PAGE 2 I THE MEREDITH HERALD [ FEBRUARY 4, 2009
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MY BIG MAC IS SMALLER
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Susie Potter
Staff Writer
Lately, people . everywhere have
been refusing dinner invites, nights
out on the town or driving out of
their way with a common excuse:
“The economy is bad.” We’ve all
heard it said a million times, but
how is it affecting the people you
pass in the halls each day? I took a
look around campus to try and find
out what changes students are mak
ing in their everyday lives in order
to deal with our current economy.
The first student I interviewed was
a junior. When I asked her whether
or not she owned a credit card, she
told me that she did. When I started
in with questions on interests rates
and payments, she quickly admitted
that her parents covered all her bills,
so she had no clue how much her
payments were or even how much
she was spending. As a jeep owner,
she did admit to spending around 50
dollars per week on gas and reported
no changes in any of her driving or
spending habits.
She, however, appears to be in
the minority. Most of the students
I spoke with are struggling daily
to try and balance tuition payments
and credit card bills while making
adjustments to their shopping styles.
Emily McMurray, a Meredith Col
lege sophomore and retail worker,
has noticed major changes in her life;
McMurray works at a clothing store
and says that less people have been
coming in since New Years. “Christ
mas was really steady,” McMurray
said, “We made a lot of money, but
as soofi as the new year hit, they had
to cut employees and hours. Now,
the managers close without a brand
rep, simply because we’re not ihak-
ing the money to pay brand reps
anymore.” McMurray has a credit
card which she now pays off in full
each month. “Before,” she said, “I
would just kind of spend my money,
because I knew how much I was go
ing to get. Now, though, I try to only
use it for food and gas.”
Though McMurray admitted
she’d probably do better in school
if she didn’t have to work so often,
she also said that having a job was
an absolute necessity for her and has
been since she was 16-years-old.
Even with a steady paycheck, she
still has loans and gets help from her
parents to pay for tuition.
Likewise, Julie Kallander, a
jimior at Meredith, struggles to bal
ance a job and a full course load.
She’s a bartender who has noticed
that a lot of the regular clientele
have started monitoring their spend
ing, sometimes choosing a domes
tic beer over an import or going
for the lower end alcohol. She also
has to rely on her parents for some
help with tuition. “I took out a loan,
and then my parents had to take out
another just to help me through
this year. Hopefully this coming
semester, I’ll be able to get grant
money. I pretty much have to,”
Kallander said.
Fellow student Aubrey Jones bal
ances two jobs with her coursework,
and even that’s not enough for her
to get by without her parents’ help.
“Right now, I’m putting my pay
check toward study abroad. Babysit
ting is my spending money, and my
parents pay for my car and my rent,”
she said. Study abroad is a luxury,
and it’s one Jones is working hard to
be able to afford. In fact, most of the
students I talked to reported enjoy
ing far fewer luxuries. “Right now,
I don’t have any money set aside to
spend on clothes. I haven’t shopped
since Christmas,” McMurray said.
Even when she allows herself a visit
home, she’s taken to carpooling in
an effort to save the $10 the trip
costs her. Jones couldn’t even recall
the last time she really went clothes
shopping and says she hasn’t gotten
a new pair of jeans in a year. She’s
even noticed that the dates guys ask
her out on are less fancy. “Recently,
I’ve had guys ask me out for coffee
instead of on a dinner date,” she said.
Jones also admits to not going home
as often and to limiting her weekend
visits to hang out in Wilmington to
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save on gas money. Kallander has
also limited her car trips and refuses
to spend more than twenty dollars •
on a pair of jeans.
All the girls I interviewed listed
food as their number one expense.
Food bills are particularly high for
McMurray. Since she works in the
mall, she often ends up eating her
meals in the food court, and that gets
pricey. “I’ve noticed that food pric
es have really gone up when I go out
to eat with my fiiends. Sandwiches
have gone from $6.25 to $7.50. The
Big Macs are even smaller than they
used to be!” Jones said.
Obviously, the state of thfe econ
omy is a real issue in the lives of
students. However, it seems that for
ihost students it is possible to some
how balance everything with a few
lifestyle changes, a decent job, and a
little help from mom and dad. ■
Photo eouitesy commun/lyrigl>ls>Mlsi)ac9s.com
ECONOMY, Continued from Page 1
be facing new pressures. Some pub
lic community colleges such as Dur
ham Technical Community College
may cancel summer ses$ions since
the state has cut the education budget
and colleges could reduce costs by
eliminating summer courses which
are not state-funded. Homeless
ness has increased; centers such as
the Helen Wright Center in Raleigh
have seen the number of women in
their shelter increase ten-fold in the
past several months. Charity groups
like the Good Shepherd Center in
Wilmington have had to turn people
away because so many people have
come there looking for a break from
the cold and a warm meal.
Although Obama acknowledges
that the economy will probably get
worse before it gets better, he lefi
the citizens of the United States
with hope during his inaugural ad
dress, stating, “Today I say to you
that the challenges we face are real,
they are serious and they are many.
They will not be met easily or in a
short span of time. But know this
America: They will be met.” ■