as an emotional outlet, but also as a possibility to make a career. They always say that you should do something that you love and something that makes you happy, and I think that I may have found that for me.”
Here are some recent photos Victoria has taken of her mother’s students:
Victoria has also done shoots for her school, Simmons College, and some of their drama productions including The Vagina Monologues. From first position to on pointe, the dancers and their art are captured via Victoria’s own art.
Now that you’ve seen how Victoria gives back to her community, here are some ways that you can help your community with your talents:
Host an Art Show:
If you are an artist, painter, sculptor, metalworker, etc., go to your local YMCA, community center, or even a friend’s back yard and host an art show. You can sell your art by donation or fixed prices, or you can even just have your art on show for viewing and charge a small admission fee. Then, the proceeds can go to your local YMCA, city program, etc.
Have an Open Mic:
Taking the same idea as the art show, you can find a space to have poets, singers, musicians, and even actors come and perform. You can sell drinks or charge a small admission fee and raise money that way.
Get some friends, and direct a small play in the neighborhood:
Gather your actor, musician, dancer friends, and host a play or opera, or even a concert!
Is a local business or store you frequent looking a little dusty?:
If you have a way with the paintbrushes or even organizing, offer your services in exchange for promotion of your talent!
All of these are inexpensive and help in many ways. They help you meet more talented people, polish skills as well as gain new ones, and most importantly, they help the community.
Now that you’ve read about how to get involved, go out and do it! Here’s a great coupon for art supplies! Click HERE for a printable version!
Joanne, Simmons College ’15. Read my personal blog!
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My first time was in a Kmart. My best friend and I were walking around a shopping center near home, looking to kill time after school before starting our homework. We stumbled across the section of discounted books and could not help but pause to giggle at the shirtless, six-packed Fabios on white horses holding women in flowing white dresses (I’m not sure if any of the books actually had that cover, but I wouldn’t doubt it). Once I saw the “2 / $6” stickers on some of the books, I knew that I would be making a purchase that day.
Beth purchased The Millionaire’s Inexperienced Love-Slave while I went for The Glass Slipper and Pure Temptation, which flaunted a muscly man with medium-length brown hair lounging under satin sheets with his arms thrown back as if he thought that he was posing for a dictionary entry of the novel’s title. When we got to the registers with our books, I found out that the bargain price stickers on my two books were lies, and that I would be making the cheapest purchases of my life: books that cost a penny each. I suspected two things: first, that there was a glitch in the register system, and also that the books were even worse written than originally suspected, with its writing perhaps as cheap as my receipt suggested.
Romance novels have been referred to as “smut” and female pornography due to the sexual content that some books contain. However, while some books certainly do contain explicit scenes, others contain nothing more than hand-holding and church-rated kissing. Happy endings, which usually lead to marriage, are essentially required by the genre (Romeo and Julietis one of the most famous unhappily-ending romances); there are, by definition of the romance novel, requirements concerning plot. If the storyline can only be damaged without the sexual elements, the novel is most likely to be classified as an erotic romance novel (example: Fifty Shades of Grey).
Though I’ve held myself back from reading the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy in public, not as daring as the several women in whose laps the books can be found on the train I take every day (I’m sure there are some with the e-book, too), I have a steadily increasing amount of experience with this division of women’s fiction. Apart from my internship with the Campus Clipper, I work with a literary agency. Having only found a small amount of information about the agency before my interview with the company, I resorted to thinking that the agency specialized mainly in helping authors publish romance novels, since most of the information I found suggested so. It turns out that while the agency does do this, it is by no means a romance-only agency. Regardless, I checked out a few romance novels the library, hoping to familiarize myself with the type of writing that the agency represents before I started working there.
My mother was recently recommended the now-infamous Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy, and she suggested that I also read it to bone up (no pun intended) on the genre as well as current popular reads. Now done with the first book, she is admittedly a little uncomfortable with this suggestion to her youngest daughter.
Ironically, despite being among the least respected, romance is the most popular North American genre, consisting of almost 55% of paperback books sold in 2004 (e-books are becoming increasingly popular in romance sales, particularly for erotic romance, probably because it allows discretion). About 91% of the consumers are women. While the stigmas that can come with the romance genre seem to be taken lightheartedly by the general public, there are those who are enraged by the books. While some argue for the sake literature, others believe that the books are immoral, degrading, and even dangerous.
What makes these books so appealing and popular? The Fifty Shades trilogy, the first of which was published in June 2011, has gone viral, surpassing the Harry Potter series as the fastest-selling paperbacks. But surrounding the book’s rise on the best-seller charts is a load (I can’t help myself) of controversy. The male protagonist’s appeal to BDSM makes the novel more risqué than the average romance, and the popularity of the trilogy has some worrying about the implications that the book gives about what is okay in the bedroom (or the setting of choice).
One woman wonders, “Do middle-aged women, the main audience for this book, really view the threat of violence as an aphrodisiac? And isn’t it dangerous to turn a BDSM-addict into a romantic hero? Would we want our daughters dating Christian Grey?”
Comments such as these might be related to concerns in the 1860s, when critical attention was focused on romance novels because the female reader was believed to be susceptible and vulnerable to ideas. It was believed during this time and for decades later that women should be reading more wholesome works like those that taught them about a moral society and how to be humble homemakers.
EL James’ books are by no means the first romance or erotic romance novels to be published. Fifty Shades has not invented anything new in either the world of literature or the world of sex, or even BDSM for that matter. People could just as easily get ideas from these books as from another million sources. Also, as critic Caroline Lucas argues, just as in the 1860s, readers can exercise “resistant reading,” choosing which ideas they will and will not adopt from a text. Besides, from what I understand, the trilogy distinguishes between BDSM and abuse, and never implies that abuse is okay.
Romance novels have been around for quite some time. According to RadioLab’s podcast “The Greatest Hits of Ancient Garbage,” the most common finding in a landfill of ten centuries of ancient Egyptian garbage is papers of a romance novel (you can hear snippets of it read at 16:13 on the podcast). Though it took an archaeology expedition to make this discovery, we can more easily find early evidence of romance in print such as in Medieval tales of courtship and chivalry and Renaissance literature such as plays and poems by Shakespeare. The Romantic Period shifted the focus towards courtly relationships ending in marriage, which is where most modern romance novels still end.
One major distinction of these earlier works from the modern ones is that most early works were written by and for men of a patriarchal society and from a male character’s point of view. The first best-seller romance novel was written during this time, in 1740 with Samuel Richardson’s Pamela. Written from the heroine’s viewpoint for a change, it sold like wildfire.
Light, enlightenment, or phallic symbol?
Jane Austen and Charlotte Brontë are two well-known Victorian romance writers, and though it can be argued that the sexuality in their romances is more subdued, I ask you to look at the symbolism within their work. I remember being a sophomore in high school and shaking my head in fear every time my English teacher suggested phallic symbolism in Jane Eyre. (Also, I suggest a look at Andrew Marvell’s 1650s poem “To His Coy Mistress” which might be summed up colloquially as “Stop being prude, let’s bang.”)
Such novels, particularly those written by female writers, helped to pave the road for women’s literature, introducing characters that were strong and generated sympathy for the condition of women in society. They often suggested a female quest for freedom and independence. As women outside of the fictional world of novels began to experience freedom for themselves and became literate, more liberated romance novels emerged.
Perhaps the most free expression in romance novels can be found in erotica, where authors have to have a decent set of balls to write without restriction (many just have a decent pseudonym instead). Renowned writer Anaïs Nin, after having drafted an apparently-withheld draft, was once told by her agent to “Leave out the poetry and descriptions of anything but sex.” The result was Delta of Venus, which has apparently been forgotten about in the midst of the Fifty Shades outrage.
Working at the literary agency, I have gained a greater respect for romance writing and those who can write romance well and, yes, for those who can write decent sex scenes (hey, if you’re going to convince me that the character is having the best sex of her life, you better not describe the same thing again and again). Perhaps the most notable feature of modern romance novels is the ease of the read. Unlike an Austen or Brontë romance, the writing of a typical modern romance should be taken plainly and doesn’t feel heavy or make the reader think too much.
But this mindless reading is the reason why literary critics everywhere tend to bash romance novels, saying that they lack merit or do not contribute to the world of literature. Unfortunately, this also paints a bad image of romance readers such that makes them look unintellectual and jaded, ironically bringing the representation of the romance reader back to where it was when women were still generally accepted as the lesser sex.
Some scholars believe that romance novels create submissive readers by showing the female protagonists ignoring issues other than love and marriage. But if we colloquially distinguish our “love life” as a “separate” life, why can’t we have books that also do so? Are mystery novels ignoring everything but unsolved murders? Do fantasy books ignore everything but magic?
Those who argue in favor of romance novels say that they are socially significant because they offer insight into human (usually female) ideals. Whether written on ancient papyrus paper, hidden under a Victorian pillow, or proudly displayed on a Metro North train, it is clear that these ideals, no matter how controversial, have been popular for a long, long time.
While I can’t exactly argue with the assessment of the quality of typical modern romance writing, I will say that not everything that is written strives to contribute to the same world as Hemingway and other literary greats. Sometimes people write and read just for enjoyment. Romance novels are like the flashy sequin shirts worn to a club or the French fries ordered as a side to a salad—not meant to be taken seriously, but meant, instead, to be fun, a sort of escape. In fact, romance novels have experienced a rise in the current recession, just like Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Winddid during the Depression. Lawyer and book-blogger Jennifer Lampe says, “Given the general dismay and gloominess, reading something like a romance with a happy ending is really kind of a relief.” And that’s what modern romance novels are really about. Romance novels are written to be enjoyed, not to enlighten, and they are, simply, about pleasure—the pleasure of reading.
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Carina, New York University. Read my blog and check out my Twitter! FOLLOW ME!!
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Today, life for me is a rather different matter compared to how it was just six months ago. My day used to begin at seven AM, with BBC Radio 4 news and the sensation of having just emerged from a deep freeze, as my mind attempted a mental inventory of the rest of my body. A partially effective shower later and I would be in the mess hall, shaved, smartly dressed and working through a stodgy breakfast, while my brain took a second stab at the physical inventory. By eight, I would be at my desk and just about through the fourth layer of security before I began a days work that was surprisingly dull, for all the significance it carried. Suffice it to say, those of us engaged in matters of National Security still despise MicroSoft’s Windows, still gossip like teenagers and still engage in petty contests to impress the boss… The best part of the day was my gym time in the evenings.
From my bed, to my breakfast to my workstation, I never had to leave the site; if you worked over a weekend you might not get ‘outside the wire’ in two weeks or more with a gym, a bar, a church, social activities and a life where your colleagues, are your friends, are your neighbors – it can be a true fishbowl. And I guess it was not so different from university life, in some respects – though the timings are offset by at least three hours or more! Where it does start to get different is the world around you. When I get up now I don’t start running through the strict timings of my day, I just try to recall the ones that matter. Instead of all eighteen hours of my conscious existence being accounted for, it’s two hours, every other day. The freedom gets perplexing sometimes, but it only takes about a week and half before you completely abandon your daily shaving regime, stop fussing over the shine on your shoes and even contemplate the necessity of a morning shower. Not so much de-institutionalized, rather re-institutionalized back into being a student, I have gleefully abandoned almost every element of my old life, bar one. After eight years of it, I cannot bare to miss my exercise.
With a host of options in a city like New York – only when you’ve spent ten bewildered minutes in front of three drinks coolers trying to work out the specific character of your thirst, can you really appreciate the majesty of a true consumer culture – finding a gym is technically easy and practically impossible. Normally, I would go to the university gym, but that’s not necessarily for everyone. The gym is always busy, and I’m getting past being an undergraduate by… well, I’m past being an undergraduate. As someone who’s been fit all their life, and in a professional capacity, I really wanted a little more. So, after a week of free trials and footwork, I finally settled on Crunch, near Union Square.
Easy
For me, running in NYC is almost a total non-starter. Yes, you can go out to the Park, or along the rivers, but I don’t live near any of those. I once ran a 10k in the Afghan desert, and that was less daunting, and more effective, than trying to run while constrained by New York traffic, so a good range of machines I can always get to makes all the difference. The weights more than matched my needs but the real difference was the classes. In the Army, you don’t just go out and run, or do push-ups in lines. We were always pretty good about mixing up fitness and providing different challenges and I still much prefer to vary my workout as often as possible, so getting to sign up for a different thing each week keeps me in good nick, and keeps me interested each session. It’s a lot better than just going down on your own and slogging through a routine you clipped from a magazine, or worse, just trailing round the equipment and giving it a bash. Having someone lead you through your exercise makes you work harder and better, and a trainer is just as good as a military PT – though I do get nostalgic for the name calling sometimes!
Hard
Whilst it seems a little extravagant to join a gym, there are deals to be had, particularly as a student. If it seems like something you’d want to get into, check out this deal on Crunch Gyms. They have a great offer across the summer when school is closed, so if you’re in the city over the summer, go for it.
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There are thousands of delicious restaurants all across New York City. If I had it my way, I would eat at a different restaurant for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day, so that I could taste all of the rich, diverse cuisine in the city. Unfortunately, not everywhere offers NYC student discounts.
But, I’m on a college student budget. I have college loans. Money is tight, so a lot of times, I have to eat at home.
However, eating at home isn’t a bad thing, in fact I like preparing my food and getting creative in the kitchen. I usually feel healthier eating in too, because I’m aware of the sodium and calories in everything I eat, and I can be more selective with my meals. Everyone has their “go-to” food at home– their “home base” or “comfort food.” My go-to item is the classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
It’s got everything you need– protein, fruit (sweet jelly), carbohydrates. Plus, if you toast the bread you get a little crunch in your bite.
The Campus Clipper has the perfect NYC student discount for a delicious PB&J sandwich from Whole Foods Market. So, if you want to eat healthy, cheap, and feel comforted, then go get some bread, peanut butter, and fruit spread! I think I’ll have one for lunch.
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originally appeared on speaking-effective.kethal.com
Given a choice between Design of a Newspaper Page (or something similar to that) and Public Speaking, I chose the latter without hesitation. I have always loved to speak in front of large groups, despite the fact that I often trembled inside. I can manage my nerves well, though, and I enjoy delivering my message; therefore, I was eager to learn new skills through this class.
Unlike me, there are many students who are petrified to take a public speaking class because they hate standing in front of people and talking to them, or simply because they believe that they will never need speaking skills for their career. If this sounds like you, let me assure you: whatever your future profession will be, you will definitely have to make presentations, whether you like it or not, so why not learn it as early as possible and be prepared?
Since many universities oblige you to take a public speaking class anyway, I would suggest that you do it during your first semester, as it will help you do better in many of your classes. Here are some useful things I learned in my public speaking class:
1. Everyone is nervous while speaking in public, no matter how confident he or she looks. Even your professors feel tension inside. It is just not comfortable to face a large group of people and have their eyes and ears turned at you.
2. Developing your public speaking skills means learning how to control your fear and delivering your message successfully. The more often you practice what you learn, the more confident you will feel delivering every other presentation, so you should use every opportunity to talk in class, whether it is a formal report or a mere answer to someone’s question.
3. No matter how interesting your presentation is, it is always hard to listen if there are no visuals, and don’t you hope for a “first-time student discount” (meaning that the audience will not sympathize with you even if this is a debut). Therefore, you should always do a short Powerpoint presentation, prepare handouts or simply draw a poster. Anything works, as long as there is some kind of visual back up for your presentation. If there are names that the audience may not know, you should write them on the board, especially if their pronunciation is not well-known. When your listeners see the information in front of them, they understand it better and remember it longer.
4. There is more than one type of audience: friendly, indifferent, neutral, and hostile. The easiest kind to deal with is the neutral one, as they are the material that you can work with. You can tell them whatever you want, and it is up to you to keep them interested. Friendly audience is not as easy as you suppose it is because these listeners usually know who you are and think highly of you, so there is no way you can deliver a presentation that is not as strong as your previous one. Otherwise, they will easily get bored and won’t pay attention. The hardest task is to engage an indifferent audience, as they are not interested in your topic, or you, and will most likely sleep through your presentation. As far as hostile audience is concerned, they are the most fun group to deal with, as it is your job to change their mind about you or the topic you are talking about. You have to be well-prepared and predict what kind of questions may be asked and what the audience’s objections will be. Knowing the type of audience is a must, as it helps to deliver the message in the most effective way. It can be compared to researching on student savings: you should know before you go which place may give you the best deal and how to get this deal from them.
5. Eye contact is powerful. If you stare at your notes, or, what’s even worse, read from the page, no one will listen to you. People will automatically assume that you are poorly prepared and have no idea what your presentation is about, and feel like listening to you is a waste of time. A good idea is to create an outline (on a piece of paper or index cards) with major points you are going to make. Write down quotes from experts, if you are using any. With this material, you can spend more time looking at your audience to study and react to their facial expressions and gestures. For example, if they look confused, ask if they want you to repeat or clarify what you said. If they yawn, you should probably give them an interesting piece of information that you were saving for later.
6. Once your presentation is ready and your outline is completed, you have to practice. You may need to record your voice, listen to it and repeat your presentation in front of the mirror at least 5 to 10 times, so that when the actual presentation takes place, you will be well-prepared and less nervous. Later on, when you become more experienced, you won’t need much practice. Still, 5 times is generally recommended. Just imagine how awed your classmates will be when you deliver your well-rehearsed informative presentation!
7. And finally, always leave time for questions. You may hate to be asked, but how else will you know that your message was understood and remembered? This is, perhaps, the most exciting part, as through the questions you can see whether your presentation was clear, what you should improve on and how the message was taken in general. The time you should put aside for questions is usually 3-5 minutes, so there is nothing you should really be scared of.
Intern Katie leads today's discussion. We talk about the pandemic's effect on college students, since current juniors and seniors' college experiences have been largely defined by the pandemic. We discuss what it was like being sent home from college in 2020, navigating online classes and extracurricular activities, and the lessons we've learned from this whole […]
Welcome back to a new season of the Campus Clipper podcast! Intern Megan leads today's discussion. We talk about the activities that inspire creativity in our cities and how to balance creative hobbies with schoolwork and internships. We also discuss the uncertainty and insecurity that we often feel when putting our creative work out in […]
Intern Ehani leads today's discussion. We talk about the films, series, books, and other art that has touched our hearts, even when the world makes us want to be dark and cynical. We also discuss what role our passions have in our lives, and what passion means to us. Mentioned in this episode: Call Me […]
In this episode, our interns talk about going to college in a big city - from the cultural advantages to how they deal with the expensive cost of living. We also share our favorite things to splurge on. Mentioned in this episode: The Whitney Museum The Tenement Museum Tips for budgeting (even when you're not […]
In this episode, our publishing interns talk about why they love writing and how they use writing and creativity as a tool for personal development and mental health. Check out our publishing interns' writing on the Campus Clipper Blog. This episode was recorded at the new East Village, NYC location of Marinara Pizza. Click this […]
Anna leads today's discussion about her ebook, Balancing Your College Life: An Existential Perspective on Exercise and Entertainment. We talk about how we chose our majors and dealing with uncertainty. We also share our tips for coping with academic pressure and art and literature that inspire us. Check out more of Anna's work in her […]
Monica leads today's discussion. We talk about why we chose our respective college, coping with homesickness, and our internship experiences. We also share our tips for getting to know a big city. Check out more of Monica's work in her article "Chapter 2- The First Week at University (Full of Homesickness and Doubt)." Read about […]
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If you have had the same professor for a new class, you are already at an advantage in terms of building a quality professor-student relationship. However, whether a great deal of time has passed or not, you still want to be able to maintain that relationship. After the first class with a well-acquainted professor, go and say hello. Tell him or her that you are excited to be taking the class and look forward to having a great experience like that of the last class you had with him or her. This move and can make your relationship stronger and will let the professor know that you are a serious student.
do as well in the class as you hoped, and you end up taking the class over, I would advise something different. Instead of going up to the professor after class, you should visit the professor during his or her office hours. Meeting a professor during office hours can set a more intimate and professional meeting atmosphere and gives you more time to communicate. Tell your professor that you are thankful to be allowed to take the class over and that you look forward to doing better this time around. Your professor will know that you mean business, and he or she will have a clean impression of you instead of the one you last made.
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Romance novels have been referred to as “smut” and female pornography due to the sexual content that some books contain. However, while some books certainly do contain explicit scenes, others contain nothing more than hand-holding and church-rated kissing. Happy endings, which usually lead to marriage, are essentially required by the genre (
withheld draft, was once told by her agent to “Leave out the poetry and descriptions of anything but sex.” The result was 
