Freebies are GREAT but Beware!

At practically all university events, you get freebies all over the place from pens, to post-it notes, to water bottles, and magnets. I’m sure all of us would agree that freebies are great. But for your own sake, please be safe and aware that sometimes freebies cause most pain than they’re worth.

First of all, there is no free lunch (common principle in economics). Most of the time, you have to wait in line or use up your time to get these “freebies”. Sometimes, the benefit just isn’t worth it.

Secondly, free pens can either be heavenly or be a complete nightmare. This year i’ve had two bad experiences with free pens. One leaked onto my notes, and the other (which I was conveniently using today) gave me cramps after I wrote about 3 lines because it didn’t allow me to get a firm enough grip on the pen, causing slide and hand/finger pains.

Another deadly one was an umbrella. Some of the clubs at UBC give away umbrellas as part of their advertisement for their clubs. But one time, the umbrellas were clearly poorly manufactured and I got my finger caught and cut in the part where you open up the umbrella (as I was trying to push it open).

Last but not least, some of these water bottles that are given out are disguised as those new “better for your health” Sig Swiss Made quality bottles. However, I noticed that one of them ones I collected (which I don’t use because I have a great water bottle handy) began to chip on the inside and on the outside from no apparent use!

Freebies are great even if you don’t use them but be aware of these little details that can completely wreck how your day is going!