CHUONI 254: Campus Life

Showing posts with label Campus Life. Show all posts

Factors to consider before buying a laptop for college/university in Kenya

Getting to college or university is a worthwhile deal here in Kenya. However, going to school without a laptop is like refusing to use paper and pen. Having the right laptop strikes a ceiling on how far you can get and quality of lifelong abilities that you can acquire.

But don’t just buy whatever is on sale; you need the right laptop for your specific needs.

We have picked quick tips to help you pick the best laptops.

Quick Tips

Go portable: 11- to 14-inch screen size, less than 4 pounds
Durability matters: Spill-resistant keyboards, MIL-SPEC tested are pluses.
Recommended specs: Intel Pentium and above
OS Options: Chromebooks are good for kids. Windows is best for productivity, but macOS is for art/design students.
Battery life: 8+ hours is ideal; 6+ hours is required.
Keyboard and touchpad: Look for responsive keys with deep travel.
Consider a 2-in-1: Great for drawing, pen-based note taking, working while standing up

1. Pick a portable size

The whole point of buying a student laptop is that you can carry the device to class. Unless you’re an engineering student who needs a CAD workstation, look for a laptop that weighs under 4 pounds and has an 11- to 14-inch display. Film students editing their masterpieces may also need a larger screen, such as the high-res panel in the 15-inch MacBook Pro.

A younger student can get by with a laptop that has an 11-inch screen, but typing space and screen visibility are often a concern at that size. Thirteen inches is the sweet spot between portability and usability, although students in the arts or engineering may put more value on a bigger screen.

2. Pay for durability

If you have more to spend, shop for laptops made from aluminum, magnesium alloy or carbon fiber, for sturdiness you can count on. Also, look to see if the manufacturer has made any durability claims.

3. Get specs for the long haul

You want something that isn’t going to be obsolete before graduation, so keep an eye on the key internal components.

4. Display: Most budget and many mainstream laptops have low-res, 1366 x 768 displays that aren’t very sharp and can’t fit a lot of text on the screen, which makes them poor choices for writing papers or doing research. Unless you’re buying a really inexpensive laptop or one with an 11-inch screen, getting a display that’s at least 1920 x 1080 (1080p) resolution should be a priority.

You can go even higher, too, with resolutions of 2560 x 1440 (QHD) or 3840 x 2160 (UHD). These are great for photo and video students who need to view high-res source material, but those display specs add to the price and subtract from the battery life. Touch screens add functionality to your laptop, but they consume a ton of power, shortening your battery life by 10 to 25 percent, so don’t get one unless you really need it.

5. CPU: If you want a system that provides solid performance for today and tomorrow, get an Intel Core i5 or Core i7 CPU. Make sure the processor model number has a 7000 in it (ex; Core i5-7200U), which means that you have the latest Intel 7th Generation (aka Kaby Lake) chip. If you’re on a tight budget, a Core i3, Pentium or Celeron CPU will suffice for light productivity work, and Intel’s Core M processor delivers decent performance in slim-and-light designs.

6. RAM: Unless you’re buying a cheap laptop for a younger child, 4GB is the bare minimum amount of RAM you should have in a laptop, and 8GB is ideal. That will run everything you need without dragging you down or interfering with multitasking.

7. Storage Drive/Hard Drive: Getting an SSD (solid-state drive) rather than a mechanical hard drive has a more significant effect on performance than buying a fast processor. Because SSDs have no moving parts, they run three to four times faster than typical 5,400 rpm or 7,200 rpm hard drives. That means faster app opens, start times and task switching, along with much better responsiveness. SSDs do cost a lot more while offering less storage, so if you have a lot of media files, you may need to store some in the cloud or on an external drive.

8. Wi-Fi: Make sure you get a laptop with 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard, rather than the older 802.11n.

9. Ports: USB Type-C ports are the future, but regular USB Type-A ports are the present. If you can get a laptop with a mix of both, that’s ideal. Definitely try to get a laptop with multiple USB ports, so you don’t need to carry a lot of dongles with you.

9. Get the right OS

Consider the operating system. If you’re heading off to college, check with the university about software requirements. Sometimes schools will need you to have a specific type of software or operating system to ensure compliance with future workloads. Windows 10 is the most popular operating system and most versatile; Microsoft’s platform has millions of applications, supports both touch-friendly tablet mode and keyboard-friendly desktop mode and offers the helpful Cortana digital assistant.

Apple’s given its macOS platform even better integration with the iPhone, as well as its digital assistant Siri. And while Windows 10 is the platform with the most programs, there are certain apps that are exclusive to Macs, so ask others in your field of study to confirm which operating system best suits you.

Chromebooks, while offering limited software options, could be just the thing for the truly budget-conscious shopper who is comfortable doing everything online. These devices start at just $149 and are increasingly accepted by some school districts. Soon, Chromebooks will offer support for Android apps from the Google Play Store.

10. Look for 8 hours or more of battery life

Don’t tether yourself to an outlet. Get a laptop that promises quality battery life, and look for systems with optional extended batteries for the longest run times. In general, you’re better off buying a system with more than 8 hours of juice, regardless of the price. The average for ultraportable laptops is 7 hours, 55 minutes.

11. Check the keyboard and touchpad

The keyboard should be springy and comfortable, not mushy. Look for deep travel and strong feedback. The touchpad is equally important; you’ll want to make sure the responsiveness is smooth and that multitouch gestures like pinch-to-zoom are appropriately reactive. Business laptops — such as Lenovo ThinkPads, Dell Latitudes and HP EliteBooks — offer some of the best keyboards and touchpads.

If you are wondering where to buy an affordable student laptop, please Get in touch via whatsapp. Our prices range from Kshs 15,000 - Kshs 250,000.

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UNEMPLOYED : Tips To Make Oneself Employable & Gain Experience

How to get a job without experience

It is the Catch-22 situation that has been frustrating jobseekers across the world for ages: positions requiring experience from applicants who can’t gain any experience without first being employed. But there are ways to make oneself employable and gain experience without landing a position in formal employment first.

What employers are looking for in many instances is to be given proof that someone is able to self-manage and that a candidate can be trusted to make a contribution as early as possible. The experience requirement is an attempt to ensure new employees are productive as early as possible. This makes good sense, and while there are several good reasons to be training new people, it is always helpful to have someone who has done something before.

If you are studying and about to graduate, you need to be looking at all the ways you can fill the experience gap right away. In order to do so, students must analyse the kind of work they intend to do and then look for opportunities to build appropriate experience in that niche.

For instance, if you are studying towards a journalism qualification, volunteering to run a student newspaper or getting involved in putting together newsletters for local NGOs are the right kinds of experience to present to a potential employer. Volunteering at a children’s home is good experience for someone studying social work or psychology, but it may not be the perfect fit for someone studying law. However helping to put together a fundraising campaign for the same children’s home would enable business and public relations students to put together experience they can present to potential employers.

READ ALSO: How to Build Your Online Presence - Guest Posting

The beauty of gaining this kind of ‘involved citizen’ experience while studying is that everyone wins. You gain the skills you need to show that you have some of the experience required by the employer, but at the same time, you are giving something back to the society that enabled you to get the education in the first place. And the beneficiaries benefit from a much-needed service they did not have to pay for from their often meagre available funding.

Career counselling researchers (Penny Loretto, the Hansens and others) have noted that while the value of different attributes employers look for varied, there remained key values and attitudes that attract the attention of employers.

If you keep these in mind while volunteering, you can build a set of references that speak exactly to the attributes that matter to a potential employer. Be conscious of what you need in terms of skills, demonstrated ability and qualifications, and then set out in a determined manner to build a portfolio for yourself based on the experience and recommendations that make you different from the person next to you.

She says some traits are universal in terms of their attractiveness to employers who need to decide whether a candidate is worth investing in, and that future jobseekers should ensure they are able to demonstrate:

Strong work ethic: Be the person who volunteers to do more than anyone else and don’t give up until the job is done; this includes the ability to manage and motivate yourself – to get on with the job when no one is watching.
Dependability and reliability: Never let anyone down. Under-promise but over-deliver. Be loyal.
Positive attitude: Look for solutions and don’t get caught in negative spirals.
Adaptability and resilience: If circumstances change, change with them.
Integrity and honesty: Would you employ someone who lied to you?
Willingness to learn: Tackle and master new things.
Self confidence: Believe in yourself and your contribution without arrogance; and improve the quality of your written and verbal communication skills.\
People skills: Make other people feel comfortable, cultivate the ability to work well with a range of different people, and manage conflict and disagreement positively.

Most people don’t get the opportunity to get a higher education qualification, so as a student you are already part of the privileged few. But the competition for good jobs is brutal, and to succeed you must cultivate the qualities that will set you apart from millions of other job seekers. Gaining relevant know-how where need exists will not only enable you to tick the omnipresent ‘experience’-box on your application, it will also provide you with the opportunity to demonstrate that you have the qualities that can turn you into a valuable and valued asset should an employer take a chance on you.

RELATED : Common Interview Questions for Graduates in Kenya

Campus Life Job Hunting

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Why university education in Kenya is out of touch with reality

University education is out of touch with the reality

As a university scholar and teacher, I have personally witnessed many cases of mismatch between universities’ approach to teaching and what industry requires of a university graduate.

I grew up in a small village in Western Kenya where university graduates were not as common as they are nowadays. That was the mid 80s. Since then things have changed. Universities are now income-generating ventures whose primary objective is no longer provision of quality scholars but to make money at the expense of the learner. The situation is even worse in many private universities.

There are several reasons why university education is seen to be out of touch with reality: First, the research which is a product of the universities is hardly consumed by the intended users of the findings which includes the Government, the business community as well as the wider society. In this era where information and communication technology is an integral part of everything, the focus of research among other things should be directed towards adopting emerging technologies. This should be accompanied by adoption of primary technologies in this field of ICT as the only way to become fully industrialized by 2030.

READ ALSO: Ranking of Universities in Kenya with highest HIV prevalence rates.

Still on the research front, the academic researches being churned yearly from universities are immense but such works are often left to gather dust on the shelves of the university libraries. Apart from being published in revered journals and earning one a master’s degree or doctorate, there is no other useful application, commercial or otherwise. Such academic papers will only be useful as long as all the stakeholders of the research are involved in the consumption of the research findings.

There have been many occasions where the general public has raised the alarm over the relevance of university education compared to what employers require. Many a time, employers have preferred diploma graduates than degree holders in similar jobs. This is partly true owing to the partial or complete lack of training facilities especially laboratory equipment for the key technical areas in the universities.

Many universities in Kenya are busy producing graduates in Engineering, Sciences and related courses without having a single modern equipment in their laboratories or only having a handful of dilapidated often equipment of outdated technology. The issue is not lack of funding alone but is due to a number of other reasons: Corruption, carefree attitudes by technicians, lack of knowledge about modern technologies among a plethora of other reasons.

Lack of proper mechanisms for university –industry linkages are also to blame. Whilst the Kenya Government has been in the forefront in the recent past by introducing compulsory and paid internships for the college and university students, attachment cannot be the only solution. Why not also attach university lecturers who do not have industry background?. Is the Government required through the Ministry of Education or individual colleges/universities to prepare a special curriculum guide for industrial attachments? In addition, one thing that is lacking in Kenya is where the Government has failed to completely implement the primary manufacturing model in Kenya.

READ ALSO: The curse of the First Class Honours from Kenyan universities

The university graduates we send out to the market every year especially engineers seem to be misplaced, so to speak. Whereas universities train qualified mechanical design and production engineers, there is no machine to design,so our engineers end up as maintenance technicians. In fact one cannot realize the difference between an engineer and a technologist, a technologist and a technician, a technician and an artisan.

The writer , Soita Juma, is a PhD student in Business Administration at the University of Nairobi with major in Operations and Technology Management. He is an Assistant Lecturer of Operations and Supply Chain Management with the Technical University of Kenya and the University of Nairobi.

By Soita Justus Juma

Campus Life Opinions

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HOW ARE YOU MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR COMMUNITY? MEET MUSA.

MUSA - Led by Peter Muhia , Gibson and Spokesperson Laban Macharia

As COVID-19 (coronavirus) continues to wreak havoc around the country experts predict that the country could be hardest hit through Government resolving to lift the restrictions . But Murang'a youth are not sitting idly by waiting for the worst to come; throughout the county, they are hard at work providing solutions to help reduce the spread of the virus, and address the socioeconomic impact of the pandemic,

The MURANG'A Students association (Musa) which is an association comprising all students across the MURANG'A county launched the MUSA Charity Event for food donations to the old and vunerables across all constituencies across the county who are highly affected by this pandemic.It is encouraging to see young people across the county leading the way in the fight against coronavirus, and stepping up to help their communities.

As youths we know the future depends on our actions.Indeed, we youths represent energy, creativity and innovation thus devoted to be beacons of hope that can support the community at all times especially in times of such crisis. Through individual acts and collective action, young people are reclaiming power in the face of this pandemic and the powerlessness it makes us all feel.

Youth-led civil society and movements are acting on an unprecedented scale. Youth are mobilizing communities to protect themselves, and supporting governments and health workers together.

As Murang'a Youth Governor also the MUSA Secretary General I appeal to Governments to put in place measures and mechanisms to facilitate, coordinate organize and impact youth engagement in the fight against coronavirus. Most importantly, young people have realized that they have a critical part in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic - knowing that the spread of the virus is a threat to people, livelihoods and development and stability.

Youth are yearning to work with governments and diverse partners to stop transmission of the virus and to keep everyone safe.

Youth Governor,
Peter Muhia,
Former Finance Director 2018/2019 at University of Kabianga - Kenya

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LETTER : My First Year Orientation Memoirs 10 Years Later

JKUAT First Years Orientation

Dear Freshmen,

Re: My First Year Orientation Memoirs 10 Years Later

I joined the University of Nairobi Lower Kabete Campus in January, 2011 to pursue a Bachelors of Commerce degree. Joining the university was a dream come true for my family being the firstborn girl and the first grandchild in the family to do so was no mean fete. Joining the university like I discovered later was not a personal affair, everyone was concerned and a few involved in this new space of life and the two pieces of advice I got were, to work hard and have a career and secondly to ensure that I did not misuse my freedoms now that my parents would not be around.

When I walked through the gate of Lower Kabete on that chilly Monday morning with my traveling bag accompanied by my father, a new life awaited me. I was afraid yet happy, I was not trusting, yet in need of finding meaningful friends, I was ready to conquer the world but my heart was timid because of the journey ahead.

Once you walk through those gates alone or accompanied and the registration process is completed, you become a bonafide member of the institution you are in. As a young Christian girl then, I knew that I needed to plug into a fellowship where for starters, I would be “safe”. So you can imagine my joy when registering for clubs and associations, I found the Christian Union Desk. I was made to feel welcome and was given a brochure that contained all the meeting times and dates.

The orientation team that is set up by the Christian Union is tasked to ensure that a relevant programme is planned mostly in the evenings to equip and introduce the freshmen and women to the fellowship and an introduction to campus life.

The social media explosion we experience today was not very vibrant, so our crude yet effective communication methods of posters and personal chaperones really worked. I guess that due to our fewer numbers then, we could afford to have persons assigned to follow us up or better still grouped for follow up. Whichever way, it worked and I attended all orientation meetings for the campus administration, clubs, and associations and the Christian Union.

At the end of the orientation week, the campus administration organized what was called the Freshers Dance, which later evolved to become the “Ponyoka na Fresher Ball”, I need to be updated on the new terms. In 2011, I chose to believe the CU elders who warned us not to attend the ball/dance and instead advised us to attend the Friday fellowship and a retreat on the following day. I must say, this decision set me apart and from that day that I firmly belonged to the CU fellowship and made a decision to be a follower of Christ while on campus.

In my more than 9 years interaction with students either as, a student leader, a student worker and now as an associate, I can without a shadow of a doubt say that you chose which path to follow right at the start of your stay as a resident or a non-resident student. The choice is yours.

The freedoms in campus life must be harnessed for the good of the Gospel, the common good of others and for your edification. This verse in 1 Corinthians 6:12 must under guard your decisions “I have the right to do anything” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything” (NIV)

In relation to your academic life

Start off from the first lecture you attend. Show commitment and determination, be diligent and hardworking, follow instructions, be innovative and give your best. There are those few geniuses who may not need to attend all classes but will ace all their tests and exams, you may or may not be one of them. Know who you are and where the library is.

In relation to your social life

Learn the art of making friends. There are fake people around you just as there are real. Be careful about what you spend your money on and who you spend it with. There are some senior students who specialize in fleecing freshmen and women.

This is the time students get into meaningless cross-gender relationships. Infatuation and confusion due to transitions can confuse even the most level headed person. I pray that the CU will plan for such sessions in the early days of campus. For those who come in while relating, it is okay, work to nurture the relationships. Some good relationships happen on campus but conventional wisdom states that someone should not propose to you as soon as you have just landed and you accept!

Work to nurture relationships with your parents, guardians, and siblings. Visit during breaks and long holidays and if you are non-resident, then make time to update them on how and what you are doing. 20 years ago most students in campuses were resident, the case is different nowadays but that does not stop us from connecting with our loved ones intentionally.

In relation to your spiritual life

We are living in a world that is increasingly placing God in the back room. He is no longer prime and we have adopted an “I can do all things by myself. I am a self-made person”. The Bible is clear about such people who believe in themselves Psalm 14:1 has an apt response.

The campus social, the CU, the academic rigors give one the opportunity to see God at work, to grow in faith, to struggle with life questions and to test one’s heart. I pray that in these 4 to 6 to however long it may take for you to finish your studies, the truths about God will be engraved in your heart and ingrained in your mind.

There is a lot one can write about orientation and life on campus, for now, plug in and enjoy an adventure with God, Start with that one step of committing to follow Jesus as He leads you through campus life as a resident or a non-resident student.

Safe Safari!

Yours in Christ

Mrs. Caroline ,UoN Lower Kabete Campus.

‘ PONYOKA NA FRESHAA ’ - [ GRAB A FRESHER ]

Campus Fisi - …where campus wolves hunt for fresh kids

Your first display in campus tells a lot to the people around you.

This is a real phenomenon. It happens and every striking fresher lady should be on the lookout. Oops! The fresher dudes too. You are grabbed too. Grabbing of fresher’s happens; only that the extent of it depends on the kind of university/college that you have been integrated into. Every guy/lady out there knows that a fresher’s mind can be very easy to manipulate and some are mishandled completely during that one ‘bash’ that brings the ongoing and fresher students together. Smart fresher’s tend to be alert from the time they step inside the campus. Those ones prosper well in the first year of campus life.

So what about this campus life?

On the eve of fresher’s month, some guys save their HELB money for ‘impeccable’ deals. They want to shower the fresher like that one queen just to buy the trust, before finalizing all the evil plans in their heads with the damsels. This is something that happens and the fresh damsels who still have smell their mother’s skin should be on the lookout.

Kate joined this vast and globally populous college in town early last year. She was extremely felicitous. This had been her dream- to get to campus so she could finish her degree. As with all the registration on the first day at campus, she got in a line with the other ‘fresher’s.’ They were all speaking with their newly made friends. She was all alone and her ultimate job, for now, was watching and listening the fresh-comrades as they had their hullabaloos. Just then, she noted a peculiar guy throwing serious glances at her. She was not accustomed to such rummy ways of glaring at a girl. T he dark-chocolate guy was dressed in a shiny black suit and with those shoes, that one would fear they would inject the host’s tibia bone – extremely pointed. He had put his hands together as though praying. Kate tried to imagine what the guy was thinking about but could not come up with an idea. She gazed at her brown skin again and felt a bit clammy at her armpits.

As the line proceeded to the front, she walked closely behind. She pretended to be looking at the line’s far end. Her abducens nerve was extremely perfect as she used it to rotate her eyes laterally to get a closer view of the guy. She shuffled again as the line proceeded forward. At one time, she lost the view of the guy. She could not perceive the guy. She started staring at all areas she could possibly think of but the guy was not there. Where could he have gone? She asked herself. She wondered why all this thoughts about this guy had stuck in his mind. She had never got in a limbo ever again thinking of such a dude. Did I view him as a threat? She asked herself again.

She turned around and saw a lady behind her. She smiled at her and the lady smiled back.

‘I’m Kate. It’s nice to meet you?’ she said lively
‘I’m Katherine. It’s nice to meet you too’ she responded and they became friends while still on the line. All this moment, Kate was turning eyes around to see if she could catch an eye of that stalker-dude. He had shook her to bits. She was happy to have got a friend to keep her company. The two ladies exchanged numbers and continued speaking of their different backgrounds. At last, they were at the registration desk, they were registered, and some documents were exchanged. Kate was the first to complete the registration. She sat aside at the visitor’s pew awaiting her friend. Just then, this guy rocked in and smiled in front of her. He greeted her.
‘Hello’
‘Hello’
‘I’m Derry’
‘I’m Kate’ she was looking uneasy and uncomfortable as she awaited her friend.
‘I’m a tour – guide to show you around the school’ Kate gazed at him again, his tag on his breast was written ‘University Tour Guide’

‘Can’t we show ourselves around the school? I almost know every corner ‘she explained herself and after a short time of tedious discussion, she trusted this guy. They waited for Katherine and walked together. They were now so happy together to have a company of a flashy person with intellectual thoughts and who seemed to have a future – that is how most fresher’s see the world. They also come with this slogan ‘Ponyoka na future ’ such that they target the bright guys doing law, medicine,Business, engineering and any related courses . Kate had now bought a lot of trust to this guy called Derry. The school rotation was over and after talking some leisurely walks admiring the architecture of the campus, they came to a certain iconic – monument where they took many selfies together.

That evening, they got in and drunk to their fill.

That evening, Derry took them out for dinner at a certain frequented high-end hotel in town. Sometimes, it pains many dudes to spend a lot of money on women and most of the pleasantries come at a PAY! The talk at the table was excellent. It was so interesting when you just join campus and a guy takes you out for dinner just like that. After the meal, they took some alcoholic drinks together. Kate and Katherine were not accustomed to drinking alcohol and after three glasses, they were all in (diplopia-mode) double visions and hallucinations had set in. the euphoria was there too. Derry was gazing at them as they were alcohol did some great changes in their Central Nervous System (CNS). Kate came around Derry and slept on his chest, as she looked extremely dizzy. Derry hired a taxi and walked with the two damsels inside the car that accelerated to the campus’ hostels. He took them to his friends’ room and did the unexpected to them continuously as the damsels craved for more as the alcohol too absolute control of them.

At around 11 am the next day, Kate got up and woke her friend- Katherine. They all had marks of struggle on their wrist joints and some bruises on the neck. Kate specifically had a large bruise on her back. They gazed at each other.

‘What happened to us?’ Katherine asked Kate

‘What is this place?’ Kate asked her. They were all alone.
That feeling you have when you are sure that someone misused you and dumped you for good
Kate got up and felt that something had transpired tonight inside her body. She was not feeling okay. She at once gazed at Katherine and whispered to her.
‘That guy –Derry manipulated us. He used us. He mishandled us and did what he did to us the entire night’ she dropped a tear.
Katherine got up too and held her mouth with her both hands. She dropped a tear too.
‘We had been informed about such things in campus but… ‘Kate continued
‘We assumed them’ Katherine completed.
She got hold of Katherine’s arm and walked out of the room.
Everyone appears friendly just only to notice some hidden agenda.
awaiting the next prey
Pokey predators on the prowl preying on poor souls that just arrived campus – Ponyoka Na Freshaa is Real.

Regards :Mohammed Tokal Morowa, a student at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of science and technology pursuing a Bachelors in Business Administration (BBA) With information technology (IT).

Related resources:

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First Years : Summary of the Dos and Donts in Campus.

Freshers Dos and Donts in Campus.

Allow me to reminisce a little, after all, it has been about two weeks since I finished campus. I realize I did not have a proper goodbye, but here is what I gathered from four years of undergraduate:

Here are some of the guidelines of surviving in Kenyan campuses: A College Manual

Avoid the last minute rush. The I-work-best-under pressure is a myth. When it comes to studying, if you leave all studying to the night before the exam, you’re likely to fail. Okay, you may not get an E (which means you have to re-do the paper), but a C or D are likely grades.

Be yourself. Be true to your friends, because the friends you make in campus are the ones you will keep for life. If you can’t reveal your true self to your fellow comrades who do not judge, accept who for who you are and will hold a harambee to bail you out if you get into any sort of trouble, then I don’t know who else you can trust.

Cops. Cops and university students are not friends. Always maintain a 50m (or more) radius around a cop. Ask any student who has been in a strike. Or anyone coming back to campus at night and they encounter cops who ask for ID, and that is the one time you didn’t carry it. You could be arrested for loitering, drunk and disorderly etc.

Drinking. If you have no desire to be a drinker, then do not drink. If you decide to drink, there are some rules you should adhere to: do not experiment with drinks if you’re not indoors with your friends, so if you pass out you’re in safe hands. Find your drink of choice and stick with it. Do not ignore your studies. Do not ignore your friends. Do not drink all your rent/food/clothes money. I’ve ever bought supper for someone who didn’t have a cent on him yet he’d been out drinking the previous night. Do not offer to buy chicks/guys drinks just to impress if you can’t afford it. Do not go out if you can’t afford it. Do not become a regular at the local ‘wines n spirits’. Drinking has so many rules, I’ll just have to let you figure out the rest.

Exams. They are the one thing that you’ll be judged by most of the time. Do not copy in exams. Who am I kidding? Some students survive on Mwakenyas (those tiny pieces of paper on which all notes are compressed into.) But seriously, most of undergraduate is more of recall than reasoning. Lecturers do not invent questions, every question they’ll ask has been asked before. Just do your revision well. I remember in first year, no one wanted to copy or to be copied from. By fourth year, the situation had changed a lot. Either way, I insist, do not copy. If you get caught, it could end up badly. Like you being forced to take some years out, and then graduating without honours.

Friends. They are the best thing that could ever happen to anyone on campus. If you find true ones, keep them. The ones you can buy drinks from when you’re loaded, and still borrow from when you’re broke. If you can’t borrow money from your friends, then they are not true friends.

God. Acknowledge His existence in your life. Don’t be too over-religious though and end up missing on the life.

Hustle. I’m not saying go into the streets and start walking around looking all desperate. If you want to, start a business. Write on the side. Do your poetry. Sing your heart out. Draw portraits. Make cards for sale. Register your own company and start making websites/projects. It’s a way of establishing yourself and making that extra cash. It will lift your self-esteem. If an opportunity comes along, take it.

Independence. Be your own person. Whatever you do, ask yourself why. And the answer should not be ‘because my friends are doing it.’

Joke. Take time to smile at your blunders/failures. Life can be brutally short.

Knowledge. For what’s it’s worth, be good in at least one area of your field of study. Theoretically and practically, so even if your grades are not so good, you have something to show for your time in campus.

Luxuries. I know a student once who had all electronics possible but he didn’t even have bed sheets. All am saying is, know your priorities.

Money. Spend wisely, do not lend to those who can’t pay back, do not borrow unless it’s absolutely necessary and you know you can pay back. Friendships have begun and ended because of money.

Neighbours. Be good to them, you’ll live next to them for a while and they are the ones who’ll raise an alarm if your crib is on fire/being robbed.

Over. When campus is over, it’s over. Do not linger around. As much as I miss campus already, I would not go back just to hand around. I know some people I used to see around campus who had already graduated, and they walked around doing nothing. They were not doing further studying or teaching or anything.

Play. Go out and get involved in campus games and sports. Go out in the evening and have fun. Dance the night away. At the beginning of the semester when you have all the free time, watch movies, series, play computer games. Go out all week if you can. There is always time to study in the middle of the semester and towards the end.

Be unique. Be unique in at least one thing, style, fashion, neatness, etc

Avoid Tobacco. Smoking of tobacco is harmful to your health. Okay, sometimes smokers look cool, but once you get hooked, it’s hard to quit. It’s easier to quit drinking than to quit smoking, so if you haven’t started smoking yet, do not start. If you’re already smoking, and you wanna quit, devise some sort of plan that will see you reduce your smoking by the time you’re done with campus. That will be the icing on the cake of your graduation.

Utter selflessness. That’s the only way to feel alive. Share with the less fortunate. Donate your time (and money) to charity. Join Rotaract Club, Red Cross, Environmental club or any other society where you can give back to society.

Vegetation. And the environment in general. Thou shall care for your environment, do not litter unnecessarily and if you’re passionate enough, join the environmental club and plant some trees.

You. You’re your own master. You’re in charge of your ambition, desires, goals, limitations. Of course, with guidance from your creator.

Zeal. The Bible says in Ecc 9:10, “Whatsover your hands find to do, do it with all your might. For there is no knowledge, no wisdom, no action, no thought, in the world of the dead where you are headed.”

That is just a summary of the Dos and Donts in Campus.

Reference: Savvy Kenya

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