Local Poverty

1. One of my students claims to be unable to afford the $9.95 that the publisher charges for students with used books to gain access ot the online homework system.


2. The other day I overheard some grad students discussing which forms of public assistance they receive. Consensus was that our state's Food Stamp benefit is very generous. They're still working on qualifying for assistance paying their utility bills.


3. The woman ahead of me at Walgreens on Monday realized after she'd been rung up that she didn't have any money, so she had to put all her stuff back. Her kid was really upset because she had promised that she'd buy him a toy. The other people in line wondered whether one of us should buy the toy for the kid.