High Fashion You Can Afford

Sorry boys, this one is for the ladies.

Sarah Jessica Parker – known best as Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw – is adding clothing designer to her resume. The 42-year-old Golden Globe and Emmy-winning actress and producer is launching her very own fashion line called Bitten.

Why should you care? Every item in the collection – from dresses and jeans to belts and an array of jewelry – retails for $19.98 or less. The Bitten collection offers nearly 1,000 apparel and accessory pieces designed for women of all ages and sizes.


The new fall line will be released August 1 and 2 at all Steve & Barry’s locations. The closest one to you is opening August 1 in North Miami.

Parker’s mantra for the line, as listed on the site is “Fashion is not a luxury. It’s a right,” describes the collection to a tee. All the items in the collection are designed as quality, affordable clothing for young women. This is the clothing line I’ve always dreamed about.

Oh, and if you were wondering, there are shoes too! Parker, like her Sex and the City character, is an out-of-the closet shoe addict. While the shoes in this collection (offering sizes 5 to 11) will not be Manolo Blahnik, they are definitely stylish.

Parker, who’s been considered one of the most stylish celebrities by much of Hollywood, is partnering with discount clothing chain Steve & Barry’s to put out this line. The new fall collection will be released August 1 and 2 at all Steve & Barry’s locations.

"High quality, luxurious clothes do not need to cost as much as we've been led to think,” Parker said in a statement about the new line. "Women should be able to wear great clothes and not lie in bed at night feeling guilty about how much money they've spent."

Parker’s manifesto, as listed on the Bitten web site, says “It is every woman’s inalienable right to have a pulled-together stylish, confident wardrobe with money left over to live.”

I say, amen to that sister!

The Bitten collection is available exclusively at Steve & Barry’s. While it’s not offered yet, Steve & Barry’s says it’s working on bringing online shopping to customers across the country. So check the Bitten site for updates. Unfortunately the closest store right now is in North Miami at the Mall at 163rd (1381, N.E. 163rd Street).


I don't know about you, but I still drive to the Sawgrass Mills outlet mall in Miami every once in a while – sometimes it’s worth it to travel for affordable fashion. Make a day of it with the girls and go “Get Bitten.”

Addicted to Facebook

I was at a party last week when a friend snapped a picture and immediately said it was going on her MySpace. Another friend snapped one more and said it's going on Facebook. I laughed at them both, thinking how ridiculous they sounded, and then realized that I'm also totally addicted to Facebook.

I tried to remember what we did with our photos (and our time) before we had social networks like MySpace and Facebook. As soon as I walk in the door I'm at my computer checking my e-mail and my Facebook. But I'm not the only one addicted to the online social network craze. There are 9,800 students, faculty and alumni currently listed as part of FAU’s Facebook network and 2,600 on FAU’s MySpace group.

But as college students, which one is better - MySpace or Facebook? For me, it’s Facebook. In fact, I think the 7,000 more students who have an account with Facebook, and not MySpace, would agree.

Facebook, which was originally created for only college students, is more practical for what us college kids want to use it for. Although it is not as pretty as my custom-designed MySpace profile, Facebook is way more user-friendly.

So, why is Facebook better?

Less creepy people and kids
From stalkers to strippers and salesmen, there are some weird people on MySpace. Whether they are promoting themselves, trying to hook up with you or selling you something, you have to watch your back on MySpace. On Facebook, you don’t really have to worry about talking to a 14-year-old wannabe pron star, getting asked out by a stranger or buying junk. People on Facebook usually belong to a school or geographic network and use their real (full) name. And if someone is promoting them self, it is because they are in a band. While Facebook recently allowed anyone to join, it's members are still mainly college students and high school kids. The Facebook creep factor is definitely less than MySpace.

Better photo albums
Unlike MySpace where you can just write captions, Facebook photo albums let you actually tag your friends in the photos you upload. That way any photo of you shows up on your profile and vise versa with your friends. You can also upload a bunch of photos at one time and have as many photos and photo albums as your heart desires. Plus, it is all really user-friendly and the uploading is pretty fast.

Fun applications
Facebook recently released Facebook Platform, a new program which allows developers to create fun new applications to add to your profile. From the “Where I’ve Been Map” to daily horoscopes and my personal fav, the new Graffiti drawing application, there are more than 1,000 applications for you to choose from. You can even add Dane Cook and Grey’s Anatomy quotes to your profile. But the best (and Facebook's "most used") applications are Top friends (much like MySpace), Free Gifts, and Moods (which you can update all day long).

Easier to find friends
Because everyone on the site belongs to a network – either your school or geographic region – it is much easier to find people. You can search by name, e-mail, school or city. It’s a great way to keep in touch with your high school buddies and make new friends with the people you have class with. Facebook is also a great place to promote an event or a party with a virtual invitation. Another easy way to meet people is through Facebook groups. There are tons of groups open for you to join or you can just create a new one. Whether they are just for the FAU network (there’s currently 180 FAU groups), like "Rock the Owl 2007," or global groups (any network can join), like "Channel 4 News W/ Ron Burgundy," there is something for everyone.


The University Press has a MySpace page and a Facebook group. (You have to have a Facebook account to see in). Check ‘em out and add us as a friend.

FAU in History

I was looking through someone’s MySpace page the other day (yeah, I still use MySpace) and noticed a friend’s profile had the saying, “You don't know who you are until you know where you came from.”

I have a secret obsession for quotes and this one particularly interested me. I started thinking about it and tried to apply the thought-provoking theory to everything I do. Then I thought about school, and realized I didn’t know FAU’s history. So, I did some research and found out the facts.

Before it was turned into a state university, the grounds where the FAU Boca campus now stands were used as an Army airbase in the 1940s. The base was the only radar training facility in the United States at the time and was used to aide the Allied victory in World War II. Underground tunnels used for storage and shelter in the 40’s are still under our feet today. Keep that in mind next time you’re looking for a quiet place to study on campus.


The Boca Raton campus as an airbase in the 1940s.

Photos courtesy of FAU - Part of the Photo Gallary from FAU's 40th Aniversary web site.

In 1961, Florida Atlantic University was established by the Florida State Legislature as the fifth university in the state system. FAU officially opened its doors in 1964 to a student body of 867, offering only upper-division and graduate-level work – the first university in the country to do so. According to FAU’s Web site, the higher-ups at the time believed freshman and sophomores would be “served by the community college system.” It wasn’t until 1984 that FAU admitted its first freshman class.

The coolest fact I found was that U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson came to FAU to dedicate the university on October 25, 1964. Even cooler, you can listen to the 43-year-old speech on FAU’s site. It is a tad bit corny and there is a lot of clapping, but Johnson’s probably the most important person to ever speak at FAU. Click here to listen.



President Johnson, (center) Secret Service agent Rufus Youngblood (left) and FAU President Kenneth Williams (right) walk to the outdoor stage, where Johnson dedicated the university in 1964.

The commencement ceremony for FAU’s first graduating class was held on April 24, 1965, at a nearby church. At the time, there was no building on campus that could accommodate the 30-member graduating class. These days, there aren’t many classes with fewer than 30 students – we’ve come a long way.


FAU's first graduating class in April, 1965.

Probably more interesting than Johnson’s speech is the fact that the first Miami Dolphins cheerleaders were FAU students. In fact, the Dolphins’ first training site in the late 1960s was FAU.


The first Miami Dolphins cheerleaders were FAU students in the late 1960s.

Curious how we became the Owls? In 1971, the Boca campus became a burrowing owl sanctuary. FAU adopted the bird as the university mascot and our sports teams were tagged the Owls.


An FAU intramural softball team in the 1970s. Notice the dog in the picture? The owl was probably too cranky to pose.

FAU began to expand the campus in 1971 with the opening of a Fort Lauderdale campus, and then joined forces with Broward Community College in Davie in 1990. FAU bought part of Barry University in 1996, and established the Treasure Coast campus. SeaTech, FAU's state-of-the-art ocean engineering research center, opened in 1999, as well as the John D. MacArthur campus (and Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College) in Jupiter.


FAU's SeaTech campus, which opened in 1999, is funded by the Office of Naval Research and home to the university's nationally known Department of Ocean Engineering.

If you want more, FAU even has an entry on Wikipedia – but take the info on the site with a grain of salt: it is, in fact, an online encyclopedia where anyone can write just about anything.

Safe From Extinction

The American bald eagle, USA’s national symbol, was removed from the endangered species list last week. While the bird’s fight for survival might not interest you, the fact that something good was in the news for a change really spiked my interest. It may not directly affect you that the spiky-haired bird has finally reproduced enough to stay alive, but I did vow to keep you informed and I’d also like to keep you in the know.

Although it may not make the list of your favorite animals, the bald eagle is a symbol of American freedom, spirit and patriotism since it was selected by our Founding Fathers in the late 1700’s.

The American icon has been fighting for survival for more than four decades and was officially listed as endangered in 1967 by the Federal Endangered Species Act. The Department of Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided last Thursday that the birds are no longer in danger of extinction. They are, however, still a protected species and it is illegal to harm one.

According to an Associated Press story that ran in the Palm Beach Post, there are nearly 10,000 bald eagles in the United States today, compared to a documented 417 in 1963 when the bird was on the verge of extinction.

According to www.eagles.org, the bald eagle was declared the national emblem of the United States by the Second Continental Congress in 1782. Ben Franklin wanted the wild turkey to be the national bird. Thankfully, he didn’t exactly get his way - Thanksgiving would never be the same.

You can also visit the site for a birds-eye view with its Eagle Nest Cam and listen to the voice of an eagle.

FAU By the Numbers

As I was sipping my grande peaches and cream icy something-or-other at Starbucks last week, I overheard some people discussing statistics they had heard about FAU. They mentioned how diverse our campuses - especially the age differences between students. The three also debated whether there were more guys than gals in school. I realized that their quandaries were actually pretty interesting and I decided to find some answers.

I was curious how FAU really stacked up. So, I did some research and I found out some interesting tidbits about FAU that I’d like to share. Yes folks, sometimes eavesdropping is beneficial for everyone.

I started my search with the FAU Fact Book, courtesy of the Office of Institutional Effectiveness & Analysis – known best as the IEA.

What stuck me first from the Fact Book was the housing stats. I’ve heard FAU is a big commuter campus, but I was surprised to find out 92 percent of enrolled students in fall 2006 were living in off-campus housing. I hope that the eight percent living on campus had some good parties.

Thinking about switching your major? The top three majors by enrollment last fall were Elementary Education, Management and Accounting - all with more than 1,000 enrolled. Nursing and Psychology round out the top five - both with just over 800 enrolled.

According to the 2006 Fact Book headcount enrollment, there were 15,629 female students enrolled and 10,208 males. Sorry guys, but the girls win this one. It’s slightly ironic that not too long ago women weren’t even allowed in school – way to go ladies!

Are you from out of town? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. The top three states for enrollment after Florida are New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts. More than 23,000 Florida residents were enrolled in FAU last fall followed by New York with almost 300.

A recent press release this month said FAU ranks among the top 50 four-year universities in the nation producing undergraduate degrees for minorities. The article also states that of FAU’s 26,000 students, 58 percent are Caucasian, 17 percent African-American, 16 percent Hispanic, four percent International and five percent Asian.

And the age-old question, how old is the average student? As of last fall, it was 18 years old for a first-time-in-college student, 25 for the average undergrad (a decrease from 29 last year) and 34 for a graduate student.

If you didn't know...now you know.

There are plenty more stats where these came from. For more info, visit the IEA Fact Book for yourself.

FAU's New Innovation

This is a question I recieved as an anonymous comment on my blog a few weeks ago. You asked, I answered.

"What restaurants/retail do they plan to include in the Innovation Village? Are they going to send out a mass email asking for ideas? I was especially wondering if there would be a barbecue place, a pizza place, a bowling alley, and an arcade?"

For those of you who haven't heard about Innovation Village, it is part of FAU's Master Plan to make the Boca campus more like a traditional university. Although the plans have yet to be finalized, a Board of Trustees' meeting last November said that the structure of the Village should include student residential housing, retail space, a venue for athletics and events and even more parking! But don't hold your breath… we probably won't see a new parking garage for quite some time.

As it stands now, the plans for Innovation Village are shaky. I contacted the director of athletics, the university architect and the general counsel – all of which have yet to call me back. While Innovation Village is now a part of FAU’s master plan for the Boca campus, finalized plans for what will be included, as well as dates for when construction will begin, have yet to be determined.

Also in the works is a university football stadium (yes, folks, on campus). The new stadium, built in phases, will also be a part of Innovation Village. At the November meeting, the administration said the overall goal is to make the Boca campus a more "traditional campus," offering a more "traditional college experience."

While it is not set yet what will be included in the "retail space," the administration is considering using schools like University of Central Florida, Florida State University and University of Florida as models. These schools all offer clothing stores and restaurants, cleaners, hair salon, copy center, Internet cafe and coffee shop.

Although not part of the Innovation Village plan, construction of the new dorms – recently named Glades Park Towers – are set for a substantial opening on July 12. Director of Housing Jill Eckardt says the new dorms are a 600-bed facility with a floor plan identical to Heritage Park Towers.

Eckardt says the only difference with this residence hall is that it's "only for new students or freshman." The first floor of the hall will also include an Outakes convenience store, classroom, conference room and computer lab. This new dorm is going to be so cool, Eckardt says it's already booked full for next fall.

Stay turned for more information about FAU construction and the progress of Innovation Village.

“Contaminated” recycling leads to more trash

If you've ever thrown something away on campus, you had to make a big decision before dumping your trash. In fact, with four bins to choose from – regular trash, paper, glass and comingled (plastic, aluminum, etc.) – this was not an easy task. Granted, the decision of which bin to throw your junk in should only take, um, less than five seconds, we here at FAU apparently have trouble managing to put the right things in the right containers.

You might not think the one banana peel you threw in the paper bin is going to make a big difference, but according to FAU’s Physical Plant, you just contaminated the entire bin. Evan Cross, the assistant director for the plant, says the problem with FAU's recycling isn’t FAU not doing their jobs but the students and faculty “not putting their trash in the appropriate containers.” Cross says that when food and any other “trash substances” are mixed with the recyclables, the recyclables become contaminated and get thrown in the trash.

So if you’re one of those people who say they’ve seen FAU custodial staff throwing the recycling in the trash, keep in mind, it’s not their fault – it’s actually ours.

See the problem is, we’re either too lazy to care or too stupid to notice where we’re tossing our coffee cup and empty pizza box, not realizing we’re hurting the environment in the process. Because when you throw your pizza box in the bin labeled “plastic,” you just contaminated the entire bin and it can no longer be recycled.

If you are one these people – an apathetic recycler – don’t give up hope, there is still time for you to change. So next time you go to throw your soda can and candy bar wrapper away, take a moment and think about which bin you will toss them in. (The can should go in plastic/aluminum and the wrapper in the trash). Remember, one banana peel in the paper recyclables can ruin it all for the rest of us.

Be kind, please recycle. Or at least just pay attention when you throw away your trash.

FAU Opens New Testing Center

With all the new additions up and coming for FAU’s Boca campus, you might have missed the latest grand opening. No, sadly the Breezeway Cafeteria is not open yet, but the new Prometric Test Center is. In fact, FAU is the only university in Florida to have one. So, how does it benefit you?

If you’re interested in grad school, continuing on to medical or law school or just CLEPing out of a class, you can now take all required higher education exams on your own campus. Before this center opened, students had to drive to Coral Springs, Davie or even Orlando to test at a Prometric center.

As students, you now have access to computer-based exams such as the CLEP, GRE, LSAT, MCAT and Praxis. The center also offers testing for specialized fields such as the FTCE (Florida Teacher Certification Exam), the MAT (Miller Analogies Test) and the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language). The center also administers a test called Accuplacer, which is a computer-based placement test for freshmen.

As well as a wide range of higher education exams, the center also offers test prep, non-computerized testing and the ACT and SAT to local high school students. To view a full list all of available tests, visit the center’s web site at www.fau.edu/testing. You can then click on a test for more information about that individual test and its fees, test dates and registration procedures.

According to its Web site, Thomson Prometric is the leading global provider of comprehensive testing and assessment services. And the 19-seat testing site on the Boca campus is the largest in the state of Florida.

The Prometric Test Center is located on the Boca campus in the Student Services building, room 210. The center is open for walk-in testing Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with some Saturday appointments available. For more information or to register for a test, visit www.fau.edu/testing.

Have a question of your own? Ask the UP! I will be accepting questions here as comments or you can e-mail them to me directly at mboyet@gmail.com. I want to hear from you, so please send me your questions.

Free scantrons, condoms and pens - oh my!

You’re a college student so it’s a given that you live on a budget. And even if you’ve got some cash to spare, who doesn’t like free stuff? Here are some tips on how to use some of FAU’s free services that you probably didn’t even know about.

Student Government
SG gives free scantrons (blue and green) and blue books to students. Although you might only spend five bucks on scantrons during your stay at FAU, save the cash and buy yourself a beer. While you’re there, pick up a free pen, pencil or sometimes an FAU cup.

Most importantly, you paid for all of this stuff. The money to purchase these items comes from A&S (Activity and Service) Fees that you pay as part of you tuition. There’s an SG office on every campus - check the SG web site to find one near you.

Bank Atlantic
Get a free gift for opening an account with Bank Atlantic. Your Owl card works as an ATM card with Bank Atlantic anyway, so open a checking account and get a free gift. From luggage to watches, they have something for everyone. I got a nifty shower radio when I opened an account. And the best part, you can open an account with just a penny.

Breezeway (On the Boca campus)
Always check the Breezeway and the Free Speech Lawn (in front of the SO building) before you buy lunch. There are always random tables out there giving away anything from a slice of pizza and a Krispy Kreme doughnut to a fuzzy FAU foam hand. If you can’t get a free lunch, you can usually pick up some cool FAU memorabilia.

Student Health Services
The Wellness Center offers free condoms and band-aids. And if you’re worried about asking for them, there’s a huge bowl of condoms just sitting out. You can grab a couple and walk out – no questions asked. And girls, the band-aids also work great when you get a blister from your shoes.

Free Services
The Multicultural Affairs office offers free year-round tutoring for just about every subject from German to statistics. As long as you are enrolled in the class, you can sign up or walk in for an hour-long tutoring session. For a list of services click here.

If you need help with your essays, the University Center for Excellence in Writing (UCEW) offers free help with writing papers. The center provides a range of support to help you in the writing process. To make an appointment, click here.

Having some trouble getting your grades up or fighting with your boyfriend? The Counseling Center provides individual and group counseling to all FAU students and faculty. The center offers a variety of counseling services and all sessions are confidential. For more information or to make an appointment, visit the Counseling Center’s web site, click here.

Know a place to get free stuff or have a question of your own? Ask the UP! I will be accepting questions here as comments or you can e-mail them to me directly at mboyet@gmail.com. I want to hear from you, so please send me your questions.

Get the lowdown on your professor

While discussing the classes I plan to take next semester with a group of friends last weekend, I realized that who’s teaching a class is just as important as deciding which class to take. Funny thing is, we all came up with different methods on how to pick the right professor. So I figured I’d pass along their ideas to you.

1) Rate My Professor
One of my best friends will not sign up for a class without first checking a professor’s rating on RateMyProfessor.com. As a communication major in my third year, I don’t often get the chance to rate my professor because there’s only one class offered with one professor. But before I ran head-on into the classes in my major, RateMyProfessor.com was my favorite site. In fact, I used the site before signing up for all of my general education classes. As a freshman, almost all of your classes are taught by at least five different professors. This gives you the opportunity to not only pick your class, but also the professor you want to take it with.

RateMyProfessor.com is really user-friendly and actually fun to use. Students rate professors on easiness, helpfulness and clarity while adding comments about textbook use and attendance. There’s a box for comments and professors and students can even post photos. But my favorite part is being able rate whether the professor is “hot” or “not.”

You can search for a professor’s rating by his or her name, department or even FAU campus. To check out the site and ratings for FAU, click here

2) FAU SPOT Analysis Forms
Another great way to find out what other students think of your soon-to-be professor is to check out FAU SPOT forms. SPOT (Student Perception of Teaching) surveys are given to students at the end of each term to rate their professor’s effectiveness. This form also goes more in depth about the professor’s ability to teach and the content covered. There are more areas for students to rate the professor using the SPOT forms. Although you can’t find out if the professor is hot, SPOT forms are turned in by just about every FAU student. So, there are a lot more evaluations to look at for each professor, opposed to RateMyProfessor.com which may have 5 to 10 ratings per teacher.

Check the SPOT forms here. The surveys are divided by campus, college and department.

3) Word of Mouth
Of course the best way to find out about a professor is to talk to someone who took his or her class. The best advice I can give you is to ask everyone about the professor you are considering before signing up for his or her class. Ask your friends, have them ask their friends and ask random people in your classes. But most importantly, ask more than one person and when they give you their recommendation, be sure to ask why.


Whatever method you use, be sure to always check up on a professor before signing up for a class. In a worst case scenario, if you end up with a horrible professor, drop the class during drop and add week and find something better.

If you’ve had an interesting experience with a teacher and want to share, please leave your comments below. Or, if you know another way to check on a professor before singing up for his or her class, please let us know.

Have a question of your own? Ask the UP! I will be accepting questions here as comments or you can e-mail them to me directly at mboyet@gmail.com. I want to hear from you, so please send me your questions.

America hasn’t seen a real boycott since the Boston Tea Party

Today’s question, “Will the May 15 gas boycott accomplish anything?” – is an issue I actually forgot about until Tuesday morning. Since this blog is posted Wednesday, I’m not here to remind you about the “gas out” – just enlighten you about how it won’t do a damn thing to lower gas prices.

I was leaving my house yesterday morning on my way to the gym when I looked down at my gas gauge and noticed the little arrow was almost on E. As I was considering which gas station I could get the best deal from, the DJ on the radio mentioned the "gas out" and I realized this was the day I was supposed to boycott gas.

Looking again at the gauge, I decided I had enough gas to go to the gym and home before the arrow would officially hit the E. So I decided to abide by the “gas out” rules and just get gas tomorrow. Yeah, that’s serious boycotting right there.

This made me think – do people believe that boycotting gas for one day will actually make a difference?

I called my best friend and proclaimed my distaste for the way MySpace users started a hopeless boycott. He laughed and told me he had just filled up his car at BP where at least seven other dejected bodies also pumped gasoline into their hungry cars. He told me he rarely checks MySpace and word of mouth about the "gas out" had not yet reached him. I guess it didn't reach the other seven people either or maybe they just don't care.

Yet, even if the news about plans to boycott gas had reached more people, not getting gas for a day doesn't even qualify as a "boycott." By definition, a boycott includes doing without something in order to prove a point. The boycotted product is used as tangible proof to those who supply it that consumers are prepared to do without it unless changes are made. This “gas out” isn’t asking consumers to swear off using or buying gasoline, even for a short time, it just simply asks us to shift the purchase date by a couple days. Since consumers are not even attempting to make a sacrifice by actually giving up something, the threat it poses to price-happy oil suppliers is nonexistent. The sales missed from a one-day consumer boycott wouldn’t hurt the oil companies one bit.

So while the May 15 gas boycott may have done some good by calling attention to a problem, the message it sends out is that as consumers we need gas and can try to do without it for a day. Sadly, one day really won’t affect anything. If you want to take a stand and send a real message, let’s boycott gas for a week – who’s in?

Have a question of your own? Ask the UP! I will be accepting questions here as comments or you can e-mail them to me directly at mboyet@gmail.com. I want to hear from you, so please send me your questions.

Where to find cheap books

Today’s question “What are the options for getting cheap books in Boca?” comes from a broke young FAU student who needs some guidance.

I did some research and here are tips for where to get cheap books in Boca. I’m going into my third year at FAU so I threw in my own personal experiences as well.

1) FAU Campus Bookstores
All FAU campus bookstores are operated by Barnes & Noble. While the selling prices are more towards the high side for purchasing books, you can make some fast cash if you sell them back. Just be sure to sell to your books back quickly – as time passes the amount of money they pay will decrease depending on stock.

To make your life easier, you can also order and reserve books online at http://fau.bncollege.com.

2) Multicultural Affairs Book Loan Program
The Multicultural Affairs office sponsors a book loan program for students who are “financially unable to purchase books.” The books offered are mostly general education books and are issued on a first come basis and dependent upon availability.

There are special dates before each term when the book loan program is available. These dates will be posted on the MA office door as soon as they are decided. Currently the dates have no yet been posted. If you’re interested, continue to check the MA web site and call the office for updates. And if you plan to go the day the books are available, make sure you go at 5 a.m. or you will miss out. Trust me, by 8:30 a.m. there’s nothing left.

For more information, visit the Multicultural Affairs web site at http://www.fau.edu/ma/services.htm or call (561) 297-3959. /services.htm

3) Beat the Bookstore
Beat the Bookstore’s motto, “we buy for more and sell for less” is actually true. At Beat the Bookstore you can sell your books and work up credit towards the purchase of new books. Although the owners will write you a check if you can’t find anything new to buy, they urge you to leave the money in your account as credit for “next time.” So, if you want to just sell your books back for fast cash, this is not the place to go.

While the store has a great selection of general education books, since this location is fairly new and they rely strongly on students selling books back, they might not have everything you need. But owners say to be patient because the selection will grow with time.

Beat the Bookstore is located at 1501 NW Boca Raton Blvd. For more information, call (561) 392-9495.

4) BOOKSMART
At BOOKSMART you can buy and sell your books back separately. You can sell your books back at one side and buy more on the other, no strings attached. This store has a great selection and offers everything the FAU bookstore does, plus more office supplies. The Boca location also has a great selection of medial textbooks.

Personally, I think BOOKSMART has the best prices for buying books. You save about $2 to $5 on every book compared to the FAU bookstore prices. Yet, I think FAU gives you more cash back when selling.

BOOKSMART is located at 670 Glades Rd. For more information, call (561) 394-6085.

5) Start a Book Exchange Program
If all else fails, start up a book exchange program on your own. A friend of mine is looking into starting up a book-donating exchange program for the education department where you donate a book and take another one home. Apparently education books don’t come cheap. Then again, do any textbooks?

Contact Education Advisor at Joe Waters at (561) 297-3570 if you’re interested in getting involved. In fact, if you’re interested in starting a book exchange program within your college, he urges you to go talk to an advisor.

I will be accepting questions here as comments or you can e-mail them to me directly at mboyet@gmail.com. I want to hear from you, so please send me your questions.

Go ahead, ask me anything.

As students we often spend a lot of time just “going through the motions” of everyday life. When you’re working two jobs and doing your homework for four classes all while attempting to maintain a social life, it’s hard to stay in the loop about what’s going on around campus. And if you don’t know what’s going on at FAU, or you are confused by something you've heard, you probably will not be taking the time to research it on your own. So, that’s where I come in. You’ve got questions and I have answers. And if I don’t know either, I’m going to do the reporting for you.

If someone told you to boycott the vending machines and you had no idea what they were talking about… Ask the UP. (Read the UP’s current issue for more info).

Wondering why the cafeteria on the Boca campus is shut down all summer? Ask the UP.

Heard about the 76-year-old woman graduating with honors on Friday and want to know her story? Ask the UP.

From weird policies at FAU, to interesting things going on and just about anything you have a question about Ask the UP and I'll do whatever it takes to find you an answer.

I will be accepting questions here as comments or you can e-mail them to me directly at mboyet@gmail.com. I want to hear from you, so please send me your questions.