The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department (SBCPHD) received 11,000 doses of the H1N1 vaccine in the past week; however, very little of it will go to UCSB, contrary to prior rumors that the vaccine would be available to students this month.

     “At this time, UCSB only has enough of the vaccine to immunize some high risk patients and health care workers,” said Dr. Elizabeth Downing of UCSB Student Health Services. “There are 15,000 doses on order, but no one knows when it will come in.”

     Meanwhile, the SBCPHD has been developing a plan for distributing the vaccine through local health care providers. According to a recent SBCPHD press release, the number of H1N1 related hospitalizations of SB County residents has reached 37 since mid-June, with three deaths on record. Right now the priority patients are pregnant women, health care personnel who have direct contact with patients, people with children younger than six months, and children between the ages of six months to four years of age.
People under the age of 24 are at higher risk of contracting the 2009 H1N1 influenza–also known as swine flu–according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), and statistics provided by Student Health Services estimate that 5 to 10 percent of the UCSB student body have been affected by H1N1. However, most students do not fall into the top category of risk, and Dr. Downing estimates that there are approximately 4,000 pregnant women living in SB County who must receive the vaccine first.

     “It’s obviously important to give it to people in the community who need it most,” said Lisa Shapiro, a fourth year UCSB student. “It’s a little frustrating that we don’t know when we’re getting [the vaccine] because we’re in such close quarters and catch things easily, but I think we’ll be fine.”

     The vaccine, as soon as it is available to students, will be available as a shot or as a nasal spray. While most of the impending order is for the flu shot, there will be approximately 40 doses of the nasal spray form available. The shot uses an inactive form of the virus and will not cause the flu. Protective antibodies should develop within two weeks after vaccination.
Parents of UCSB students have expressed their concerns regarding the spread of illness as well. “From what I can tell by my daughter and her friends, college students don’t seek medical care soon enough,” said Christine DeGruttola, a UCSB parent. “It puts them at greater risk of getting sick.”

     With uncertainty over when the vaccine will become available on campus, students and parents express their frustration and also their concerns about the effectiveness of the vaccine. “I feel like vaccines are a good thing, but it is so new I’m concerned about its effectiveness,” said Skyler Sugimoto, a third year UCSB student.
Students are not the only ones questioning the vaccine. “With any new vaccine, you’re always concerned with whether it’s been tested well enough,” DeGruttola said. “It seems they’re trying to manufacture them as quickly as possible, but you want to make sure there aren’t problems with it.”

     UCSB Student Health Services currently offers the seasonal flu vaccination; however, it will not protect against H1N1 influenza, according to the CDC. Student Health Services recommends receiving the H1N1 vaccination as soon as it is made available, and to take preventative measures such as hand washing and staying home when sick.
“I’m not worried about getting the vaccine anytime soon,” Shapiro said. “I’ll survive.”

What is Bean Night, an uninformed SB plebeian might ask. It’s only the hottest Open Mic night in Isla Vista going down every Monday night from 8:30 to 10:30 PM at 6714 Sabado Tarde, better known by its inhabitants as the Rainbow House. Be prepared for personal space invaders, dim lighting, plenty of Charles Shaw, and some groovy grooves as local Beanies rip, rap, riff, and rock it out.
You have a poem? Read it. You have a song? Bring it. You won’t find a more supportive or cooperative crowd. As each artist hits the stage, the room hushes; the only sounds are the flick of lighters and an occasional whisper. Here, anyone could be a poet or a musician. The definition of these artists is always evolving. And if you mess up, the crowd cheers you on to continue!

The Open Mic is set in the Rainbow House living room, which is decorated with lava lamps, prayer flags, and a looming Emerald Video Store sign. People are strewn over coaches and carpet, giving reverent attention to whoever is performing, or breaking into relaxed chatter in between performances. Announcements are informal and very entertaining. “Anyone who wants to help paint a fence, talk to Curtis!” or “Who wants to pick up trash off the beach and turn it into art?”
According to posters on the wall, “Cthulu loves Bean Night,” which shows how even eldritch abominations pick up the banjo and jam. Musical instruments are scattered amidst the crowd: tambourines, shakers, and bongos for spontaneous collaborations. And what if you don’t have an instrument to play? Beat out a rhythm on your lap!
“The people here keep feeding Bean Night. We provide the space and they fill in the gaps,” says Caitlin McNeely, the current hostess and MC of Bean Night. “After a while I stopped questioning if I was going or not. It became fact.”
Bean Night champion Samma Gibot agrees, “Bean Night showed me that there is a safe place in IV to express yourself. It inspired me to pick up a guitar again and play in front of other people.”

Bean Night was started by UCSB alum Danny Jolles, who felt that there was great potential for the Isla Vista music scene, what with the BIKO co-op shows and Music Festivals in Anisq’Oyo’ Park. The first Bean Night debuted in October 2008 at 999 Camino Corto.
“Originally Bean Night was low key, probably about 30 people max, mostly our friends,” recalls Danny Jolles. “Now Bean Night is so damn dynamic. People listen quietly or sing along, sometimes collaborating on the spot, doing something incredible that has never been heard before. It’s alive… it’s always NOW at Bean Night.”

This year Bean Night has re-launched at 6714 Sabado Tarde, with Caitlin McNeely as its natural heiress. So come duke it out with the muse! Bring a poem, bring a song, bring baked goods! This is a community that shares its heart. As Jolles puts it, “It is really just an idea, like a little bean planted in the ground. With enough water and sunlight, it will sprout through the soil and become alive.”

     It’s Saturday night, you’re starving on Del Playa, and a quesorrito at Freebirds just doesn’t seem worth the ten bucks. What do you do? Or maybe a better question is, “What Would Jesus Do?” The answer isn’t as blasphemous as it sounds. He’d probably head over to 6686 Del Playa, a location better known in Isla Vista as the Jesus Burgers house.

     Jesus Burgers is a Christian ministry that operates in Isla Vista, and which hosts barbecues  in the front yard of 6686 on Saturday nights, starting around 10 PM.  Here it’s BYOC, or Bring Your Own Cheese, with burgers provided for free by the church’s members. Anybody is welcome to swing by, grab a Jesus burger, and hang out. Sometimes guitars and hand drums are pulled out for an impromptu late-night jam. And if you want more substance, the ministry also provides a prayer and guidance in the ‘prayer shed,’ a Christian version of Sydney Fife’s Man Cave, which is located in the backyard.

     I myself cruised by Jesus Burgers last Saturday night. While waiting in line for the grill, I stood between a gaggle of sorority chicks and a bunch of intoxicated Norwegian students who kept busting out into Britney Spears. Nearby, people were roasting their hands by the fire pit, and inside the house some peeps were playing cards. The line was long and slow, but the food looked good and the company was so remarkably chill that pretty soon I found myself relaxing and enjoying my surroundings. And when I finally received my burger, the smiles on the cooks’ faces really solidified the tranquil aura of the place for me.

     I guess I should not have been surprised. Jesus Burgers has developed a great reputation for being honest about its ministry. “People step onto the property knowing that when friends get out of line,” says Jason Lomelino, the current pastor of Isla Vista Church, “that  people shout ‘hey, this is Jesus Burgers!’”

It was not always this easy. The ministry began as a college bible study that met in Santa Barbara when everyone else was out partying. The Isla Vista party scene was much rowdier back then, with more couch burnings and fights. Their early outreach attempts consisted of prayer walks and street evangelizing, which some nights could be dangerous. Ultimately, they decided they needed a home base in Isla Vista, or as Lomelino puts it, “a light in the darkness.”

     In 2002, Jesus Burgers’ first church services were held in the front yard of 6686, with plenty of bands and burgers to draw people in. “Our first year was really hard,” says Derika Brendsel, a Jesus Burgers veteran who runs a blog at www.derikabrendsel.blogspot.com, “People were skeptical. A few thought our burgers must be laced with poison. They were combative. But then they saw that people lived at 6686, skating, surfing, going to class. They started realizing we were just like anybody else.” Brendsel recalls one Halloween when a couple dressed up as hamburger saints and came as “Jesus Burgers.”

     As the ministry’s reputation grew, so did its support. Since its founding, Shalhoob Meat Company, a local family owned business, has supplied its patties and only recently handed that role over to the Salvation Army because of the current economic recession. Jesus Burgers is very popular with the local Isla Vista community, evidenced by the regularity with which people show up. “If there’s any problem,” claims Kim Ramos, a third-year Aquatic Biology major, “it’s that I wish their line wasn’t so long so I could eat faster.”

     “Jesus Burgers is great. They encourage people to get to know each other,” says Alyssa Williams, a third-year Theater major, “and they really try to get people to see the love of Christ in a good way.”

     Personally, I agree. Jesus Burgers represents a Christianity I can relate with. Their gospel is not fire insurance, but peace, love, and hospitality. And every bite of their juicy Jesus burgers is a holy hand grenade of flavor and taste. This place is not just a burger joint or a ministry, but a gift, and we are lucky to have it.

Growing Numbers
The Center for Disease Control says that suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students.
Fifty percent of college students report feeling so depressed at some point that they have had trouble functioning, and Prozac is the most prescribed medication among college students, followed by anti-anxiety medications and other anti-depressants, according to College of the Overwhelmed: The Campus Mental Health Crisis and What To Do About It.
While winter quarter saw a jump in crisis cases, the trend has been rising over the years. In 1991, Counseling Services had 62 crisis appointments, and in the 2004-2005 school year there were 462 appointments. Student Health also saw mental health visits more than double in the past 10 years.
Due to budget cuts, Counseling Services has not been able to hire enough counselors, increasing appointment wait times for sometimes weeks.
“The ratio of counselors to students should be 1 counselor to every 1,500 students, and right now we’re at 1 to every 1,900,” Stanford said.
Two net counselors are said to be hired soon to cope with the growing number of students seeking counseling, and students in urgent crises can always be seen immediately.
“No matter what’s going on financially, we will never refuse to see a student,” Stanford said.
UCSB’s increase in students seeking counseling is consistent with the UC system as a whole, which experienced a 23 percent increase between 2001 and 2006, according to a report by the UC Student Mental Health Oversight Committee.
The committee stemmed from a task force headed by Vice Chancellor Michael Young in 2006 which gathered information about student mental health and the UC’s response to it. Young currently co-chairs the committee with Joel Dimsdale of UC San Diego, and the committee regularly updates the UC Regents on student mental health and provides recommendations.
The Committee’s 2006 report found that student mental health problems in the UCs have increased significantly both in number and severity, and that dwindling funds meant the UC could not adequately respond to the worsening situation.
It also found that one in four students seeking counseling are already taking psychotropic medications, and that those at the greatest risk of mental health concerns include graduate students, international students, lesbian, gay and bisexual students, and racially/ethnically underrepresented students.
At the most recent UC Regents meeting on March 18, Young and Dimsdale reported that in the last year, there have been 11 suicides in the UC system, which is not an increase, but that psychiatric hospitalizations have increased by 79 percent.

University Response
In response to the committee’s 2006 findings, a number of resources were launched to help meet the report’s recommendations.
“There was a pretty modest increase in funding pointed towards mental health, so that’s helped us to do some things on campus that are really great, like 24/7 phone counseling,” said Angela Andrade, Coordinator of Mental Health Services at UCSB. Andrade’s position was created in 2007 as part of the response. She works as a point of reference on campus for all things concerning student mental health, points students in the right direction for help, and holds Distressed Student Trainings for staff, faculty and TAs to familiarize them with warning signs exhibited in students.
“We offered many more trainings last year and worked on making folks on campus aware of resources, where to refer students and what signs to look for,” Andrade said. “I think we’re seeing that those people who are in contact with students recognize the signs and refer students, and hopefully that allows us to intervene earlier and get students connected to help.”
Andrade said increased stress, the competitive college atmosphere and the economy are likely contributing to the increase in distressed students.
“It rattles students quite a lot when their families have major financial issues and we’re definitely seeing more of that,” she said. “Mostly what I’ve seen is parents losing their jobs, and sometimes its more than one parent.”
In addition to helping students one-on-one, Andrade works to de-stigmatize ideas about mental health on campus.
“Mental health isn’t ‘you and them’, it’s ‘us’,” she said. “This is who we are, and openness is really important. I hope it will help students get the help they need and help others recognize it when they can’t recognize it themselves.”
Burt Romotsky, a social worker at Student Health, sees students who range from being highly stressed to living in serious crisis. His position was added to Student Health six years ago, and today he sees and hears from more students and their concerned loved ones than ever.
“If a student is not sure where to get help for any stressing situation they may have, from mental health to financial, housing, or academic concerns, we work with the student and figure out what their needs are,” Romotsky said.
Appointments with Student Health’s social workers are always free and confidential. Romotsky and Brandi Walsh, another social worker, provide linkage and support to students and help connect them with resources. They also work with the Office of Student Like, faculty and staff to address situations.
“We really try to balance respecting a student’s privacy, but if they really seem at risk of needing urgent attention, we try to get them in and make outreach calls to get them the assistance they need. We have a good relationship with the local psychiatric hospital as well,” said Romotsky.
Romotsky said there are usually between 30 and 38 psychiatric hospitalizations each year, but there have already been between 30 and 35 psychiatric hospitalizations this year. Seventeen to 20 were hospitalized during fall and winter quarters last year.
If a student’s mental health or distressing situation is so severe that it affects his or her functioning and academic performance, he or she may be encouraged to take a break from school. Students can also opt to be exempt from unit requirements and receive academic accommodation through the Disabled Students Program, where psychologically impaired students are its fastest growing served population served.
Romotsky believes the increasing severity of student mental health problems may also be due to advances in psychotropic medications in the last decade which have enabled students with very serious disorders such as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia to attend college.
“People years ago that maybe had a significant mental health problem may not have been able to come to college, but medications today are much more effective and there are also more support services in public schools prior to coming to college,” he said. “People are more able to come to campus, but sometimes when they come, they might not have the level of support they have in their home environment, so sometimes the symptoms could get worse.”
Dean of Students Yonie Harris believes it is important for students entering college on psychotropic medications to stay on them.
“Students run into problems when they try to get off a medication without having that decision sanctioned by a doctor,” she said. “I think the benefits of medication outweigh the negatives for students and I would just urge them to not make that decision alone.”
Harris said although she believes it is too soon to determine what exactly has caused the recent increase in suicide attempts, the administration recognizes the student mental health crisis and has the well-being of students in its best interests. She believes students should not perceive the university’s resources in a “take it, or leave it” manner, but that the university wants to hear student concerns and get them help.

Student Advocacy
A significant amount of work being done on campus to increase mental health awareness and support is being lead by students.
Gladys Marinque, a Mental Health Intern, and Marianne Clark, a recent graduate and now Assistant to the Coordinator of Mental Health Services, have spent the last two years promoting mental health awareness and support among students through organizations and campaigns.
Clark, who transferred to UCSB from a semester system school, believes the pressure of the quarter system and the MCP policy can affect a student’s mental health.
“There are some students who can’t do more than 12 units, so putting that pressure on them is causing a lot of extra stress in their lives and pushing them beyond their means,” she said. “I think the administration would do well to think about how it affects the students mentally.”
Marinque believes students should view mental health as any they would other illnesses.
“If you had a headache, you’d take medication for it. Or if you have a broken arm you see the doctor, so why wouldn’t you do that for something that’s wrong with you?” she said.
Marinque began the “Be a Friend” campaign last year to encourage students to look out for one another and provide support to friends who may be suffering from a mental health issue.
“It encompasses going back to the idea of being a friendly person,” she said. “Instead of just having a friend you go out drinking with, have a friend you can actually talk to and will be there for you and get you the help that you need. It’s a very whole definition of what being a friend is.”
Marinque and Clark are also concerned many students may use alcohol to self-medicate possible mental health issues.
They believe students should take advantage of counseling when it’s free, and encourage students who have negative feelings about counseling or about the administration’s role in student mental health to e-mail them with questions at mentalhealthinterns@sa.ucsb.edu.
Marinque and Clark were also involved in the formation of the A.S. Commission on Well-Being last quarter, which they believe is the first instance of mental health advocacy appearing in college student government legislation.
Steven Wolfson, an Off-Campus Representative on Legislative Council helped pass a resolution acknowledging the student mental health crisis last quarter. He believes strains in funding due to the state budget crisis and the possible student tax could be devastating to mental health support on campus.
“We’re starting to realize that since the budget is getting worse and worse, it’s becoming more of an unreasonable goal to want to administration to respond the situation with their wallets,” he said. “That’s why I want to increase communication between groups like the Commission on Student Well-Being, the Wellness Center, and Counseling Services, because awareness is a much bigger part than adding additional services. We should be doing both but we can only do one effectively at this point.”
Active Minds, a club dedicated to de-stigmatizing mental health issues on campus, hosts events promoting mental health awareness and support. During fall quarter, it brought a speaker who survived a jump off of the Golden Gate Bridge to a packed IV Theater.
President Nadra Safi said the club has received very good reception and support from students; its e-mail list had over 100 subscribers in its first quarter of existence. Still, the club occasionally runs into stigmas associated with mental illness.
“When we tabled at Spring Insight, there was actually one person who came up to me and said, ‘Oh, suicide prevention? We don’t want you to be over here,’” she said.
Safi said part of why she became active in the club is because she lost her best friend to suicide.
“I was too afraid to call 9-11 and I was afraid she would get mad at me, but now I really wish I had,” she said. “That’s why I really want people to know that calling 9-11 is totally an option.”
Other student groups working to counter student mental health problems include the Wellness Center, the Healthy Eating and Living Interns, and Counseling Services’ Stress Peers.

Getting Help
There are a number of resources on campus available to students struggling with mental health. The new 24/7 After Hours Counseling Hotline (893-4411) allows students as well as concerned friends and family to speak with a psychologist at any time, including holidays and weekends, and free individual and group counseling is available at Counseling Services, as well as resources for coping with stress. UCSB’s Hosford Clinic offers counseling at reduced costs, and psychiatrists and social workers can be seen at Student Health. Anyone concerned about a friend is encouraged to speak with Angela Andrade at the Office of Student Life.
“I have a lot of faith in people being able to help another person, and a lot of times, the person wants the help and maybe just needs somebody to be there for them and help them along,” Andrade said.
“If you have agreed to keep a secret, but you think your friend is in real trouble, it may be time to share the secret, because getting help for a friend is not tattling, it’s not getting them in trouble, it’s getting them help. And most of the time students are really relieved when they get help.”
Andrade said students who believe they may have a problem but are hesitant to seek help should remember they are not alone.
“It’s important to know that anxiety and depression are very common, that everybody gets stuck, and that its ok to get a little help to get through it,” she said. “It doesn’t mean that you’re going to go to counseling for the rest of your life, and if you try medication it doesn’t mean you’ll be on it for the rest of your life; you still make your own choices. Know that it can get better. It really can get better.”
Harris encourages students not to hesitate from calling the university if they are concerned about someone.
“One of the things we have to de-stigmatize is making that call. It’s not ratting on somebody; it will help a person when that person needs help. And believe me, there have been some life-saving calls.”

Established in Isla Vista in 1981, Sam’s To Go is a family-run sandwich shop that has a casual, welcoming atmosphere. “People come here when they want to relax at the end of finals and get a drink with their friends,” said owner Mehrdad Homayouni. If you are interested in winding down at the end of a hard week with a pitcher of beer and a gigantic sandwich, Sam’s To Go is definitely the place to be. Along with the sandwiches, it is also known for its lively social scene. “Whenever I bike back from class, I always hear the music at Sam’s To Go,” said second-year UCSB student Casey Capachi. “It makes me tempted to look over and see who’s there and what’s happening.” 

Homayouni, who also happens to be one of the owners of Java Jones, admits that although the music is often loud, it is only played to attract customers and add to the lively atmosphere. He deliberately chooses to play the music louder between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., which is prime time for people to come by and grab lunch. In the morning, he turns the music down so that people making an early-morning coffee run won’t be bothered. 

Next door at Java Jones, however, people have conflicting opinions about the music. While Sam’s To Go is known as the place for big groups to party, Java Jones is the place where people go to catch up with old friends or get a little studying done before class. “I really like going to Java because the coffee’s good and they have comfortable couches. But it’s almost impossible to study or have a good conversation when Sam’s To Go is blasting music,” said second-year UCSB student Lexi Pandell. 

Java Jones plays music as well, but it is generally much more soothing, and it is never anywhere near as loud as the music at Sam’s To Go. It has a calmer vibe, creating a more relaxed atmosphere. “Java Jones is a little funky…I would say it definitely has some serious funk elements,” said Java Jones manager, Tina Korisheli. “At the same time, I hope it’s a welcoming place. The only thing I’m worried about is that it’s too clique-ish, because we always have our coffee-house groupies who like to come here.” 

It is not uncommon for coffee shops and restaurants to have their regular customers and “groupies.” What’s interesting in this situation is that while there is such a clear distinction between the clientele who go to each place, they’re only a step away from each other. For Korisheli, the difference is noticeable. “I would like to be able to meld the two places more,” she said. “Even people who drink need their coffee in the morning. But you know…they are two kinds of opposite extremes, so I don’t know how well they really mix together.” 

While some students are annoyed by the clash between these two atmospheres, others appreciate the shops’ close proximity: if they want a cold sandwich and a hot cup of coffee, they can have the best of both worlds. 

“I feel like everybody has a little bit of both inside of them…a little Java Jones and a little Sam’s To Go,” said Capachi. “It’s nice to see the two coming together. That’s what I.V. is all about.” 

Of course, safe sex is absolutely essential. Most would agree that sparing yourself years with embarrassing diseases is enough of a motivator to justify those 20 seconds of awkwardly fumbling with a condom. But is there a way to make the protection protocol a little less awkward and little more sensual? Below are some suggestions for ways to protect yourself without spoiling your sexy routine.

Buy colored condoms. Multi-colored condoms can make protection a fun game of coloring, inside or outside the lines. Choose different colors according to what mood you’re in: Red is passionate and aggressive; blue is soft and sensual; yellow is funky and experimental, and pink, of course, is naughty but nice. Condom color coding can be a sexy new way of communicating with your lover without speaking. Let’s be red tonight, baby. Color me sexy.

If you’re not a taste-the-rainbow kind of person, then there are also several kinds of pleasure-enhancing condoms that come in the regular transparent color. Trojan brand condoms now offer pleasure variety packs with styles such as Her Pleasure, His Pleasure and Warm Sensations. These condoms are ribbed and covered with warm-on-contact lubricant to make the entry and exit slide smooth and sensual and combat that embarrassing probing for first penetration. The pack, which costs around 15 dollars for 20 condoms, can be found at any drug store.

Of course, in order to be protected at all, applying the condom is the first stage. Women are often given the task of gloving the loving; however, many can be a bit sloppy and imprecise, causing the condom to break, tear, or slide off without notice. In addition to these risks, enhanced pleasure condoms are much less pleasing if they aren’t put on properly, so make sure to follow the basic steps of condom application:

1) Pinch the tip and level it on the head of the penis.
2) Roll down the condom.
3) Make sure the condom is rolled all the way down to the bottom and secured in place.

Once you have these steps mastered, there is less than a 1 percent chance of condom breakage even under the most aggressive of conditions. Get the rules down before you go down, and it’ll save you a trip to Student Health.

Here’s another little known fact: condoms come in many different sizes, not just normal and Magnum XL. Guys, make sure to buy what size fits you. If you are not a Double Magnum XL, just accept it and buy your own size. You don’t need to be endowed like a horse to be a good lover. When you buy a size that’s too big for you, the chances that the condom will slide off during sex are much higher. Then you’re not getting the 99.99 percent protection you paid for, and that’s just bad consumerism.

Don’t ever think that “pulling out” is safe sex. “Pre-ejaculation also contains semen that can impregnate and spread disease, so put a condom on before any kind of penetration,” says Planned Parenthood representative Sherry Goldwin. Any intercourse can cause mixing of bodily fluids, even if the man doesn’t ejaculate. Condoms need to be put on immediately before intercourse to be completely effective. In a two-year study of sero-discordant couples (in which one partner was HIV-positive and one was HIV-negative), uninfected partners became infected in 10 percent of couples using condoms inconsistently, while no uninfected partner became infected among couples using condoms correctly at every act of vaginal or anal sex, according to the Center for Disease Control. If everyone learned how to correctly wear a condom, STDs could become a thing of the past.

Safe sex is always good sex. Even if you have to pause for 20 seconds and lose some momentum, it’ll save you regret, panic and a trip to the pharmacy. Condoms can enrich your sexual experience if you allow them to do their job. Buy the right size, spice it up with colors and pleasure enhancers, and you can gain more from a piece of rubber than you ever thought possible. Remember, it’s OK to ride in the fast lane, as long as you wear a seat belt.

As students, we often come to question, “Where did my money go?” It isn’t until we sit down and analyze what we spend our money on that we come understand our spending habits. Below is a breakdown of a UCSB student’s budget for the month of January. Her part-time job and some family support barely leaves her with extra cash.

Food – $181.00 

Gas – $91.00 

School expenses – $89.00 

Rent – $662.00 

The total of her expenses comes to $1,023; she earns $1100 at her job, which leaves her an extra $77 each month for emergency or miscellaneous costs. She manages not to struggle with her expenses by a few easy money-saving rules:

Tip #1: Write down all your expenses for one month, and go over it and see where you’re spending large portions of your money. This will help you realize if you are spending your money unwisely and eliminate the unnecessary expenses. Experts confirm this by advising to keep a small notebook in hand to immediately write down what you buy, even creating categories to help you stay organized. 

Tip #2: Establish a budget after analyzing your month’s expenses to get a clear and precise view of your spending habits. Utilities and rent, of course, are items that cannot be changed; however, other expenses can be cut down more easily, such as eating out, going clubbing and seeing movies. 

Tip #3: Spend no more than your actual income, whether your money is coming from your job or your support system. This leads to our next tip. 

Tip #4: Set up two accounts, one checking and one savings. Move 10 or 15 percent of your income to a savings account each month; this is your back-up money. The key is to pretend you have no savings account so that you won’t be tempted to tap into it later. 

Experts say bad spending habits come from using credit and debit cards. Convenient as they are, they allow us purchase away without keeping track, a habit which leads to carelessness and that horrible feeling of overdraft. We then look at the statement and realize how little purchases here and there, such as seemingly innocent trips to Starbucks or Jamba Juice, weigh heavily on our bills.  

Credit card users also tend to forget that their credit history stays with them forever; late payments affect overall credit scores, increase interest rates, and worsen debt. Now, is that delicious Skinny Vanilla Latte really worth jeopardizing your future financial state? 

The best way to stay on top of expenses is to write them down and go over them. Figure out how much money you have for each month, create a budget based on that amount, and stick to it. 

After my own rude awakening regarding the $50 I have left for this week and next, I sat down today and compiled a list of all my spending. Let’s just say I’ll be laying off the Skinny Vanillas for a while.

That’s not to say the tables have turned completely; it’s just that they’ve shifted to a position where both genders can feel free to dish out the oppression.

Recently, a friend of mine named Sean invited me to eat dinner with him and his girlfriend. The dinner was as nice as a pizza joint on a Saturday night can be, but all I could think about was how he treated his girlfriend, a skinny blonde of the usual forgettable variety. Girlfriend hardly spoke unless Sean barked instructions to her from across the table. Without a second’s hesitation, he shamelessly revealed her eating disorder to me as explanation for her lack of appetite. 

When I asked her in private why she would date someone so rude when she was obviously attractive and nice enough to date anyone she wanted, she had no response.

Sean’s behavior was surely not due to sexism; he had always been more than nice to me and previous, if less attractive, girlfriends. It was simply that their relationship had formed around his dominance over her. “She likes it,” was his reply when I commented on his treatment of Girlfriend.

Basic psychology says that men and women who repeatedly date abusive people have low self-esteem. But is domination in relationships truly a self-esteem issue? A quick look around Del Playa Drive on a weekend can prove that even the most scantily-clad women exuding a certain alcohol-induced confidence always have their own personal boy toy in tow. 

Meanwhile the most self-centered tool preening before the keg is never without his trophy girl standing beside him, waiting patiently to be mounted. While both these types have archives of self-esteem issues hidden just behind the booze cabinet, I doubt the cause for this disparity of power lies solely with the ever-popular self-esteem diagnosis.   

There’s a reason it’s called the game. Nice guys and girls are pawns on the chess board hoping to survive all the way until checkmate, while conniving men and women jump ahead like knights and queens. Everyone wants to be royalty and nobody wants to be stepped on, but unfortunately we, the young and datable, have created this chessboard of mind games where no one wins. Stalemate.

It all comes down to the perfect balance. No one person wears the pants; that archaic saying, stemming from whatever sexist 1950s Neanderthal invented it, has been sabotaging otherwise healthy relationships for years. It seems that after decades of extraneous bullshit, i.e. “Mean Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus,” “He’s Just Not That Into You” and other self-propagating date books, people have forgotten that dating someone is about liking the person. Not playing the person.