The days until the end of the academic year are winding down, and so too are our campus dining points. Many of us find ourselves using our cards conservatively as they to dwindle on the screens of the cash registers around campus. But inevitably, others, for whatever reason, will end up with a surplus of points by the semester’s end. Conventionally, the students in this latter category might treat a group of friends for an end-of year meal, or sometimes they go Weshop and stock up on light bulbs or condoms. But we suggest to those with additional points that if you don’t have any friends (and since light bulbs might break if they’re being transported, anyway), consider charitable ways of using your points. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with splurging on yourself and friends, or being practical and buying items so that you don’t have to buy them in the future.
But if you are philanthropically-minded, here are some ideas on how to use your points:
You can go to Weshop, but instead of stocking up on batteries or re-usable cameras for yourself, buy canned foods and non-perishable foods and deposit them in boxes outside of Weshop for various soup kitchens in Middletown.
For those of us not blessed with extra points, we may still find ourselves with clothing, books, or even furniture we can’t figure out how to get rid of. It’s stunning how much gets thrown out at the end of each year, but rather than putting your leftovers on the street to be collected by garbage trucks, Goodwill or The Salvation Army could sell them. If nothing else, trading with your hallmates could be surprisingly useful; that kid moving to Atlanta this summer could probably use your fan.
So if you have extra points or extra stuff, enjoy your riches, but consider sharing with others if you can. It makes us feel and look like jerks to be so wasteful, and after all, there’s only so many Odwallas you can buy at Weshop to burn off your points.
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