Just around the corner from Pace University, nestled amid the glass-and-steel modernity of the Financial District, stands an eclectic convenience store stocked with goods and necessities for students and staff alike. 118 Fulton Convenience recently opened near the famous Fulton Center station, its prominent fluorescent neon lights and colorful interior beckoning to passersby. This novel spot is packed with sweet treats, energy drinks, and essentials like toilet paper—everything a college student might need, all within walking distance.
An array of chocolate items within the neon-lit store.
The unique charm of 118 Fulton Convenience lies in its vibrant ambiance. Bright, colorful lights line the store, and the walls are covered with a variety of snacks. The bodega’s signage immediately catches the eye, drawing in a young crowd. I visited the shop with my friend Marlie Capuano to sample some of the sugary delights on offer.
“Even though they had a smaller floor plan to work with, the really high ceilings keep the space open,” Capuano noted. “The store was organized well to keep customers moving through instead of lingering in one area.”
The store’s wide assortment of affordable candies.
Most of the customers were teenagers and college students grabbing chips, cookies, and chocolate. However, the store’s selection extends far beyond snacks, offering items like incense, laundry detergent, and paper towels. A side wall features a mosaic of small comforts—Oreos, gummy bears, potato chips, and more. The shelves exude an artful chaos, brimming with assorted candies and packaged baked goods.
“They had an interesting selection of food! There were a lot of things I don’t normally see at a convenience store, so that was definitely fun,” Capuano added.
We picked up bite-sized hazelnut wafers, Nutella “B-ready” sticks, chocolate biscuits, strawberry yogurt-dipped pretzels, and strawberry jam-filled flaky puff pastries for a small gathering with friends. All of our items cost less than $20—a bargain for sweet treats to entertain six peckish students! The Nutella desserts were the crowd favorite, closely followed by the strawberry pretzels.
A wide range of chips for snacking.
118 Fulton Convenience, unlike many sterile and impersonal stores, has carved out a niche that feels exciting and fresh to the busy and bustling young professionals in the area. It’s perfect for students and employees in need of a quick bite or a bottle of detergent without having to trek to a big-box store.
The Campus Clipper is offering a 15% discount on grocery items at 118 Fulton Convenience to all university students, staff, and faculty who present a valid university ID.
This diet varies depending on many factors: income, cultural background, access to student discounts, eating habits, schedule, etc. However, the common denominator in at least the student body I have encountered is that we all eat poorly. The reasons, as mentioned above, can differ, yet we all struggle to keep a balanced diet during the semester.
I noticed this in others before I became aware of it in myself. A friend told me once that all he ate during his years in college was pizza because he was “broke” and had no kitchen in his dorm. Another one said that the stress during the semester made her appetite go away, so she would barely eat, while others told me they would eat more during the stressful four months. Slowly, I noticed how my habits would shift while studying. I could go hours without eating or drinking water. Once I finished my homework, I would buy anything accessible at the time—normally fast food—and eat very late at night. It was impossible to know if the constant exhaustion my body felt was due to the lack of nurturing food, sleep, or time off. Whatever the reason, it was there, and I could see it in my classmates as well.
Paying out of pocket for the semester also influenced my meal choices. Since money was limited, fast food was all I could afford because healthier options are more expensive–unjustifiable in a student’s budget. Throughout college, I’ve learned that many students deal with income-related issues, including the struggle with time management to prepare home-cooked meals or lack a support system to cook for them. In this aspect, I was fortunate to rely on my husband to cook meals for me when I was at my busiest. One term, I organized my schedule with four classes each day, with only 15 minutes between each class. For some reason, I didn’t think about leaving time to eat lunch. Consequently, not only did I not have time to cook at home, but I also didn’t have time to buy food. Thus, he would meal-prep for my week, making sure to pack healthier snacks with my lunch. Thankfully, I had someone making sure I fed myself properly, but some students don’t have that luxury.
The many factors that influence “The Student Diet” make it difficult to come up with a solution. It is the reality of many students, especially those with limited income and support. Some public colleges offer food assistance, but that doesn’t mean students have the time to cook, since many work more than one job. Even those that offer canned or microwavable food are still flawed since these are not healthier alternatives either. However, I think an important step to improve this pattern in students’ diet is awareness. Many of us are unaware of our eligibility for welfare programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which still doesn’t provide the time to cook meals but at least it could help with the expense of more nurturing foods. Additionally, more conscious choices when grocery shopping are important. Some small but powerful decisions I have made, for example, are buying more filling snacks that are still cheap (fruits, yogurt, nuts) and avoiding the chips at the vending machine. It has helped with boosting my energy in between classes, at least.
Changing this diet for any other is challenging; thus, we must be aware of what we can control and the assistance programs available to us. So many of those factors that make us fall into it are out of our control, but there are others we can have a say on. Ultimately, unhealthy food habits could impact our performance during the semester. It is harder for the brain to study when it is not well-nurtured. If our bodies are tired, our minds are too. I am still on this journey of making better decisions; hopefully, you can join me in making little yet empowering food choices and breaking the cycle of “The Student Diet.”
Enjoy a vitamin booster drink or bowl AND save some money while you do so with this coupon!
By Roxanna Cardenas
Roxanna is a Venezuelan writer living in New York City. Her works include essays, poetry, screenplays, and short stories. She explores fiction and non-fiction genres, with a special interest in horror and sci-fi. She has an A.A. in Writing and Literature and is working on her B.A. in English with a Creative Writing concentration.
For over 20 years, the Campus Clipper has been offering awesome student discounts in NYC, from the East Side to Greenwich Village. Along with inspiration, the company offers students a special coupon booklet and the Official Student Guide, which encourages them to discover new places in the city and save money on food, clothing, and services.
At the Campus Clipper, not only do we help our interns learn new skills, make money, and create wonderful e-books, we give them a platform to teach others. Check our website for more student savings and watch our YouTube video showing off some of New York City’s finest students during the Welcome Week of 2015.
Despite my close proximity to the Orange Line and easy access to the Downtown area, I don’t get out there much. Best $1,000 loan same day no credit check today. It is really such a great area though, with so many hidden gems and delicious varieties of food to try. I am so happy that I was able to get myself out there the other day to try something new with Poké City!
Poké City is a Hawaiian sushi bowl restaurant just a few minutes walk from Faneuil Hall. It is on Broad Street, which is a sort of quaint, business-centered area of Downtown. The area was super cute and rather quiet, so much so that it didn’t even really feel like Downtown at all. It was a sort of peaceful place, and I really enjoyed exploring this “new” corner of town. They also have a Cambridge location for my friends across the river!
The logo itself is really cute—I like their tropical vibe, a lot of their menu items center on fruits like pineapple and mango, which makes it a unique kind of cuisine to find in Boston.
I am ironically not really a fan of sushi, so I brought a friend that actually does like fish who happens to work in the area. She said that her coworkers grab lunch here all of the time, so I was excited to know that it was a really popular place, and she was eager to see what all of the hype was about.
The inside was really nice and clean, and we sat down in front of the window so we could look out onto the nice city street. We went in the early evening hours, so the sun was just beginning to set, which made our view really beautiful and peaceful. The staff was also really nice—we were having a tough time deciding what to get but they were super patient with us while we figured out what we wanted!
We both wanted to get signature bowls, but it would have been really easy to make your own customized bowl here. The ingredients are behind the counter, assembly line style, so it is super easy to personalize your order and make it so that it’s perfect just for you. I love this type of restaurant because it gives you the option to create your own, or you can enjoy one of their pre-designed bowls if you aren’t familiar with the type of food. Because I had never had this style of poké, I was happy to have some guidance through their signature dishes!
Teriyaki Bowl
I ended up getting the Teriyaki & Shrimp Bowl, which comes with chicken, shrimp (I ordered without), pineapple salsa, cucumber, sweet corn, seaweed salad, scallion, cilantro, sesame seed, teriyaki sauce, and rice. It was really delicious, and I loved the combination of the tropical pineapple salsa paired with the savory chicken; they went so well together and were so different from what I usually eat. They also added some extra carnitas chicken for us to try, which was SO good! It was nice and soft and full of flavor, I would definitely recommend it. My bowl was delicious, and not too spicy for my Irish palette.
My friend ordered the Spicy Salmon Bowl, which was too spicy for my Irish palette, but was delicious nonetheless. This bowl came with salmon, mango, edamame, red cabbage, scallion, tobiko, furikake, sriracha aioli, and rice. Despite being a bit too spicy for me, it had really great flavor that even I could appreciate. It was actually surprising how much I liked it considering I do not really like fish or spicy food, so I guess that speaks to how great these flavors work together to create such a unique and delectable dish! I have basically no spice tolerance, but it seemed to be just the right amount of spice for my friend, because she ate the whole thing up!
Spicy Salmon Bowl
Overall, we had a really great time there. The building was clean, the food was delicious, and the atmosphere was very relaxing and tranquil. We lingered there for a while even after we finished eating because we were really enjoying the pleasantness of the area and of the restaurant itself. This is definitely somewhere that I am certainly going to return to, and I definitely recommend bringing a friend to sit and chat with you!
Thank you so much to Poke City for the delicious food and hospitality. You will definitely be seeing me again soon!
There is truly nothing like eating some good food with your buddies while the sun sets on the city, so bring a friend and your student ID to buy one get one 25% off!
By Erin O’Brien
Erin is a student based in Boston, MA studying Communications and Studio Art. She is drawn to telling stories about love and friendship, with themes of humanity and connection at its core. In sharing her personal truths, she hopes to provide readers with nuggets of learned wisdom and college survival skills
For over 20 years, the Campus Clipper has been offering awesome student discounts in NYC, from the East Side to Greenwich Village. Along with inspiration, the company offers students a special coupon booklet and the Official Student Guide, which encourages them to discover new places in the city and save money on food, clothing, and services.
At the Campus Clipper, not only do we help our interns learn new skills, make money, and create wonderful e-books, we give them a platform to teach others. Check our website for more student savings and watch our YouTube video showing off some of New York City’s finest students during the Welcome Week of 2015.
A humble guide to the Do’s and Don’ts of dating in a big city; don’t worry you can’t make as many mistakes as I did.
Instead of waiting for a text, I painted in my sketchbook.
Do not get into a car on the fifth date, tenth date, or even the twentieth date. Maybe just avoid cars altogether?
If you are a young person in a city using dating apps, at some point, you will end up on quite a few dates with one person. You may think, I’ve seen enough of this person, and they were really nice and funny at the Chelsea markets and so sweet when we rode the subway to Brooklyn. When they offer to pick you up in a car, and let’s be honest, that’s so exciting because nobody ever has a car in the city, you may agree in a heartbeat. But just because a person is no longer just a profile on a screen, it does not mean you know them! This person may drive thirty minutes outside the city before trying to weasel out of going to dinner as planned. This person may not be a serial killer, but they may still be a jerk and leave you stranded for not being “down” to only chill at their apartment. The taxi may be $70 to get home.
Do meet in public places.
I’m not just saying this because of safety. That part is obvious. I’m saying it because when your family and friends start coming to visit, they are going to ask for the list of food and drink recommendations. You have a responsibility as the recommendation person. Men, women, or people you are dating may come and go, but good Spanish tapas or Indian recommendations will be with you forever.
Do not let the first date be meeting up with a guy + their friends.
You may think meeting up with a guy while he is out with friends means two birds, one stone! Maybe you’ll make a friend or two. Maybe you’ll meet a husband. What it really means, though, is that you end up at some packed bar, with a suspiciously wet bathroom, a rude bartender, and one awkward man and his one awkward college roommate buddy. The guy you are supposed to be on a date with will give up yelling over Sweet Caroline at some point and sit next to you, silently bopping away to the beat. The college roommate buddy will not have uttered a single word in the last thirty minutes. In the end, your ears will hurt, and you will still be a boyfriend short and a friend short.
Do go on friend dates.
Yes, friend dates are a thing. Plenty of dating apps have a friend option where you match and meet up with people who are just like you- young, alone, and looking to do something fun in a platonic, unromantic, asexual way. Wholesome intentions only. It seems sort of odd to meet people this way, but it is better to utilize dating apps to meet friends than using your date to meet them.
Do not rush.
I’m not talking about sororities. Have your Alabama rush week. Just don’t rush dating. Dating may not seem like something you can rush; it isn’t your commute to work or a last-minute essay. Your first date goes well. He texts and asks to see you tomorrow, and you could punch a hole in the wall in an excited way, not an angsty way. Cut to two weeks later when you are eight dates in and telling your parents about him, and he lets you know he leaves back to London tomorrow. He lives in London. He was only visiting New York.
Do treat dating as a meander.
Not a race, not a marathon, maybe not even a stroll, but a meander. Let yourself feel the highs of a great first date. Don’t try to squish the excitement. Meanders are meant for smelling the flowers. Thoroughly smell them for as long as possible; in fact, drag it out over a few days. Drag it out over a week. Drag it out until the high has inevitably faded and your brain chemistry is stable, then plan the second date. If you are meant to be together, then there is no rush. So, make your doctor’s appointments for the year. Clean that one cabinet that has both potatoes and a stack of old mail. Be a happy old woman in her English garden before you go plodding along back to the same rose.
Everybody gets Sushi on the first date. It’s an unspoken rule To Eat Sushi.
Olivia Sully is a Junior studying English Literature at New York University. Olivia spends most of her school and professional life writing and reading, but she likes to decompress with her paintings.
For over 20 years, the Campus Clipper has been offering student discounts in NYC, from the East Side to Greenwich Village. Along with inspiration, the company offers students a special coupon booklet and the Official Student Guide, which encourages them to discover new places in the city and save money on food, clothing, and services. At the Campus Clipper, not only do we help our interns learn new skills, make money, and create wonderful ebooks, we give them a platform to teach others. Check our website for more student savings and watch our YouTube video showing off some of New York City’s finest students during the Welcome Week of 2023.
I love flying into New York City at night. I always choose the aisle seat on airplanes because of my motion sickness, but I can never resist peeking through the plane’s windows in my periphery; one of my favorite views is that of the glittering lights beneath New York City’s night sky.
Bird’s eye view of NYC at night
In August of 2016, I flew from Colorado to New York in order to get settled in prior to beginning my college career. Once the plane landed, my stomach flipped over in excitement. My mom had come with me to help me move and I couldn’t believe that my dream of attending NYU had become a reality.
Of course, I was also terrified. I knew that no one else from my high school class would be coming to NYU, and after my mom left I had no choice but to confront my newfound alone-ness. I sardonically thought to myself, “Well, welcome to Welcome Week.”
I felt like a failure and my first semester had not even begun. One of my assigned roommates, whose name was also Anna, was a drama student in the Tisch School of the Arts. Off the bat, Tisch’s performing arts medium provides a tight-knit cohort community you’ll know for years, and I did not have that luxury as a Media, Culture, and Communication student since we were not placed into cohorts. I really liked the other Anna, and we made plans to hang out at one of NYU’s Welcome Week events: Drag Bingo, which featured contestants from RuPaul’s Drag Race. It seemed cool, and I nostalgically wished that one of my closest high-school friends was there because he would’ve loved it. He even made up his own drag name in honor of the show: “Shaneeda Bronze” (as in, “She needs a bronze.”).
While I wallowed in nostalgia and loneliness on the second night of Welcome Week, I knew I needed to play a more active role in my own life. Unfortunately, I arrived at Drag Bingo well after the other Anna, and there were no more seats available near her (and no one was allowed to save seats). At that point, I was still standing in a stairwell in a line (or on a line for all the “real” New Yorkers) spanning across multiple floors. When I reached one of the landings, I noticed a pair of tan double doors to my right as someone threw them open to go through. I wondered aloud to the two girls standing in front of me, “Do you think we could go up that way?” They both shrugged and we continued standing in line. I stood with the girls at the back of the room during the event, and afterward they invited me over to their shared dorm. And that is how I met my best friends.
It was serendipitous as much as it was the effort we put in to socialize with other students and get to know our college community at various events. Certainly don’t hesitate asking your roommate(s) to hang out, and seeing if you can be friends!
Playbill at Sunday in the Park with George. (Before we knew Jake Gyllenhaal “doesn’t shower often.”)
Since we are required to live in dorms for our first year, I wanted to make the most of my dorming experience as well. NYU offers “Themed Engagement Communities,” wherein specific floors in respective dormitory buildings will schedule activities pertaining to that theme. When I applied for housing I threw my hat in the ring for the “Laughing Matters” comedy-themed fourth floor of the Weinstein building. I have loved comedy since I was in elementary school, and decided to study Media because of my reverence for political satire. Applying to the special interest floor gave me wonderful (cost-saving) opportunities to view an array of Broadway performances for $10 each. We went to see plays including Avenue Q, Sunday in the Park with George, and Dear Evan Hansen, as well as professional improvisation shows.
Regrettably, I only joined a club, College Democrats, in senior year. I regret having waited that long to be more involved in the clubs on campus, especially because my senior year ended up being truncated due to COVID-19. NYU, like many colleges, hosts a Club Fest in both the fall and the spring, and trust me, there is no shortage of clubs to choose from, whether it’s political, athletic, improv, or food-related, etc.
Of course, the college experience and New York City are two of the most overly-romanticized notions you may hear about. I still cried myself to sleep during those first few nights as I second-guessed my abilities to make friends. Yet, you are drawn to whatever city you end up in for a reason. You don’t have to figure it out right away. Find solace in your comfort mechanisms, like comedy is for me, and in the meantime, don’t be a passenger in your own life.
We encountered this sign outside of a restaurant (Gran Electrica) in Dumbo
Beginning your freshman year, I recommend you:
Do research about special dorming opportunities while selecting a dorm. Mine was the cheapest and we got to go see Br’dway shows for $10! (kudos if you get that reference)
Look for activities to do that are hosted by your school (after you cry a little bit because you’re overwhelmed and alone)
Get to know your roommates!
Have some adventures with said roommates. Even if it means accidentally ending up in Far Rockaway because you missed your subway stop. (I get lost nearly every day of my life; I call it sightseeing.)
By: Anna Matefy
Anna Matefy recently graduated from NYU with a Bachelor’s in Media, Culture, and Communication. She has been working in politics for the past few years, and wants to transition into a career in media entertainment/comedy. She will be attending NYU as a graduate student in Media beginning in 2021.
For over 20 years, the Campus Clipper has been offering awesome student discounts in NYC, from the East Side to Greenwich Village. Along with inspiration, the company offers students a special coupon booklet and the Official Student Guide, which encourages them to discover new places in the city and save money on food, clothing, and services. At the Campus Clipper, not only do we help our interns learn new skills, make money, and create wonderful e-books, we give them a platform to teach others. Check our website for more student savings and watch our YouTube video showing off some of New York City’s finest students during the Welcome Week of 2015.
Sushi is one of the easiest meals to adapt for vegetarian eaters, mainly because when you make it yourself, all ingredient choices are up to you, and sushi is tremendously variable with regard to ingredients. This recipe includes egg—if you’re vegan simply leave it out—as well as dried shiitake mushrooms and spinach leaves. For vegetarians and vegans who need to watch their protein intake (since animal products are an important source of protein), this recipe makes sure to use ingredients that have plenty of protein. Nori seaweed, shiitake mushrooms, and brown rice are good sources of protein; the mushroom also provides dietary fiber and iron. It’s a good idea to use half brown rice and half Japanese sushi rice, so that the rice stays sticky enough to roll easily.
The egg in this sushi is cooked like an omelet, but sweetened. Take an egg and beat it in a bowl––beating the egg thoroughly will help make sure the color is even. Add a pinch of salt and about ¼ teaspoon of sugar, and cook it in a pan, making sure to keep it as flat as possible. When it’s cooked, fold it and cut into strips. Cut the dried shiitake mushrooms into strips as well.
Once all your ingredients are prepared, fold and tear a two-inch strip off the sheet of seaweed. Now cover the seaweed with rice, leaving a border of about an inch on top and a half inch below. Fold the bottom border on top of the rice, and lay the seaweed strip on top of the rice. Line up your ingredients on the seaweed, and bring the whole layer to the edge of your bamboo mat. Hold the bamboo mat and seaweed with your thumb and forefinger, and, keeping the ingredients in place with the rest of your fingers, fold the seaweed and bamboo mat over the ingredients. Unroll the bamboo mat, bring the seaweed to the edge of the mat once more, and roll the sushi all together. Now simply cut the sushi into pieces about an inch long.
A great side dish to go with this sushi is miso soup with tofu. Tofu is a great source of protein, so this soup is the perfect side for anyone worried about protein intake!
This is the sixth chapter from an e-book by one of the Campus Clipper’s former publishing interns, who wrote about how to make sushi. Follow our blog for more chapters from this e-book. We have the most talented interns ever and we’re so proud of them! For over 20 years, the Campus Clipper has been offering awesome student discounts in NYC, from the East Side to Greenwich Village. Along with inspiration, the company offers students a special coupon booklet and the Official Student Guide, which encourage them to discover new places in the city and save money on food, clothing and services.
At the Campus Clipper, not only do we help our interns learn new skills, make money, and create wonderful e-books, we give them a platform to teach others. Check our website for more student savings and watch our YouTube video showing off some of New York City’s finest students during the Welcome Week of 2015.
Intern Brenna Sheets from Emerson College is joined by Cambridge Natural's Emily K. to discuss natural health and wellness in the modern age. They discuss how supplements and herbal teas are being used, marketed, and perceived in our fast-paced, wellness-obsessed society. Is our reliance on these products a sign of empowerment—taking control of our health […]
Intern Brenna Sheets from Emerson College leads today's discussion on self-care and wellness in college. With fellow interns Aidann Gia (Pace University) and Agatha Edwards (Brandeis University), the group discusses what American culture says about self-care, everyone's favorite wellness activities after a stressful week, what gets in the way of students prioritizing themselves, and the […]
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 the […]
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 By […]
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 MuseumThe Tenement MuseumTips for budgeting (even when you're not the budgeting type)Check out […]
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 […]
