Tagged: students
The Dartmouth ‘Social’ Cups Program
By Danielle Cantey
@canielle17
Eating alone may not be as sad as it seems with Dartmouth’s Social Cups program./PHOTO VIA Flickr user Jim Pennucci
We’ve all experienced the anxiety of entering a crowded lunch room alone on the first day of middle or high school. In those awkward grade school years, finding someone to sit with could be a daunting task. Sitting alone generally indicated you were some sort of social pariah. But once college begins, those anxieties and stereotypes about dining hall sociability disappear…or do they? Eating alone shouldn’t be an indication of loneliness or social status, but sometimes it is.
According to an article in The Dartmouth, Christopher McMillian, a senior at Dartmouth College, has implemented the Dartmouth Social Cup Program. The program is designed to combat the awkwardness of eating alone with special red cups. When the red cups are used in lieu of Dartmouth’s regular clear cups, they indicate that the student using it wouldn’t mind company. While there are students who have made fun of the program and others who complain about the cups’ ineffectiveness, the idea behind them is brilliant. As McMillian says in the article, “Students often feel uncomfortable or awkward when they are eating alone.”
The social cups are aimed at ameliorating some of the awkwardness associated with meeting new people. The cups may be ineffective when most people have established solid friend groups, but the program has great potential for freshman entering in the fall. What better way to improve freshman year than with a red cup that encourages people to come up and talk to you.
College Confidential features the perilous task of eating alone as a hot topic. Go to any dining hall on BU’s campus, and you’ll see a variety of diners: people eating alone, two people eating together, and people eating with groups of friends. In college and in life, eating alone is often a result of busy schedules and convenience. Luckily for those who feel too uncomfortable to embrace the solidarity of solo eating at Dartmouth, these red cups may just be the solution.
Spotlight: Creative Minds Across Campus
By Alexandra Diantgikis, Staff Writer
@adiantgikis
UNItiques offer affordable options for college students
Taylor Burke
BU student Alex Shadrow, founder of UNItiques.com/ PHOTO BY Heather Goldin
With Newbury Street only a few blocks away, Boston University students rarely have to worry about finding fashion-forward clothing. The issue, rather, is how students can afford to look fashion savvy without breaking their bank accounts. In such a cosmopolitan area, it’s no wonder that BUtiques, the Facebook group started by BU junior Alexandra Shadrow that allows students to post photos and sell their clothing, became a popular hit. Unitiques, the free service that is based on BUtiques, will not only help those struggling students in bustling cities, but students nationwide.
The host website will be the selling grounds for furniture, clothing, kitchen appliances, and the like. Fashion friendly students will no longer be the only people attracted to the site, but those with more realistic intentions can also find what they’re looking to have or even get rid of. Somewhat like a virtual thrift store, students can browse a plethora of products from Maine to California. Exchanging items is possible, and students can have confidence in the products they will soon be getting based on users’ reviews.
The fashion industry is constantly changing, which can make it difficult for students on a college budget to stay trendy. If someone wears something only once but happens to run into everyone while in it, he or she may already be looking for a new outfit to sport. Or if someone moves apartments and is looking for a change in scenery, he or she may find it time to decorate a little differently. Unitiques will allow students to search thousands of products with potential sellers without ever having left the couch, and often prices will be negotiable. Sounds like a pretty good deal for those of us already thinking about student debt.
In the meantime, some other sites I often check out are:
