Credit: DKS Editors

Twisting, stretching or contorting a dollar won’t make it bigger or worth more than 100 cents, but Morad Zayed is proof that the value of a dollar depends on how it’s spent.

“It was a one dollar ticket, and I got $500 bucks,” freshman biological technology major Zayed said about a lottery ticket he bought. “It was one of the best moments of my life.”

Around Kent, a scratch-off lottery ticket is just one example of something students can purchase for a dollar or less.

Zayed’s experience shows that while a dollar won’t always buy a big-screen TV or a fancy car, it can provide memories money can’t buy.

Another item available for under a dollar is a goldfish. Wal-Mart sells them for 26 cents or almost four for a dollar – but it might be best to spend that extra four cents to buy the whole fourth goldfish. Freshman exploratory major Anthony Marozzi said he is fond of his goldfish experience.

“My brother bet a friend he couldn’t swallow a goldfish like Steve-O,” Marozzi said. “He failed horribly. He got it half way down and then we had to give him the Heimlich. After he got it up, he threw up for a half an hour.”

Sophomore media productions major Ashton Tanner said his fish story had a happy ending.

“I bought my girlfriend her first goldfish,” Tanner said. “She was ecstatic because it was her first pet.”

If a goldfish isn’t something a person fancies, Family Video in Kent offers two-for-a-dollar movies.

Senior psychology major Shannon Duffy said renting movies always provides fun for her and her friends.

“My friends and I like to rent movies and have sleepovers like we were in high school,” Duffy said as she laughed. “We always watch ‘Mean Girls.’ We finally bought it, but we used to rent it all the time.”

Marozzi said he often enjoys a good cinematic adventure. He said when he rented the “Replacements,” it kept him and his dad laughing the whole time.

“My dad’s laugh by itself is hilarious,” Marozzi said, “so when I am laughing on my own, it’s even better.”

Graduate student Jelani Dorsey said he enjoys watching movies, but he really enjoys spending his dollar on Wendy’s 99 cents Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger.

“When you’re hungry after basketball or when you get done doing something, it hits the spot,” Dorsey said.

Dorsey said it is also nice to team up the 99 cents burger with a 63 cents drink from Circle K.

“Polar Pops are the stuff,” Dorsey said. “You can go to get a Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger, and then go get a Polar Pop for (63) cents.”

Marozzi said he saw how much people liked getting their Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers when he worked at Wendy’s.

“Someone ordered a Jr. Bacon plain, and in my eyes, I thought it was bacon, cheese and the meat, but he wanted just burger with nothing on it,” Marozzi said. “So instead of making him a new one, we just took the cheese and bacon off and gave it to the guy. Well he came in, and I heard every cuss word there is.”

Tanner said he thinks it is best to appreciate the things that only cost a dollar.

“Sometimes a dollar goes a long way,” Tanner said, “and people shouldn’t take it for granted because people work hard for what they get. There are people out there without money and people losing their homes.”

Contact student finance reporter Anthony Holloway at [email protected].