Category | Op Ed

This is your fellow student/(almost) father speaking

Published on April 20, 2010 by Dave Henley

Attn Parking Operations:  If you’re want my feedback, why haven’t you responded to my earlier e-mail?  If gates were installed to add a measure of control our parking decks, then why are they up until 8 a.m. (at least in the West Deck)?  People are parking without their hangtags-I’ve seen it.

Of course, once you’re in, it’s not needed to exit.  As well, if they’re required for entrance, I wouldn’t have received a ticket for not displaying mine last year (I had it, but new procedure is hard to remember when it’s in your glovebox!).

Now, onto the real story.  I’m writing this as a non-traditional student, realizing that I’m about the same age as most of your parents.  However, I’m also writing this as one of your peers.

Over the past two to three  years we’ve had classes together, talked and worked on team assignments. This is where I have to be careful, as I don’t want to seem like the “creepy old guy” who’s trying to fit in-heck, already had it bad enough when my wife wouldn’t let me live on campus, kidding.  I’ve already had my BMOC days in an earlier life.

What I’m hoping to drill into your heads is for some of you to shape up your behavior.  When you leave this institution one day and venture out into the professional world, this behavior will not be tolerated by your co-workers and your bosses.

What am I speaking of?  It all boils down to being self-centered and unaware of what’s around you.

For starters, if you have to sit along the walls waiting for class to change, you prima donnas (and guys, is it prima donnies??) need to pull your legs in and sit cross legged.

You make it very difficult for two lines of traffic to walk down the halls.  Why should we risk tripping over you just because you want to play on your laptop? A few of you do see people coming and retract, and we thank you.

The next item: Please realize we are in America and not in England.  People here “travel” on the right side of the road. Especially when classes change and there are huge amounts of people going down the stairs, stick to your right side.

If you’re so late or just too good to be bothered with crowds that you have to take to the left and run into people, then you have a problem.

The same principle applies to going through doorways.  Go with the other 95 percent of the traffic and use the right doors.  Gosh forbid you actually care about the face you just opened a door into.

Thirdly, your parents or guardians are not here to pick up behind you.  In the wellness center, put the weights back as they should be when you’re finished.

It’s just a matter of respect and courtesy that you leave the barbells empty and put the bench weights back in their proper places because the next person may want to lift a different set-up.

Some of your behavior reminds me of how my 14-year-old daughter used to be, but she’s getting better.  The same applies to the dumbbells (could there be a more appropriate name?).

I’m surprised the overseers don’t require a gym etiquette class before being allowed in.  It’s bad enough that some of you are lifting incorrectly and risking great injury, but that’s your own issue.

I’ll end with what is probably the worst of them all-lying. I’ve seen an instructor call out 3-4 students who had constantly been texting or playing with Facebook, Twitter or something else on their laptops during class.

They were seen and caught several times red-handed. When confronted, they outright lied about it.

“No, I wasn’t texting,” they said,  “I was just taking notes.” You’re not that slick and you look pretty stupid trying to act innocent.  As mentioned earlier, this is one thing you’ll surely be fired for.

Has some of this stung or hit a nerve?  If so, that’s good. Maybe this is a wake-up call to change and to start shaping up.  If this has made you mad, you need only be mad at yourself.

Take this critique as one of your peers and not someone your parents’ age.

Hopefully a lot of this behavior is from incoming freshmen or sophomores and not someone older who should know better.

If that is the case, I hope your true peers (classmates your same age) and upperclassmen will take the initiative and speak up.

Be a leader and be heard when it comes to a few inattentive or unthinking students-you may be doing them a favor.  That leadership will be a real world skill that will overshadow their bad ones.