Settling Debts Between Roommates

There's those initial investments we make when we first move in: a garbage can, laundry detergent, an industrial-sized package of red cups. But what if Joey has a meal plan, and won't use any of the cooking oil? And what if Audrey bought her own special shampoo and isn't sharing with everyone else? Or there's prude Eric, who won't pitch in for whipped cream. People get picky about what they will and won't pay for -- multiply that by four roommates, and it can get tricky to split the bill.

Here's how to settle all you roommate debts as fairly as possible without a charlie foxtrot. The basic idea is a simple chart that will break down each charge to account for: who initially paid for it and who's splitting the bill. Once you're finished, money will only exchange hands a few times with almost no change to deal with. Last night, we settled about $400 worth of really small items in about fifteen minutes -- but you can do it with rent, utilities, party supplies -- anything.

1. Gather your roommates, the receipts, a calculator and piece of paper. A spreadsheet is only going to make things more confusing, so just do it by hand.


2. Create the magic square. This thing is a lot like one of those logic puzzles from fourth grade. Each person's name appears once in a column and a row. The columns signify who paid for the bill and the rows signify how much money that person owes to the bill in question. Leave plenty of space to do math in the middle. You can go ahead and put crosses through the boxes that correspond to people and themselves. It's much easier to not pay yourself back...

3. Go through each receipt or bill, item-by-item. For each item, decide who's going to getting in on it and split the price accordingly. For instance, I bought a huge thing of disgusting boxed wine. Kelly is an alcoholic, so he drank about 90% of it. We split it 9 to 1 and we just listed "9" in Kelly's box under the column for my bills -- since I paid for it (and I don't need to pay myself back), nothing goes in my box. Since you'll probably split most things four ways, keep a tally of those things on a piece of scratch paper to the side, total them at the end of the bill, split them four ways and list the amounts in each person's box.


4. Total the boxes and cancel shit out. This is the cool part. Look at the boxes for, say, Nelson and Scarlett -- there's one where Nelson owes Scarlett money and another where Scarlett owes Nelson money. You can cancel these values to simplify the payments. See who owes what to whom and list those numbers out separately.


5. Be logical and make the payments. Now, you can use the transitive property to cancel out even more on paper. For instance, if Bobby owes Cheryl $8 and Cheryl owes Katka $8, Bobby can just pay 8$ to Katka. There are other more complicated simplifications, but don't spend too much time on it. Divvy out the money.

Taxes are something we didn't factor in. Instead, we rounded all the change up to help account for that a bit.

I think it's also interesting to see how "screwed" people could have gotten if you hadn't split everything up. In the end, you might find that it wasn't worth the whole process for one person to get reimbursed for only $10.

I was looking for a program that would easily do this sort of thing. Any tips?

Flat World Knowledge Hopes to Flip the Textbook Market on Its Head

I got to have a phone interview with Eric Frank, co-founder of Flat World Knowledge. His company is hoping to turn the entire textbook industry upside-down by doing something crazy: offering textbooks for free.

HC: What is Flat World Knowledge?

EF: First and foremost, Flat World Knowledge is a publishing operation. We're publishing great authors under a whole new business model, enabled by great new technology.

HC: How did you start Flat World Knowledge?

EF: My partner and I started planning Flat World Knowledge in January 2007. We had both just come out of working for big publishing companies. In the beginning, we had no business plan. We only knew there was tremendous dissatisfaction among students, growing dissatisfaction among professors and growing frustration among authors. We wanted to make sure we did things right, so we spent the first 3 months traveling around talking to students, professors and administrators, and building a plan from those conversations.

HC: Was it difficult to attract authors?

EF: Overall the answer is no. We found it easier to do with Flat World Knowledge than the big guys. The reason is the authors see us as a good opportunity to jump a sinking ship. There's not a lot of difference between any of the big publishers any more. And we've got 2 trump cards: we're playing the good guys and we're going to be first to market with a new model that enables them to build share quickly with a major competitive advantage, and earn more compensation under this model than the traditional one.

HC: What's your business model?

EF: First of all, all of our books are open. That means it's free for everyone: professors and students alike. The books are online and no registration is required.

HC: How are you going to make money?

EF: Good question. We will still actually be selling textbooks. If students prefer books, they can buy them from us for $29 in black and white or $59 for a color version. Students also have the option of buying Kindle, audiobook or PDF versions. Each of those go for $1.99 per chapter or $19.95 for the entire book, or an audio book for $2.99 per chapter or $29.95 for the entire book. We'll also be selling study aides. Each chapter in a book will have at least 3 study aides for purchase: flash cards, executive summaries and online quizes that reflect the test questions.

HC: Is there any cool technology behind Flat World Knowledge?

EF: Of course! First of all, professors are able to completely customize their books. Each professor teaches in a different way, so we want the books to be flexible to their needs. With Flat World Knowledge books, a professor can pick and choose which chapters she wants in her book, add their own materials, and in a later release, actually edit the book for their own class at the sentence level.

Also, there's technology that the students can take advantage of. There are ways that you can treat content where it's tagged, structured and stored in a database. Students will have the ability to comment and ask questions about a specific section of a text. Students in Florida will be able to interact with students in California.

HC: What do you think about Textbook Torrents?

EF: As a publisher, I believe in the protection of copyright. Authors that create useful content should be compensated, just like a musician that makes good content. Publishers need to be able to sustain themselves. I'm opposed to pirating content for no reason.

But when you have a situation like this, it is absolutely inevitable that the customers of an industry will find their own solution. With Flat World Knowledge, you don't have to pirate it because it's free! With our other options we believe that if we offer reasonable prices, students are reasonable people and will buy stuff.

HC: Is there anything else that you'd like to add?

EF: We are asking students to help mobilize and assist the adoption of Flat World Knowledge. We're putting together FWK street teams and also looking into hiring student sales representatives, where they will actually be able to make commission on sales.

HC: How should students get in touch with you to get involved with Flat World Knowledge?

EF: They can email me at eric@flatworldknowledge.com.

HackCollege Podcast Returns September 22

It's been a long several weeks without the podcast, hasn't it? A lot has happened since then and we'll be officially relaunching the show on September 22. We've got a few surprises in store.

Mark the date.

Tell your friends.

Make some popcorn.

LMU Students and Neighborhood Residents Take It to the Web

Last Saturday, HackCollege reported on how residents around Loyola Marymount University were blaming Twitter (among other things) on the recent increase in off-campus parties. KNBC4 covered it on Friday and the Loyolan, LMU's student-run newspaper, picked up the story in today's issue. It has officially hit the fan.

Take It to the (Online) Streets

Most interesting though, has been the forum with which the residents and students are bickering. They have taken their qualms online. A Westchester resident has been operating his own blog called WestchesterParents. A few of the recent posts highlight the growing party problem in the neighborhood among other things, like LAX expansion. A few students (including myself) have jumped in on the fray in the blog's comments.

On the KNBC4 video page, 53 comments have been posted on the video at the time of writing. The all-but-defunct JuicyCampus has a thread with 2 comments on the subject. Here at LMU, it's all people are talking about.

The entire scenario has been very interesting to see unfold. To my knowledge, it's one of the first times that an online medium has been the battleground for such a dispute. It might help to get a sense of exactly what is going on by examining the views of both sides...

In the Residents' Corner

The residents in Westchester claim that the off-campus parties and the property damage resulting has significantly increased in the past 5 years. Residents claim that the increase in enrollment is partially to blame. Since 2005, LMU's enrollment has increased from just under 5,500 to 5,699 according to the Princeton Review.

Some of the residents' grievances are as follows:

• Student parties are loud.


• Student parties are sometimes illegal as spelled out by the LMU code of student conduct.


• Students regularly urinate on lawns.


• Students have sex on lawns.


• Students litter.


• Students curse at residents when residents attempt to take pictures of belligerent students.


• Students have technology that allows house parties to quickly reconvene at other locations.

As evidenced by:

• WestchesterParents, a blog run by Westchester parents.


• Living90045.com, a blog about living in the zip code of 90045.


• Comments on the KNBC4 video

In the Students' Corner

The students here at LMU are concerned most with their right to party, myself included. Some of the reasoning on the students' side includes:

• Why would a resident move to Westchester and not expect college parties?


• The parties in contention are only on the weekend.


• Not all residents throwing parties are disrespectful to their neighbors.


• Students are going to party, no matter what.

As evidenced by:

• The Los Angeles Loyolan, the LMU student-run newspaper


• JuicyCampus, our favorite college gossip site


• Comments on the residents' blogs


• Hearsay

The Real Fundamental Issues

While the students and residents seem to be only talking past each other (which only result in escalation), I think there are a few fundamental reasons why the situation has gotten to this point:

• Many Jesuit Universities do not have "frat rows." LMU is one of those institutions. Most frat rows are ugly places, but they concentrate all of the debauchery into one part of the neighborhood. There are many party houses right now, but they are spread out across the neighborhood.


• The drinking age is 21. Freshman, sophomores, and some juniors are not allowed to drink. Getting caught is much less likely off-campus. Students venture off campus to avoid the potential double-whammy of LAPD and LMU smackdowns.


• Americans are uptight about noise, parties and privacy.

Do neighbors of your university complain about off-campus parties? Has your school stepped in to mitigate the complaints? Let us know in a few comments!

Staying Afloat in the New Schoolyear

The following email was sent in to us from HackCollege reader Tommy. Be sure to send any questions you have to dear@hackcollege.com!

In my own senior year, I’m sad to see the bank account is not as high as I would like it to be. To help offset my declining balance I have picked up two part-time jobs on campus. One is working tickets at home football games. The other is grading papers for a professor. These jobs are not that hard and not all that time consuming. Believe me I’m taking 14 credit hours and taking a Kaplan LSAT Prep class, totaling to 24.5 hours of class time a week. I’m interested in knowing what other students with full schedules do to keep afloat.

Unfortunately, money is something that a student always needs. If your parents aren't helping you out, then you have to make ends meet on your own. But people go to school to get an education, not work minimum-wage jobs.

Scale Back

If you're unhappy about your workload, you'll have to scale back on something. Preferably that's going to be your jobs. But jobs equals spending money. Either re-examine your spending habits or--even worse--take out another loan.

Be on the lookout for easy work-study jobs. It sounds like both of your jobs require constant attention. Work a front desk in a quiet building and you'll be making money while doing homework. Double bonus.

Or, scale back on classes. Even if there's an elective you're taking that's not required, drop it. Even if the class isn't taking up that much of your time, it's still taking up time on your mind.

Organize Relentlessly

This has also been my most intense semester yet. I've been using Remember the Milk (RTM)to keep myself afloat.

Although it adds some overhead to each task that I do, everything I do is funneled through my RTM. With hectic life on campus, chances are stuff comes up spontaneously. With good organization, you're able to drop a task and not worry about forgetting it.

How do you deal with there not being enough hours in the day? Leave your tips in the comments!

Twitter Causing Endless Parties at LMU! (Not really)

Chris Lesinski and I attend Loyola Marymount University (LMU). It's located in the quiet neighborhood of Westchester. Westchester residents, however, are quite vocal when it comes to off-campus parties. KNBC4 picked up on the story and attributes the problem to new-fangled "micro-blogging" technology.

Neighbors Upset About LMU Weekend Parties

I couldn't help but laugh this morning when I saw the video. LMU is pretty slim when it comes to parties. The Westchester residents are the type who think that their land is worth much more than it is. Twitter has nothing to do with the party scene. But according to the prestigious local news channel, technology is the culprit of out-of-control parties--which are rarely out-of-control.

On the plus side, one of Chris's article in the Loyolan go some screen time. Look for it towards the end.

The video is typical of local news stations poorly attempting to make a big deal out of a small problem. LMU has been in the neighborhood decades longer than any residents have been. Of course there are going to be house parties. Those house parties will be scattered all over the neighborhood if fraternities aren't all allocated to one space, like a Greek Row. It sounds like Weschester residents are having a bit of buyer's remorse.

Related Reading:

• Use Twitter - Student Blogging Series


• Twitter and How It Got Me to SXSW for Free


• Interview with AJ Vaynerchuk - Student Blogging Series

How is the party scene around your school? Does law enforcement regularly break up parties or do they just let them go? Leave us a comment!

5 Great Faux-Home-cooked Dishes You Can Make in the Microwave in Your Dorm

Say hello to the newest HackCollege writer. Her name's Kahley Emerson and she's currently a sophomore at ASU. Give her a warm welcome. ~Kelly

While the meal-plan cafeterias and 2 am pizza runs are part of what the college diet is all about, sometimes all I want is a piping hot piece of my mom’s homemade chicken potpies.

For obvious reasons, dorm life usually doesn’t feature a complete culinary playground; most halls don’t even allow hotplates. One option, for those like myself in search of a home-cooked meal, is to use the floor’s communal kitchen, but proves problematic as soon as any aromas leak out to tempt the stoners next door.

The other alternative is to make the best of the top half of my ingenious microwave/mini-fridge combo tower.

Sure, I still have not found a way to duplicate my mother’s scrumptious pie in the zapper, but I have found these five meal options that are both tasty and can be concocted using just the magical heating ability of microwaves.

1. Mary's Microwave Almond Fudge:

While most of the ingredients require a trip off campus, these little chocolate confections do a good job of slaking my chocolate cravings.

2. Easy Microwave Chilaquiles:

Ready in about 20 min, this Mexican-inspired layered dish is a perfect companion to an icy Corona 6-pack among friends… or a study session…

3. Spaghetti in the Microwave:

It takes a little more than half-an-hour and can be customized to anyone’s liking. I swear it's not as sketchy as it sounds.

4. Microwave Scrambled Eggs:

I know these sound a little peculiar at first, but hey, isn’t college is all about experimentation?

5. Microwaved Potato:

The Irish in me refuses to leave behind potatoes for college, and the sloth in me loves how easy it is to wave myself a hot spud.

And you thought the microwave was just for cup o’noodles…

What are some of your favorite dorm-made food items? Let us know in some comments!

Hurricane Gustav from a Student's POV

I caught up with a HackCollege reader just as she was fleeing New Orleans last week from Hurricane Gustav after she asked a question about reading assignments out of Google Book Search. Little did she know, she was about to get interviewed. The following is an edited email interview with fellow student Chelsea Mansulich.

HC: What school do you attend?

CM: I attend Loyola University New Orleans. I am from a suburb of Atlanta and I had no connections to New Orleans prior to attending college there.

HC: What year are you and what do you study?

CM: I am a junior. I am an Economics major with minors in Arabic and French. Other specialties include nerdiness and gleaning obscure facts about New Orleans.

HC: When did you receive the order to evacuate for Hurricane Gustav?

CM: Loyola students began talking about the Hurricane as of last Wednesday, August 27th; the majority of my professors conducted lectures in a general haze. They asked us about our Gustav plans and made sure that we all had somewhere to go.

The hurricane was the only thing on anyone's mind. On Wednesday, if you were to stand at the back of a classroom and look at what students were doing on their laptops you would find them: hastily emailing their parents and friends, finalizing their hurricane evacuation plans on our online records service, updating their facebook status regarding what city they would go to and if they had car space for people to join them, google mapping evacuation routes, looking at contraflow maps, and obsessively looking at local newspapers...

Loyola students were told via email, a call to our cell phones, and by a banner on loyno.edu that they must be evacuated by Saturday (8/30) at 9 am. Also, the school began distributing Evacuation pamphlets that were printed by the state of Louisiana. We were told that the University would cease operations as of noon on Saturday; thus, every building locked and made into a ghost town. I left Friday morning at 4 in the morning for Dallas in order to avoid heinous traffic...

HC: How does the preparation for Gustav differ from the preparation for Katrina? Did you school take any extra precautions?

CM: I must admit, I was not in New Orleans for Katrina. However, there are several ways that preparation differed. We all filed our evacuation plans with the university; similar to filing immunization records. [Louisiana] had a better plan in place: the state would evacuate in tiers so that the traffic flow would be more efficient. Everyone knew in advance that it was coming. We were updated every 6 hours or so on the university's plans in regards to evacuation and classes by emails, banners across the University's home page, and calls to our cellphones. After Katrina, Loyola invested an absorbent amount of money on access to a state-of-the-art hurricane prediction website...

On a student level, students that went through Katrina tagged people in facebook notes about the lessons that they learned about Katrina. We were told things like: don't forget to clean out your refrigerator, cell phones networks cease to work during evacuations due to the mass amount of calls but you will probably be able to text message, bring your lease and a current power bill for proof of residency so that you will be allowed to re-enter the city as soon as authorities will let you do so, ducktape your windows if you live off campus, etc

HC: You said your professors were still conducting class through Blackboard and other online methods. How do you feel about this? Do you think class should continue during a hurricane?

CM: I have mixed feelings about my professors conducting online classes. Honestly, our university did it as a means to keep enrollment. After Katrina, many insurance companies claimed that people prematurely evacuated for it (clearly this is absurdity). Thus, the idea of Blackboard seems to be a pragmatic way to keep enrollment and that much needed sense of normalcy. However, most people that use Blackboard will agree that it is, at best, mediocre software. Blackboard just happens to have a strong hold on the market.

I more or less feel accosted every time I use Blackboard so I have dreaded logging into it each day.

HC: Are all professors required to continue class during a hurricane, or is it just optional?

CM: All professors, in theory, are required to continue classes. As students at Loyola we have an obligation to log in to Blackboard within 48 hours of an evacuation. In our syllabi, our professors write about the school's Hurricane policy and theirs respectively... In order for the university to keep its accreditation we must attend class a certain number of days a year. In the face of a hurricane, the school resorts to Blackboard as a means of continuing class so that we do not have to tack on extra days at the end of the year. Or possibly worse: have our Mardi Gras break eliminated.

HC: You mentioned something about your friend having "MacGyvered" a webcam looking outside of his window. What was the inspiration for this?

CM: My friend's inspiration was a mixture of things. Not to sound cliched, or like every bad CNN newsreel you saw about Gustav, a significant amount of inspiration was simply desperation. We knew that if another hurricane hit we would not be able to see the conditions of our homes for quite a while. Possibly months before we were allowed to re-enter. Although Gustav was only a category 2 at landfall, we will only be allowed to enter our city as of Thursday (as in today). We still do not know if the homes we return to will have power.

The hardest part about evacuation is the uncertainty. Everyone wonders if and when their lives will return to normalcy. We knew we would see our friends again, but when we would see them was the question. When I was in the process of evacuating, for the first 5 hours of the drive, I watched several national guard convoys head towards New Orleans, as well as fire brigades, police cars, and school buses (the city's evacuation plan was for people to evacuate via school buses. The school bus would drive through their neighborhood blaring a siren and at that point it was their duty to get on the bus). While we all were preparing for an evacuation and saw officials prepare we were unsure of when it would be official.

The webcam, as cheesy as this might come across in print, provided everyone who knew about it a sense of certainty. We looked at it online to see if it was raining, if the power was out, and to have knowledge of what was occurring in the place that we were forced to leave.

HC: Anything else that you'd like to add?

CM: The New Orleans that I know is not the New Orleans that you know due to a travesty of irresponsible media coverage during and after Katrina as well as Gustav. When I am traveling outside of NoLa and people ask me where I attend college their response typically involves "How is the city post hurricane Katrina?". Sometimes, people ask me if it is still flooded, and I imagine a large part of their ignorance is due to the media's lack of coverage on New Orleans rebuilding post Katrina. I typically smile to this question and coyly answer "Yes, I actually take a boat in order to attend class."

There is more to New Orleans than Mardi Gras, Bourbon Street, the French Quarter, and alcohol consumption. While all of the aforementioned are noble pursuits- the city has so much more to offer. However, tourists who only spend time in the touristy area of Bourbon Street would never be familiar with anything more.

Whether it is Katrina, Gustav, or even Ike the question of rebuilding ought to never be a question again. New Orleans ability to thrive and subsist effects your lifestyle.

Do you attend school in the Southeast? How did you evacuate for the storm? For those not in the Southeast, what has news coverage of the storm been like on your own campus? Let us know in the comments!