Some helpful hints from a veteran, whether you want them or not

To the students at Metro and beyond, I come to you with some advice. You didn't ask for it, but I am here to help anyway. It's what I do. As college students, we all need some help at times and the experience of others can be most beneficial. To some of you, this advice I'm about to disseminate is not news at all, for others this could be very valuable. I'll let you decide. Five pieces of advice is what I'm offering.

My first piece of advice is to buy a Flash Drive. For those who do not know what this is, a Flash Drive is like a floppy disk, but is way smaller and can hold much more information. They can be found at the campus bookstore and at most office supply or electronics stores. They can hold several years worth of assignments, essays, PowerPoint presentations, pictures, whatever you need stored from a computer. Many students try to save files to the Student Drive on the campus network. Ever try to go back and find something you saved on there? It could take you all day to find which document labeled "Essay" is yours. Meanwhile, those of us with Flash Drives know where our files are at all times: on our key chains. I say this to you both tech savvy and novices alike: get a Flash Drive; it will save your sanity.

Secondly, utilize the public transportation system in this town. In our student fees, we pay an RTD fee, which gives us the opportunity to use the buses and light rail whenever we want without buying a ticket. Just flash your student ID and that's good enough. Parking is free at any of the Park-n-Rides in town and there are a lot of buses that make drops on or near campus many times a day. The train has two stations on campus for students. When you drive to campus you have to find a place to park and pay upwards of $1.75 per day. If you come to class four days a week, 16 weeks a semester, that comes out to $112 per semester (and that's for the cheap spots). The choice is clear. But, while you're at it ...

Carpool. I can't stress this enough. With gas prices at an all-time high I know everyone is looking for ways to save at the pump. One way is to find people in your classes or friends on campus who live near you, have a schedule complimentary to yours, and who want to carpool. I have recently started carpooling myself and it has saved me a lot of money, and I only do it twice a week. Since money is important to us all, and our gas bills are getting higher and higher, this would be a good alternative.

Speaking of saving money, what is the one thing students spend more money on outside the classroom than anything else? Alcohol. I used to think it would be rent until I went down to LoDo one night and spent a hefty amount of money buying drinks. Not only did I drive from suburbia to get down to the overcrowded bars on Blake, Market, and Larimer (gas money), but I also had to pay for parking and then pay out the rear for a watered-down rum and Coke. From that night on I thought: forget LoDo, try a local dive bar. Much of the Metro population lives outside the city and driving downtown to drink is impractical. Instead, find some dive in your own neighborhood that has a good drink special, a pool table, and doesn't have a line out the door to get served. I assure you, someday you'll thank me for this.

That's it. It's my advice to you. Take it or leave it. Have advice of your own that you would like to share with the Metro reading public? Send it in to me and I'll run it next time, with all credit given to you, of course.