One of the worst parts of being a college student can sometimes be the buildup of dust and cobwebs that accumulates in your wallet and on your money clip.

It’s a common place to be. After paying excessive tuition fees, textbook bills, organization dues, meal plan costs, rent and everything else that goes with college, the common student often ends up being strapped for cash.

Understandably, our frugal sides develop and prosper during these times, and the thrifty skills we learn now will only help us in the future – assuming that being thrifty isn’t mutually exclusive with maintaining morality and respect.

Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case, as is blatantly obvious with the culture column, “Take advantage of free food in college.”

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for free food – Free Queso Day is on par with Christmas, in my opinion – but, I’m not necessarily a fan of the entitled mentality that seems to be overbearing here.

The article, with a conclusion statement reading, “After all, our college years will probably be our last chance to freeload off of our parents, score tons of free stuff and enjoy the fruits of others’ labor all under the guise of being poor but endearing college students,” makes me a little concerned about what all of this generosity is teaching us.

Are we really being cultivated into a crop of freeloaders and con artists? I swear, my great-grandfather predicted this exact scenario when he lectured me on the shortcomings of Generation Y.

The above statement contains every single one of my pet peeves – entitlement, mooching, misrepresentation. It scares me to think that other people might feel the same way.

And yet, you can see these qualities every day.

Whether it’s a consumer voicing criticism to someone who has provided a service, rather than extending gratitude or just a lack of interest in paying it forward, the evidence is there.

Even something as simple as leaving your trash out on dining hall tables displays an utter disrespect for everyone around you and is a direct representation of the mentality that will ultimately be the demise of Generation Y: “Someone else will do it.”

We have such a far-fetched superiority complex at times, such a ridiculous belief that all of what we are blessed with, all that has been laid at our feet is totally free – that for some reason we deserve this and more.

No one is immune from this, either. I’m guilty of it, plain and simple.

But the fact is, all of those “free” dinners, all those tailgates, all those deals – someone puts them all together.

Someone is behind the scenes, and for them, it isn’t free. The labor costs alone can be taxing.

When it comes down to it, I just think that we all need to take a huge step back at times. We need to realize just how lucky we are to be able to take advantage of opportunities, not just take the cut-and-run technique; it’s not that hard to do.

Every so often, pitch in somewhere; pay it forward. Say ‘thank you’ repeatedly. Gratitude is free, too, you know.

All I’m saying is that it’s totally fine if you take advantage of free food in college. Heck, take advantage of free food when you’re 80. Just be grateful for it, too.

Maxton Thoman is a sophomore majoring in biology. His column runs weekly.