hahah thats funny that they asked and kept riding. I was that college student once, well I still am, but when I first started riding my bike a couple months back I got a flat and a couple of people stopped to ask if I was alright. I told them I had a flat and they were like oh and left. One guy did offer to give me a tube, but I told him I didn't have a lever or pump and then he just took off.
After that day I bought a patch kit, a couple of spare tubes, one lever, and a mini pump. Lesson learned.