Josh Falcone – General Assignment Reporter –
In the past few weeks, many Southern students have received a refund from the student loans that they borrowed to pay for their courses. Suddenly, finding a sum of money in your bank account is a nice feeling, but what students do with this money varies.
Southern senior Matt Ursone said he used his refund to pay off his credit card bill, which he used to pay for the numerous textbooks he needed this semester. Ursone also bought tickets to an upcoming basketball game.
“I bought some Knicks tickets,” Ursone said. “And I commute to school, so I have been using some of that money on filling my car’s gas tank.”
Southern student Dan Jennings received a refund and he said he’s saving the money to use on a currently undecided vacation. Jennings said he also spent a little of his refund on Miami Dolphins gear, his favorite NFL team.
Jessica Beauvais bought snowboarding equipment with some of the money she received, but said she wants to save the rest of the refund to pay back her student loans.
After receiving my refund a few weeks ago, I booked a trip to Orlando to take my nephew to Disney World and Universal Studios for their respected Halloween celebrations, a nice gift to a deserving kid. In all honestly though, it was also a selfish decision. When I was a young lad I always heard from friends who had gone to these parks during holidays on how amazing it was, and damn it, I want to see the Headless Horseman riding down Main Street USA.
I also spent a little of my refund on going to see game four of the Major League Baseball American League Division Series featuring the New York Yankee v. Baltimore Orioles last Thursday. Being a humongous Yankee fan and never having been to a post-season game, I decided to correct this. I did not care for the outcome of the game—with the Yankees losing in 14 innings—but the experience was fun and the money was well spent.
Some people will say that I should not spend the money that is left over after my college expenses have been paid, that the money is not mine and I should give the remaining amount back. I say, “Shut up and mind your own business.”
I am going to be paying all my loans back, so if I want to spend some of the money that was lent to me on making myself happy, it is no skin off your knee. Ursone agrees.
“Some people gave me a hard time about spending my refund,” Ursone said. “But it’s like this: I’ve worked hard for three and a half years; it’s only fair that I get to play hard once in awhile too.”
To be brutally honest, students have little idea, myself included, about how hard they will actually have to work once they’re in a job and have a family to support. They’ll look back at their student years and giggle. Spending some and repaying debt/saving is probably a wise choice, though. Working with no reward is horrible.