Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Gourmet Coffee Is The New Nicotine?
Soon, we may be subject a new round of ads encouraging youth to put away the cup and reach for the refillable thermos.
Caffeine (hmm Jolt Cola) has long been a drug of choice for students, helping many of them through all-nighters, exam weeks, and just getting up every day.
But some educators say that gourmet coffee is becoming a problem for students, not because of caffeine addiction, but cost. These educators believe that some students are adding an additional $4,000 - $5,000 to their student debt (over the course of their studies) by purchasing fancy coffees. A few of them are starting to speak out about the issue, counseling students that they can save thousands of dollars if they skip the $3 or more they spend on gourmet coffee each day and start brewing their own.
“It’s about living within your means and controlling your costs, because that affects your options in the future,” says Erika Lim, director of career services at Seattle University’s law school. Lim talks to the students she advises about the need to skip gourmet stores and to buy a Thermos. Many students complain to Lim that their loans preclude their taking jobs as prosecutors or public defenders, let alone for public interest law groups, she says. In fact, some of them might be able to do so if they skipped the gourmet coffee and borrowed less money, she says.
Read more.
Caffeine (hmm Jolt Cola) has long been a drug of choice for students, helping many of them through all-nighters, exam weeks, and just getting up every day.
But some educators say that gourmet coffee is becoming a problem for students, not because of caffeine addiction, but cost. These educators believe that some students are adding an additional $4,000 - $5,000 to their student debt (over the course of their studies) by purchasing fancy coffees. A few of them are starting to speak out about the issue, counseling students that they can save thousands of dollars if they skip the $3 or more they spend on gourmet coffee each day and start brewing their own.
“It’s about living within your means and controlling your costs, because that affects your options in the future,” says Erika Lim, director of career services at Seattle University’s law school. Lim talks to the students she advises about the need to skip gourmet stores and to buy a Thermos. Many students complain to Lim that their loans preclude their taking jobs as prosecutors or public defenders, let alone for public interest law groups, she says. In fact, some of them might be able to do so if they skipped the gourmet coffee and borrowed less money, she says.
Read more.
# posted by Shaky @ 9:34 a.m. 
