Though the Gauntlet discourages anyone who wants to live on campus, if you have to, you don't want to come to campus unprepared for what you'll face over the coming semester. Here's a list of essential items from our homeless student expert, Ron Frank.

"There's things you need to have," Frank says.

Travel pillow

This provides you some separation from dirty campus couches. Have you ever heard those rumours about people having sex on the couches on the third floor of MacHall? It happens. You don't want your face on that.

Travel alarm clock

This is useful for getting up to go to class or when you go to other people's houses. Just don't put it out all the time. It's kind of obvious you intended on sleeping there if you have your travel pillow and travel alarm clock out when you're in the info commons. Campus Security may start to doubt your "term paper" story.

Bike

"It really connects things for me," Frank says.

A bike lets you get more places, faster. Safeway, Tim Hortons, the Dining Centre--all within your reach.

Lockers

"They are the most integral thing," Frank says.

The university just changed the rules this year, now you can get a social sciences and an art locker. The social sciences building is open 24 hours a day through a door near bio sciences so the SS locker can act as your kitchen for your late-night snacks. The art locker is the biggest locker you can get on campus and you'll need it to keep your changes of clothes, your books and other large items in. A kinesiology locker allows you to keep your shower stuff right near where you shower.

Electric kettle

"I can go to my locker at any time of the day and plug that electric kettle in there," says Frank who keeps his electric kettle in his SS locker. "I can have my tea, basically anything you can make with warm water."

Girlfriend/boyfriend

"If you're able to have a girlfriend, you have that place to go once a week," says Frank. "It's nice and warm, usually you can sleep there later, when she's gone."

Backpack

"If you don't have a good backpack you might as well stay home," Frank says.

Plastic bags:

"This one night I was walking around and I saw this one guy and he was eating a cake in the social sciences basement," says Frank. "I said, 'Where did you get that?' He told me about this oasis of free food up in the science theatres. It was some sort of function and they had ordered way too much. I luckily had a plastic bag [and was] able to fill it full of perishable vegetables and things that wouldn't last so long."