With the end of the semester right around the corner, University students are counting down the days until winter break. However, many upperclassmen students also face a major dilemma at the end of every semester: their declining Dining Dollars.

With just a few weeks to go, most students will do anything to avoid adding extra dollars onto their meal plan. The Bucknellian interviewed several students who have found ways to deal with this problem.

One student told us how her personal connections with younger University students have been an asset to her dining options.

“I only have $11 left on my plan,” Karen Blansky ’20 said. “But luckily, I was an OA this year, so I know a ton of first-years. For the past couple of weeks, I have been having them take turns swiping me into the Caf. Honestly, I wish my Dining Dollars ran out sooner. I forgot how much I missed the stir-fry!”

Like Blansky, Tammy Fletcher ’18 has benefitted from her personal relationships around campus.

“I’ve been dating my boyfriend for a few months now. I ran out of Dining Dollars a few days ago, but he’s in Beta Chi, so I’ve been eating there. Their kitchen is huge and no one minds if he grabs me an extra Hot Pocket,” Fletcher said.

One particularly crafty student explained how he has been using his laundry money off-campus.

“When I started running low on Dining Dollars, I remembered that I could use my Campus Dollars at Weis,” Grant Sherman ’20 said. “My mom is the best, and always loads me up with spare cash to keep my clothes clean, and I’ve been able to use that for essentials like pizza bagels and Dino Nuggets.”

These resourceful students provide great examples of ways to avoid going broke near the end of the semester. There is no reason to re-up on Dining Dollars when you can rely on your fellow students to lend a hand, or simply find other ways to use your Campus accounts.