Thursday, September 29, 2005
The Downside to the Student Health Center
Story by Allison Bloch
Every semester we pay $102 in student health fees.
Despite the controversy regarding on-campus medical facilities vs. city clinics, I still wait at least an hour to be seen at the Student Health Center.
It really is comforting to know if I went to the center with my eye falling out of my head, gushing blood they might see me…in about three hours.
Who is to blame for inadequate on-campus health care?
It seems as though funding is being taken away from the most important thing in our lives: our health.
Two years ago I was stuck at SF State during winter break, and I got sick. Upon visiting the Student Health Center I was told nothing could be done for me, and I had either mono or strep throat.
Well that was just super.
After waiting around for an hour I got a pat on the back, a thermometer, and a handful of cough drops.
Years later it hasn’t changed much.
I hurt my arm last Tuesday scrubbing the floor at my work. After being called in to be seen I was told they couldn’t see me because of worker’s compensation.
I was to go back to work and ask who I could see to get the pain taken care of.
I know it’s not those who work in the Student Health Center who are to blame, but the system needs improvement. There needs to be a better way for students to receive health care.
But for now, I am suffering paying $102 every semester for this crap.
Every semester we pay $102 in student health fees.
Despite the controversy regarding on-campus medical facilities vs. city clinics, I still wait at least an hour to be seen at the Student Health Center.
It really is comforting to know if I went to the center with my eye falling out of my head, gushing blood they might see me…in about three hours.
Who is to blame for inadequate on-campus health care?
It seems as though funding is being taken away from the most important thing in our lives: our health.
Two years ago I was stuck at SF State during winter break, and I got sick. Upon visiting the Student Health Center I was told nothing could be done for me, and I had either mono or strep throat.
Well that was just super.
After waiting around for an hour I got a pat on the back, a thermometer, and a handful of cough drops.
Years later it hasn’t changed much.
I hurt my arm last Tuesday scrubbing the floor at my work. After being called in to be seen I was told they couldn’t see me because of worker’s compensation.
I was to go back to work and ask who I could see to get the pain taken care of.
I know it’s not those who work in the Student Health Center who are to blame, but the system needs improvement. There needs to be a better way for students to receive health care.
But for now, I am suffering paying $102 every semester for this crap.
Singing the Parking Blues
By Amelia Gravagno, Staff Writer
When I was warned at orientation not to bring my car to San Francisco State, I laughed.
How did they expect me to survive without my car?
So I ignored the advice of my elders and packed all my worldly possessions in to my little 10-year-old Toyota and moved to the land of fog.
It was the ultimate moving to college cliché, complete with pillows pressed up against the back window.
Soon after moving to San Francisco I experienced yet another familiar tale: The small town girl who getrs robbed upon moving to the big bad city. Within a week my back window was shattered, and my brand new stereo was ripped from the front dashboard.
Since the beginning I have learned the hard way that this is not the most car-friendly area. I spend most of my time downtown searching for parking spots on the street to avoid paying $20 and up to park in a lot, only to be slapped with a $50 ticket because I left it there for longer than three hours.
My current debt to the city’s department of parking has just about reached $1250. Every time I see a cop behind me I fear they finally put that warrant out for my arrest.
The school doesn't make it any easier for us either. All of the spots near campus have one, two or four hours maximum time limits.
And this year they’ve found a way to truly kick us when we’re down; I almost cried the first time I set eyes on the row of new parking meters along Holloway.
Those spots were never easy to secure; you usually has to stake one out all day and get into a slap fight with another hopeful student to ensure your car’s place in the world.
But the satisfaction gained in the days of not having to get up close and personal with everyone on the BART shuttle has passed. These days just be prepared to bring a pound of quarters to school.
Or at least enough gum to share with the twenty other people standing in the shuttle aisle so it's less awkward when they fall on top of you at an abrupt stop.
When I was warned at orientation not to bring my car to San Francisco State, I laughed.
How did they expect me to survive without my car?
So I ignored the advice of my elders and packed all my worldly possessions in to my little 10-year-old Toyota and moved to the land of fog.
It was the ultimate moving to college cliché, complete with pillows pressed up against the back window.
Soon after moving to San Francisco I experienced yet another familiar tale: The small town girl who getrs robbed upon moving to the big bad city. Within a week my back window was shattered, and my brand new stereo was ripped from the front dashboard.
Since the beginning I have learned the hard way that this is not the most car-friendly area. I spend most of my time downtown searching for parking spots on the street to avoid paying $20 and up to park in a lot, only to be slapped with a $50 ticket because I left it there for longer than three hours.
My current debt to the city’s department of parking has just about reached $1250. Every time I see a cop behind me I fear they finally put that warrant out for my arrest.
The school doesn't make it any easier for us either. All of the spots near campus have one, two or four hours maximum time limits.
And this year they’ve found a way to truly kick us when we’re down; I almost cried the first time I set eyes on the row of new parking meters along Holloway.
Those spots were never easy to secure; you usually has to stake one out all day and get into a slap fight with another hopeful student to ensure your car’s place in the world.
But the satisfaction gained in the days of not having to get up close and personal with everyone on the BART shuttle has passed. These days just be prepared to bring a pound of quarters to school.
Or at least enough gum to share with the twenty other people standing in the shuttle aisle so it's less awkward when they fall on top of you at an abrupt stop.
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Protesting at SF State
By Angela Generoso, Online Managing Editor
When I first moved to San Francisco in the summer of 2003 I was instantly in love with this city.
I vowed to learn the public transportation system inside and out. I wanted to explore every nook and cranny and be involved in everything.
I wanted to be a San Franciscan.
So naturally when my first anti-war protest came about, I had to be a part of it. It was October 25, 2003: the march on Market Street. I was so excited about it, I still have the flier.
I very strongly oppose the war in Iraq, and I was very much in favor of ending the US occupation at that time.
However, as a journalist I have since learned to look at both sides of the situation…both in covering the events surrounding the war and just talking to people on both sides. I don’t believe objectivity in journalism exists, but if you look at some coverage of anti-war protests, it’s blatantly not attempted.
Sfgate.com published a story on the anti-war protest that took place Saturday. The story reported only about six counter-protesters present during the event.
I find it hard to believe throughout an anti-war protest of over 20,000 people only six college republicans from SF State showed up to have their voices heard. I know this is a liberal city, but six? No way.
SF State has been home to many protests over the years. [X]Press Online published a piece last May displaying an inside look at the anti-war demonstrations throughout the years, recent events and the response from the administration. SF State reportedly launched the longest strike in the nation in 1968 as an effort for students to take over their education.
The result led to the first ever Department of Ethnic Studies.
However, protests and activism didn’t start there. According to the chair of the Humanities Department, student activism was prevalent at SF State many years before, and there has always been a tradition of conflict with authority at this campus.
Because of this, there is a natural urge to protest upon arriving at SF State. I know I wanted to do it too. But I was just another protester doing the activism act.
Now I look back and realize I was one of those people who was protesting just to protest. Although I feel strongly against the war in Iraq I know there are other aspects of the situation that mainstream media doesn’t always clarify.
The other voices need to be heard too. There are so many people with so many stories regarding the war in Iraq, and it’s hard not to get emotional about the situation.
But now as incoming freshmen at SF State are learning to protest for the first time, it’s important to be aware of who is an activist because they believe in it, and who is an acitivist because it’s just “so San Francisco.”
See related story at [X]Press News Online
When I first moved to San Francisco in the summer of 2003 I was instantly in love with this city.
I vowed to learn the public transportation system inside and out. I wanted to explore every nook and cranny and be involved in everything.
I wanted to be a San Franciscan.
So naturally when my first anti-war protest came about, I had to be a part of it. It was October 25, 2003: the march on Market Street. I was so excited about it, I still have the flier.
I very strongly oppose the war in Iraq, and I was very much in favor of ending the US occupation at that time.
However, as a journalist I have since learned to look at both sides of the situation…both in covering the events surrounding the war and just talking to people on both sides. I don’t believe objectivity in journalism exists, but if you look at some coverage of anti-war protests, it’s blatantly not attempted.
Sfgate.com published a story on the anti-war protest that took place Saturday. The story reported only about six counter-protesters present during the event.
I find it hard to believe throughout an anti-war protest of over 20,000 people only six college republicans from SF State showed up to have their voices heard. I know this is a liberal city, but six? No way.
SF State has been home to many protests over the years. [X]Press Online published a piece last May displaying an inside look at the anti-war demonstrations throughout the years, recent events and the response from the administration. SF State reportedly launched the longest strike in the nation in 1968 as an effort for students to take over their education.
The result led to the first ever Department of Ethnic Studies.
However, protests and activism didn’t start there. According to the chair of the Humanities Department, student activism was prevalent at SF State many years before, and there has always been a tradition of conflict with authority at this campus.
Because of this, there is a natural urge to protest upon arriving at SF State. I know I wanted to do it too. But I was just another protester doing the activism act.
Now I look back and realize I was one of those people who was protesting just to protest. Although I feel strongly against the war in Iraq I know there are other aspects of the situation that mainstream media doesn’t always clarify.
The other voices need to be heard too. There are so many people with so many stories regarding the war in Iraq, and it’s hard not to get emotional about the situation.
But now as incoming freshmen at SF State are learning to protest for the first time, it’s important to be aware of who is an activist because they believe in it, and who is an acitivist because it’s just “so San Francisco.”
See related story at [X]Press News Online
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Getting Through School
By Angela Generoso, Online Managing Editor
Finishing college in four years is the ultimate phenomenon.
Those who have done it, have done it with special circumstances. Meaning, they have had help, and they had a lot of time dedicated to their future planning.
According to an article last spring in xpress.sfsu.edu lack of advising is holding students back from successfully graduating from SF State in a timely fashion. In a study done a few years ago, only 38 percent of freshman who entered into SF State in 1998 graduated in 2003.
This means that SF State students need to start taking control of their advising. They need to see multiple advisors throughout their semesters to double check and make sure they are still on the right track.
I remember going to see an advisor last semester in the admissions office about my general education requirements. The woman honestly couldn't get through our session fast enough, and told me I would definately be able to graduate in the fall of 2005.
However, as I was filling out my own graduation application yesterday I happened to notice I was four units short of graduating this semester.
As journalism majors we are all required to have 83 non-journalism units as well as 37 journalism units to complete the 120 unit requirement for a bachelor's degree.
I had 79 non-journalism units and 50 journalism units.
The irony of the situation is so increadibly thick: I have too many journalism units to graduate with a journalism degree.
It takes the average student longer than four years to successfully complete their college education. Students are working more, jobs are becomming less available, and schools are toughening their requirements.
The majority of college students don't know what they want to do with their life, and for the most part, are aware that it isn't imperitive for them to know right out of high school.
San Francisco State University is notorious for holding students back an extra semester because of poor advising.
It's up to us as students to take control of our advising and make sure everything is accurate, have this accuracy double-checked, and then checked again. I blame no one but myself for the miscalculation in units, and am now suffering the consequences by adding two extra classes at the last minute.
No one wants to be held back an extra semester, and no one should have to. But if you're not taking control of the situation in your own hands, then it's no one's fault but your own.
Finishing college in four years is the ultimate phenomenon.
Those who have done it, have done it with special circumstances. Meaning, they have had help, and they had a lot of time dedicated to their future planning.
According to an article last spring in xpress.sfsu.edu lack of advising is holding students back from successfully graduating from SF State in a timely fashion. In a study done a few years ago, only 38 percent of freshman who entered into SF State in 1998 graduated in 2003.
This means that SF State students need to start taking control of their advising. They need to see multiple advisors throughout their semesters to double check and make sure they are still on the right track.
I remember going to see an advisor last semester in the admissions office about my general education requirements. The woman honestly couldn't get through our session fast enough, and told me I would definately be able to graduate in the fall of 2005.
However, as I was filling out my own graduation application yesterday I happened to notice I was four units short of graduating this semester.
As journalism majors we are all required to have 83 non-journalism units as well as 37 journalism units to complete the 120 unit requirement for a bachelor's degree.
I had 79 non-journalism units and 50 journalism units.
The irony of the situation is so increadibly thick: I have too many journalism units to graduate with a journalism degree.
It takes the average student longer than four years to successfully complete their college education. Students are working more, jobs are becomming less available, and schools are toughening their requirements.
The majority of college students don't know what they want to do with their life, and for the most part, are aware that it isn't imperitive for them to know right out of high school.
San Francisco State University is notorious for holding students back an extra semester because of poor advising.
It's up to us as students to take control of our advising and make sure everything is accurate, have this accuracy double-checked, and then checked again. I blame no one but myself for the miscalculation in units, and am now suffering the consequences by adding two extra classes at the last minute.
No one wants to be held back an extra semester, and no one should have to. But if you're not taking control of the situation in your own hands, then it's no one's fault but your own.
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Survivor: San Francisco State University
By Allison Bloch, Staff Writer
I don’t think it’s possible to finish college in four years.
But there are a few people who can do it. Who are these freaks?
Some of my friends have been at SF State forever, and honestly I don’t think they have any plans of leaving anytime soon. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, but now that I’m a senior I’m having a hard time staying motivated.
What’s the rush? I am in no hurry to enter the real world.
The most important issue here is the ability of getting all the classes you need in four years that are “ideal” for the average college student. With budget cuts, smaller classes, and less financial aid opportunities, the prospects are slim.
It’s just like Survivor.
We’re fighting to the death to get the classes we want to reach the ultimate goal of graduation.
However, the administration doesn’t grant immunity for those of us in academic good standing. We have just as good a chance as being voted out of school as anyone else.
Sometimes I think school in general is just one big rip-off. But I need this degree bad enough that until the tribe has spoken, I’m going to keep fighting a little bit longer.
I don’t think it’s possible to finish college in four years.
But there are a few people who can do it. Who are these freaks?
Some of my friends have been at SF State forever, and honestly I don’t think they have any plans of leaving anytime soon. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, but now that I’m a senior I’m having a hard time staying motivated.
What’s the rush? I am in no hurry to enter the real world.
The most important issue here is the ability of getting all the classes you need in four years that are “ideal” for the average college student. With budget cuts, smaller classes, and less financial aid opportunities, the prospects are slim.
It’s just like Survivor.
We’re fighting to the death to get the classes we want to reach the ultimate goal of graduation.
However, the administration doesn’t grant immunity for those of us in academic good standing. We have just as good a chance as being voted out of school as anyone else.
Sometimes I think school in general is just one big rip-off. But I need this degree bad enough that until the tribe has spoken, I’m going to keep fighting a little bit longer.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
They Smell Like Bacon, They Smell Like Greese...Yes the SF Police
By Allison Bloch, Staff Writer
Cops in San Francisco infuriate me.
As a barista in a local San Francisco Starbucks, I see them all the time. They come in quite often with their pants hiked up too high and their pot bellies requesting pastries before the words come out of their mouths.
About a week and a half ago I looked out the window while working to see two cop cars racing violently toward my work.
Excitedly my co-workers and I gathered around to see what the enthusiasm was about, only to have a regular customer enter the store complaining that the cops were simply speeding to Starbucks.
Why can’t cops get speeding tickets?
They’re always hiding out at the stop sign on Font and Lake Merced just waiting like vultures for an unsuspecting student to do a “California Roll” instead of the law-abiding full, complete stop.
I’ve been lucky so far and haven’t gotten a ticket yet…but I know many who haven’t been so lucky. However, it was just a few days ago when I noticed a cop himself doing a “California Roll” instead of stopping at a stop sign.
There’s no justice.
Whenever I need a cop I can’t find one, but they seem to pop up all over the place when I’m doing something wrong.
Long, long ago when I was in driver’s training we had to watch the video Red Asphalt. I remember the cop in the video explaining seatbelt safety when he wasn’t even wearing one himself.
It just doesn’t make sense.
I guess what I really need is to make friends with one of these donut lovers so I can have a chance to get out of a ticket if I get one.
But for now I’m keeping an extra close lookout because you never know when one of those vultures will be lingering at a stop sign.
Cops in San Francisco infuriate me.
As a barista in a local San Francisco Starbucks, I see them all the time. They come in quite often with their pants hiked up too high and their pot bellies requesting pastries before the words come out of their mouths.
About a week and a half ago I looked out the window while working to see two cop cars racing violently toward my work.
Excitedly my co-workers and I gathered around to see what the enthusiasm was about, only to have a regular customer enter the store complaining that the cops were simply speeding to Starbucks.
Why can’t cops get speeding tickets?
They’re always hiding out at the stop sign on Font and Lake Merced just waiting like vultures for an unsuspecting student to do a “California Roll” instead of the law-abiding full, complete stop.
I’ve been lucky so far and haven’t gotten a ticket yet…but I know many who haven’t been so lucky. However, it was just a few days ago when I noticed a cop himself doing a “California Roll” instead of stopping at a stop sign.
There’s no justice.
Whenever I need a cop I can’t find one, but they seem to pop up all over the place when I’m doing something wrong.
Long, long ago when I was in driver’s training we had to watch the video Red Asphalt. I remember the cop in the video explaining seatbelt safety when he wasn’t even wearing one himself.
It just doesn’t make sense.
I guess what I really need is to make friends with one of these donut lovers so I can have a chance to get out of a ticket if I get one.
But for now I’m keeping an extra close lookout because you never know when one of those vultures will be lingering at a stop sign.
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
The Continuing Fall of Health Care
By Angela Generoso, Online Managing Editor
I am a 24-year-old college student with no health insurance, but I try to convince myself I don't need it.
Like many other college students I seek refuge in the Student Health Center, San Francisco City Clinic, and my personal favorite: Planned Parenthood.
I do what I can with over-the-counter medications, and hope that whatever I have will just go away.
But according to an article in SFGate.com, more than 16 million Americans are on individual health plans as opposed to company sponsored plans. The story goes on to state even reasonably healthy people have problems getting affordable insurance premiums.
These health plans are going up, and people are paying higher deductibles for fewer services.
So if healthy people with money in this country can't get a decent health plan, I probably will be "pretending" I don't need health insurance for a long, long time.
Through my quest to deny the necessity of health coverage, I have spent countless hours at San Francisco General Hospital, where the hopeless and impoverished can seek help, and where the wait to be seen is most definitely longer than waiting at the DMV.
My initial shock after walking into the waiting room was the amount of angry people waiting miserably in a variety of lines that wrapped around the entire room. These people, like me, were all clutching desperately to the number they held in their hands, waiting to be called.
At first I just stood there, hardening my face to fit in with the rest. But when the old man hunched over the pay phone was moaning about ticks on his face, my skin started to crawl.
In the center of all the anger, frustration and sadness, an old homeless woman with a smile on her face and a radio in her hand started dancing around, singing loudly along to the music. This, of course, caused an uproar among the others, as they started yelling for her to be quiet.
The first time I experienced the waiting area I immediately wanted to turn around and leave. I wanted to go back in time about ten years when being sick meant my mom was going to take me to the doctor and I got to miss school for a day.
But I stood there and I waited, telling myself that when I graduate I will have an awesome job with impeccible benefits.
However, this dream seems farther away than ever, and overall I don't really mind pretending.
I am a 24-year-old college student with no health insurance, but I try to convince myself I don't need it.
Like many other college students I seek refuge in the Student Health Center, San Francisco City Clinic, and my personal favorite: Planned Parenthood.
I do what I can with over-the-counter medications, and hope that whatever I have will just go away.
But according to an article in SFGate.com, more than 16 million Americans are on individual health plans as opposed to company sponsored plans. The story goes on to state even reasonably healthy people have problems getting affordable insurance premiums.
These health plans are going up, and people are paying higher deductibles for fewer services.
So if healthy people with money in this country can't get a decent health plan, I probably will be "pretending" I don't need health insurance for a long, long time.
Through my quest to deny the necessity of health coverage, I have spent countless hours at San Francisco General Hospital, where the hopeless and impoverished can seek help, and where the wait to be seen is most definitely longer than waiting at the DMV.
My initial shock after walking into the waiting room was the amount of angry people waiting miserably in a variety of lines that wrapped around the entire room. These people, like me, were all clutching desperately to the number they held in their hands, waiting to be called.
At first I just stood there, hardening my face to fit in with the rest. But when the old man hunched over the pay phone was moaning about ticks on his face, my skin started to crawl.
In the center of all the anger, frustration and sadness, an old homeless woman with a smile on her face and a radio in her hand started dancing around, singing loudly along to the music. This, of course, caused an uproar among the others, as they started yelling for her to be quiet.
The first time I experienced the waiting area I immediately wanted to turn around and leave. I wanted to go back in time about ten years when being sick meant my mom was going to take me to the doctor and I got to miss school for a day.
But I stood there and I waited, telling myself that when I graduate I will have an awesome job with impeccible benefits.
However, this dream seems farther away than ever, and overall I don't really mind pretending.
Saturday, September 03, 2005
The Truth About Sororities
By Allison Bloch, staff writer
Remember those annoying girls in the quad?
They’re the bubbly ones that won’t leave you alone, who are who are trying to get you to join their cult- oh, I mean sorority?
I have a confession. I used to be one of them.
Now some of you may be surprised. Some may be disgusted. And some of you may not even care. But for a brief, brief period of time I was one of those girls
you would avoid in the quad.
In order to protect the innocent ones, I’m not going to name any names; and of course I don’t really want to make fun of those girls… but I will.
It’s the evil side of me.
What should have really turned on my red flags was the fact that I paid for friends.
Granted, at the time I didn’t think that was what I was doing, but really in these groups you are paying money for your friends. This is one step away from making them hang out with you and seems to be one door down from prostitution.
Walking through the Quad and having one of the girls come up to me to try and
to get me to join makes me laugh. I remember being on the opposite end,
looking at “prospective sisters” and picking and choosing who we would talk
to. It’s funny to think there is a “type” of girl you would talk to.
Who makes this criteria? Who are you to say who would or wouldn’t want to
join your sorority? Does this girl have to be a “real- life Barbie”? And
does that mean punks, goths, sluts, geeks, stoners, hippies, and other stereotypical “outsiders” can’t be sorority girls?
And once one is invited into the sorority and the initial fees are paid, you still
have to spend more money. Sweatshirts, clothes, parties, and other crap is not required for you to buy, but STRONGLY encouraged. You pretty much have to be really rich to join and stay in the sorority.
As I sit in the quad and look at the various brightly colored tables with
assorted crap arranged in an effort to entice people to join, all I can do is shake my head.
I should have realized all this when I was ashamed to say I was in a sorority and I constantly had to defend myself from the fact that joining was a big mistake.
Although sororities weren’t for me, if it’s for you- go for it.
Just remember: you’ll have to be one of those annoying girls in the quad
Remember those annoying girls in the quad?
They’re the bubbly ones that won’t leave you alone, who are who are trying to get you to join their cult- oh, I mean sorority?
I have a confession. I used to be one of them.
Now some of you may be surprised. Some may be disgusted. And some of you may not even care. But for a brief, brief period of time I was one of those girls
you would avoid in the quad.
In order to protect the innocent ones, I’m not going to name any names; and of course I don’t really want to make fun of those girls… but I will.
It’s the evil side of me.
What should have really turned on my red flags was the fact that I paid for friends.
Granted, at the time I didn’t think that was what I was doing, but really in these groups you are paying money for your friends. This is one step away from making them hang out with you and seems to be one door down from prostitution.
Walking through the Quad and having one of the girls come up to me to try and
to get me to join makes me laugh. I remember being on the opposite end,
looking at “prospective sisters” and picking and choosing who we would talk
to. It’s funny to think there is a “type” of girl you would talk to.
Who makes this criteria? Who are you to say who would or wouldn’t want to
join your sorority? Does this girl have to be a “real- life Barbie”? And
does that mean punks, goths, sluts, geeks, stoners, hippies, and other stereotypical “outsiders” can’t be sorority girls?
And once one is invited into the sorority and the initial fees are paid, you still
have to spend more money. Sweatshirts, clothes, parties, and other crap is not required for you to buy, but STRONGLY encouraged. You pretty much have to be really rich to join and stay in the sorority.
As I sit in the quad and look at the various brightly colored tables with
assorted crap arranged in an effort to entice people to join, all I can do is shake my head.
I should have realized all this when I was ashamed to say I was in a sorority and I constantly had to defend myself from the fact that joining was a big mistake.
Although sororities weren’t for me, if it’s for you- go for it.
Just remember: you’ll have to be one of those annoying girls in the quad
Friday, September 02, 2005
Horrible Trends Induce a Wave of Mockery
By Amelia Gravagno, Staff Writer
So it’s a week into school and already I’ve noticed some of my favorite characters on campus. These are the people who so noticeably play into their stereotypes that they have provided hours of entertainment for me and my jaded friends, since we apparently have nothing better to do than mock perfect strangers.
The Fashionista.
Let me just preface by saying I am extremely jealous of these girls who come to class every day looking like they belong on a runway, making my own standard uniform of Converse and band t-shirts seem downright juvenile.
However, there are two trends that the more stylish set has been subscribing to recently that drive me crazy.
Number one: Why do girls insist on bringing their tiny dogs to school?
I have seen three in the last week and it just baffles me. Dogs are not fashion accessories. They are living, breathing animals that do not deserve to be carted around in a bag of their own crap.
One girl had her adorable puppy in the required designer carrier bag, but no books. Why is the dog more vital to academic success than say, a pen and paper?
Number two: Those stupid pants that seem to be everywhere. They’re the really baggy knee-length sweat pants that look like a skirt. These are just about the ugliest things I have ever seen. So many girls I’ve talked to agree they’re hideous, so who is buying them?
Maybe I’m just not cool enough to be friends with these uber-trendy people.
The Cigarette Hunter.
Now there have been days when I to have offered complete strangers a quarter to get my nicotine fix. But when I see the same people trying to bum cigarettes in the quad day after day (despite those oh-so-effective “no smoking” notices) I just have to laugh. Accept your addiction and buy your own damn pack.
The Old Person.
Every class I have ever had has at least one. The older student (and at my naïve age of 22, anything older than 30 is old) is the one who sits up front and constantly interrupts the professor to disagree or add their own opinion. This is the person who asks endless (often pointless) questions and speaks incessantly about their own lives, and usually has to be mercifully stopped by the instructor after noticing the glazed over looks in the eyes of the rest of the class. I realize the older generation has a lot of life experience to draw on; but the stories about your kids, jobs and interesting things that have happened to you over the years are not on the midterm. Please shut up and let the teacher tell us what is.
Quad Loungers.
I love watching the hippies in the quad. They make me smile with their dreadlocks and clothes straight out of the sixties, their games of hacky sack and that guy who appears to be surgically attached to his acoustic guitar. I always get nostalgic for an era I wasn’t even alive for when they congregate.
I don’t make the mistake of believing I am above ridicule. I’m sure I fall into some easily-identifiable stereotype of the bitter writer lashing out at the world who scorned me.
But that’s okay. I figure as long as I can take a bit of teasing, I’ll feel free to continue making fun of everyone else.
So it’s a week into school and already I’ve noticed some of my favorite characters on campus. These are the people who so noticeably play into their stereotypes that they have provided hours of entertainment for me and my jaded friends, since we apparently have nothing better to do than mock perfect strangers.
The Fashionista.
Let me just preface by saying I am extremely jealous of these girls who come to class every day looking like they belong on a runway, making my own standard uniform of Converse and band t-shirts seem downright juvenile.
However, there are two trends that the more stylish set has been subscribing to recently that drive me crazy.
Number one: Why do girls insist on bringing their tiny dogs to school?
I have seen three in the last week and it just baffles me. Dogs are not fashion accessories. They are living, breathing animals that do not deserve to be carted around in a bag of their own crap.
One girl had her adorable puppy in the required designer carrier bag, but no books. Why is the dog more vital to academic success than say, a pen and paper?
Number two: Those stupid pants that seem to be everywhere. They’re the really baggy knee-length sweat pants that look like a skirt. These are just about the ugliest things I have ever seen. So many girls I’ve talked to agree they’re hideous, so who is buying them?
Maybe I’m just not cool enough to be friends with these uber-trendy people.
The Cigarette Hunter.
Now there have been days when I to have offered complete strangers a quarter to get my nicotine fix. But when I see the same people trying to bum cigarettes in the quad day after day (despite those oh-so-effective “no smoking” notices) I just have to laugh. Accept your addiction and buy your own damn pack.
The Old Person.
Every class I have ever had has at least one. The older student (and at my naïve age of 22, anything older than 30 is old) is the one who sits up front and constantly interrupts the professor to disagree or add their own opinion. This is the person who asks endless (often pointless) questions and speaks incessantly about their own lives, and usually has to be mercifully stopped by the instructor after noticing the glazed over looks in the eyes of the rest of the class. I realize the older generation has a lot of life experience to draw on; but the stories about your kids, jobs and interesting things that have happened to you over the years are not on the midterm. Please shut up and let the teacher tell us what is.
Quad Loungers.
I love watching the hippies in the quad. They make me smile with their dreadlocks and clothes straight out of the sixties, their games of hacky sack and that guy who appears to be surgically attached to his acoustic guitar. I always get nostalgic for an era I wasn’t even alive for when they congregate.
I don’t make the mistake of believing I am above ridicule. I’m sure I fall into some easily-identifiable stereotype of the bitter writer lashing out at the world who scorned me.
But that’s okay. I figure as long as I can take a bit of teasing, I’ll feel free to continue making fun of everyone else.