Brave New World--Surviving and managing life on your own is hard. Let experience help.

    
     If you ask students living on their own what lessons they have learned, it might surprise you how much they are learning outside of the classroom.      While maintaining good grades in the classroom is important, Towson University maintains strict guidelines on how students should be living off campus.
      “I clean all the time now” said Heather Clausen, 25, and a graduate of Barton College. Clausen admits to living in unsanitary conditions with her former roommates.
     An unfortunate byproduct of dirty apartments is the problem of uninvited guests which appear at the most inopportune moments.
      Once an apartment has rodents, it is nearly impossible to completely rid them from the space. The building owner must call an exterminator to check and fix any openings in the structure.
     “I would suggest you use snap traps,” said David Shumaker of Shumaker Animal Control. Snap traps should be placed where rodents frequently visit.
     Once an apartment has mice, it is important to inspect all foods as rodents get into everything and leave behind them a trail of black pellets filled with toxic ammonia. If you are finding that the cardboard boxes are chewed, it is best to throw it out and purchase fresh product.
     At the market, students are searching for ways to cut down their grocery bill.
     “I found out that the same people who make the brand name products make the generic foods. I think that is cool that companies are trying to reach out to consumers who like the product but can’t afford the name,” said Christopher Hines, a Towson University Alumni.
     Whether saving money, trying to outsmart a mouse or keeping up with the responsibilities of living on your own, young people are learning lessons they will never forget.