[Nakura]

Hey guys, I wasn't sure if I should post this or not, but I figured it couldn't hurt and we've done things like this before, so here goes. My cousin's roommate suddenly moved out about a week and a half ago and now he's not sure if he's going to be able to afford going to college and paying rent. He works at Walmart, but that gives him just enough to cover the essentials (rent, water bill, electric bill, car insurance, etc.).

If anyone could donate even a dollar to help him out, I would greatly appreciate it, and so would he. He has also offered to draw pictures for people who donate money, if they are interested, as he's not a half-bad artist. Here's the crowdfunding campaign if you're interested: http://www.gofundme.com/6094po

And thank you so much, everyone. I just want my cousin to be able to go to college next semester and fulfill his dream of becoming a Missouri State Trooper. I love you guys, and if you're interested in a drawing, then please PM me. If you wanted to know more details about this, feel free to read the story on FundMe or send me a PM. And thanks again!


Here's the full story on FundMe:

My cousin Matthew's roommate just left abruptly and so all of his money is going straight to bills. While his Financial Aid pays for his tuition and classes, he is worried that he won't be able to pay for gas to and from school during the semester. It's about a 30 minute commute one way, adding up to about 3 hours of driving a week.

This will be Matt's second semester at the local community college and I think that it is absolutely important that he continues his education. Matthew and his sister live together and both work at Walmart, which is their only source of income. Things weren't so bad when they had a third roommate, but he left a couple of weeks ago and now they're a bit tight on money.

While I am trying to help in any way I can, I also have my own bills to pay and am not getting as many hours as I'd like at either of my two jobs. His father passed away a couple of years ago and his mother has abandoned them and has been unemployed since their father died, so he won't be getting any help from her.

I really just want to see my cousin continue his education and pursue his dream to become a police officer. I know it's asking a lot from total strangers, but if there is anything you can do to help my cousin continue his education, we would be eternally grateful. Thank you very much for reading this page and anything you have done.

[yuezhi]

None of this sounds like it's for helping a fellow member through college

[Phantom Hoover]

Nakura, you are long past the point where you can make some fraternal plea for financial aid. Is this post a mass-copypaste to all the forums you haunt like your political rants were?

[Dragon]

Hey, just because the guy has political views and isn't afraid to share them is no reason to reject him. I have no need for an artist right now, and my money is next to worthless in the US (stupid Polish Zloty...), but I see nothing wrong with the idea.

[Phantom Hoover]

Hey, just because the guy has political views and isn't afraid to share them is no reason to reject him.

Except that's not what he was doing. He came to HLP with the sole intention of pasting over his political screeds in order to bait people into arguing with him, like he has on several other forums. He has never posted outside of GamDisc or GenDisc. He is nothing more than a common troll, and I don't care if it violates forum etiquette — if he starts begging for cash he needs to be called out publicly.

[Dragon]

He's not a common troll because he had a point. Maybe an invalid one, depending on your political views, but a point nonetheless. And he was actively participating in discussion, too. Oh, and his posts on GamDisc were pretty normal. We're not really a "gamer-only" forum, I have to say I enjoyed some of those political threads.
I have to say, you're actually violating etiquette much worse than him. There's nothing wrong with asking, you don't have to pay if you don't want to.

[Luis Dias]

Yeah I can see this thread escalating real fast around here. FWIW, I wish your cousin the best of luck.

[The E]

I would ask everyone to lay off Nakura. Posting about how you're not going to contribute is unproductive, and doesn't accomplish anything.

[General Battuta]

Gas money is a pretty realistic goal, but also not one I'd feel comfortable crowd-sourcing to online busking. Best of luck to your brother, though.

e: oops. Has your brother considered speaking to the financial aid office? They're usually stone-cold bastards but they might be able to increase his award.

[Nakura]

Gas money is a pretty realistic goal, but also not one I'd feel comfortable crowd-sourcing to online busking. Best of luck to your brother, though.

e: oops. Has your brother considered speaking to the financial aid office? They're usually stone-cold bastards but they might be able to increase his award.

Financial Aid gives him a few hundred dollars for college books each semester, or at least that's how it worked last time. If you have any of that money left over after buying books, you can use it for anything you want, including gas, groceries, etc.

You're definitely right about them being stingy though, I've tried dealing with them before on a few occasions. After spending an hour to fill out their FASFA form and another two hours waiting in line to to talk to a counselor, they tell me that my parents make too much money for me to get government aid. Yet my parents only make enough to pay for two classes each semester and I have to pay for the rest with my own money. Hardly seems like "too much money" to me.

Nakura, you are long past the point where you can make some fraternal plea for financial aid. Is this post a mass-copypaste to all the forums you haunt like your political rants were?

You're still mad? I've tried to be civil with you, but have received nothing but posts like this in return.

[Black Wolf]

Hey, just because the guy has political views and isn't afraid to share them is no reason to reject him.

Except that's not what he was doing. He came to HLP with the sole intention of pasting over his political screeds in order to bait people into arguing with him, like he has on several other forums. He has never posted outside of GamDisc or GenDisc. He is nothing more than a common troll, and I don't care if it violates forum etiquette — if he starts begging for cash he needs to be called out publicly.

No, he doesn't, not by you, not by anyone.

Nakura did his time, and has been fine since he came back. Constantly bringing up previous issues and goading him is not acceptable, and if it persists, will be treated as trolling. First and final warning on this, people.

[General Battuta]

Begging for cash is always worth a critical eye no matter who's doing it. That's as true on forums as it is on the street corner, whatever the person's history.

Paying for school is clearly vital, and the target number here is pretty small. Is there anyone nearby your brother could carpool with? A way to set up a gas fund between multiple people going to the same place? Alternatively, are there dorms or anything he could move into?

I'm not super familiar with community college setups - you guys have to pay on a per-class basis?

e: brother should read cousin, also I'm confused, is this for your cousin or you? Are you paying for your cousin's college classes?

[General Battuta]

Now I'm really confused. If your cousin's father is dead and his mother has abandoned him, why is it your parents' incomes that are determining his financial aid award?

I think I get it, you're using your own financial aid award as an example of their stinginess.

[Nakura]

None of this sounds like it's for helping a fellow member through college

He's not an HLPer yet, but I'll convert him to the FreeSpace Mustard Race soon enough. I've started him out with less hardcore games, like Battlefield 2142 and Age of Empires II, as he is still new to PC gaming.

Begging for cash is always worth a critical eye no matter who's doing it. That's as true on forums as it is on the street corner, whatever the person's history.

Paying for school is clearly vital, and the target number here is pretty small. Is there anyone nearby your brother could carpool with? A way to set up a gas fund between multiple people going to the same place? Alternatively, are there dorms or anything he could move into?

I'm not super familiar with community college setups - you guys have to pay on a per-class basis?

e: brother should read cousin, also I'm confused, is this for your cousin or you? Are you paying for your cousin's college classes?

I absolutely understand your skepticism and to be honest, I probably wouldn't donate anything if I were in your position (unless Kopachris or Lorric needed help, they're my buddies). Of course, this has more to do with the fact that I am also a broke college student; though I luckily don't have nearly as many bills to pay as my cousin.

Him and I carpooled last semester, but it didn't really work out very well due to my classes being two hours before his. This semester our schedules will be more in line, so we will definitely be doing it more. He lives in the next town over from me (about 8 miles away).

At our community college you have to pay per class. I am almost certain there are tuition costs as well, but my parents pay that, so I'm not sure how expensive it is. Classes are usually about $400-$600 per class, excluding the cost of books. In theory community colleges are supposed to be cheaper than universities, since they are subsidized by the government.

[Nakura]

Good news everyone! My cousin has been picking up extra hours at work and he has a couple hundred dollars of financial aid money left over (from college books), so we don't need the fundraiser. No donations have been accepted, however, I would like to thank whoever it was who donated $5 towards the cause. I trust you were never billed, since I never withdrew the funds?

[S-99]

I will still post this here. Guys lives in van through financial hardship, graduates college

The first person to help you is yourself. I know it's a little extreme, well it's not, what i'm getting to is. And glad that cousin X {maybe a real person, in even a real situation?) didn't have to go down route X. But, some people if they really are passionate about school learn to think about the benefits of cutting bills versus the increasing hardships that can ensue. Moving out of apartment and living in car for example, gets rid of apartment rent, now car insurance is rent, and gas is utilities (though not saying living in a car is easy, you just can't do this in interior alaska).

I suppose his cousin won the lottery too?

[Lorric]

cousin X {maybe a real person, in even a real situation?)

I suppose his cousin won the lottery too?

What's with the attitude? He's closed the fundraiser, and if he wanted to invent a story to try and fleece money from people, I'm sure he could easily do a lot better than this one.

And did you even read the article you presented? Living in such squalor is downright unhealthy.

You'll live only a couple of steps up from on the street, and have to hope you manage to stay sharp and healthy enough to successfully pass a college degree. Oh, and hope you don't get booted out of the college if they find out you're living in a vehicle.

[yuezhi]

And this fundraiser was nothing more than a fistful of dollars compared to most of what you'd regularly see on the net.

[General Battuta]

Yeah I just had a friend post a $500 fund drive to get her to a literary conference. 

[S-99]

What's with the attitude? He's closed the fundraiser, and if he wanted to invent a story to try and fleece money from people, I'm sure he could easily do a lot better than this one.

And did you even read the article you presented? Living in such squalor is downright unhealthy.

You'll live only a couple of steps up from on the street, and have to hope you manage to stay sharp and healthy enough to successfully pass a college degree. Oh, and hope you don't get booted out of the college if they find out you're living in a vehicle.

You act like i have not only not read the article but have not lived in such squalor, let alone people fleecing me. Given nakuras supposed reputation around here, he only leaves me thinking and feeling very suspicious of him.