Thanks for making the Loyolan Staff Blog a success this past semester. It's been great to hear and read your feedback on the topics the Loyolan Staff has posted about on the blog, and we're looking forward to getting this whole thing going again during the Fall semester. Until then, we'll be taking a break from posting, so check back in late August/early September for some new posts. To hold you over until then, though, here are links to some of the more popular (or unpopular) blog posts we've had this year:
Commencement weekend continues with Graduate Commencement. Experience the Graduate Commencement through a graduate student's perspective in real time below....
Experience the sights and sounds of Commencement weekend through three graduates (2 for undergrad; 1 graduate) on our live blog! Follow the undergraduate commencement below....
A recent TIME article detailed one of the latest Web trends: self-Googling. (Or “Egosurfing,” to be more derisive.) I had totally never even thought of Googling myself before reading this article and so, naturally, thought it’d be fun to Google myself, which I definitely had not done before. Since I’m nothing more than a humble little columnist who aspires to have a modestly successful column in a respectable newspaper one day, I thought that maybe it’d be a good idea to see where I stand and just how much work I have to do. I entered “jose martinez” into the Google box and let it rip.
My God – I’m a nobody.
I tried an image search first. As it turns out, when you image search my name, pictures of a good-looking tennis player by the name of María José Martínez Sánchez will be prevalent among the search results. (She’s got four names and four accents – she is awesome.) Also, almost every picture you see will be of a Latino. I was discouraged, until I got to the twelfth page of results: One of my old Facebook profile photos was grinning back at me. Then, on the 46th page, I saw my Loyolan photo, under which read “José Martinez – Opinion Editor.” One million, thirty thousand results and two pictures – one of which is outdated and the other which doesn’t even have the accent over the “e.” Things were looking bleak.
Actually, things didn’t stop looking bleak when I Googled myself on the site’s regular search engine. Nothing came up in 66 pages of results. And, Google would not let me move beyond that 66th page. It’s like it was telling me, gently, but with a pitiful tone – “Give up.” Google’s a good friend.
I should have expected this. I’ve known for a long time that if there’s anything unique about me, it’s certainly not my name. An obnoxiously optimistic person would say that just means that I have to strive to become known for what I do, rather than just be another name. And I suppose that hypothetical optimist is right, in some respects – after all, how legit is the fame of people like Paris Hilton, Perez Hilton and Kevin Federline? They don’t really do much.
It’s also good, for everyone’s sake, that I didn’t have spectacular Google results. If I’d come up on the first page, oh boy – my head wouldn’t fit through a wide doorway. I’d probably be like those people who only talk about themselves, assuming other people care about what they do on their own time.
It's close to 10 p.m. on this Sunday night. I check my calendar to see what the date is, as I don't care too much during the weekends and often lose track. It's the 26th.
Let's see here: Thirty days in April minus 26 days equals four, and the graduation date is set for the 9th of May, so add four plus nine and that's 13. Phew, that was tough.
Wait a second. Did you say 13 days until we graduate? What happened to those four years of college, those other 1447 days? They're gone, along with the 250 Chipotle burrito bowls I've eaten over this time period.
Well, now I'm in quite the conundrum -- to purposely fail everything and stay for another semester or to turn in my work and graduate and become, well, a "big boy?" It seems like it was just yesterday that I was wetting my Huggies, but I guess it was actually 20 plus years ago.
Just another milestone, right? Right? I hope so. Because I'm planning on turning in another philosophy paper on Friday.
Last month, TIME Magazine featured an article that shocked me for more than one reason: A nine-year-old Brazilian girl who was raped and impregnated with twins by her stepfather was excommunicated by the Roman Catholic Church for undergoing an abortion. Her mother, who helped the girl receive the procedure, and the doctor who carried it out were excommunicated as well. (The article doesn't say what happened to the father.)
Brazilians are angry about this – and rightfully so. First, Brazilian law holds that abortion is illegal except in cases of rape, or when having the baby would endanger the life of the mother. Tragically, both of those scenarios hold true in this case, and yet the Church still chose to strip this young girl of her membership in the Catholic Church, claiming that “she could have had a cesarean section.”
That's easy to say when it’s not your daughter who’s just had her virginity stolen from her by a man who is supposed to love her unconditionally; that’s easy to say when it’s not your daughter whose life is on the line, and when all you’re concerned with is Catholic dogma.
In this case, the Catholic hierarchy – more specifically, Archbishop Jose Cardoso Sobrinho, who announced the excommunication – failed spectacularly in living up to the Catholic Church’s mission of compassion. According to the article, Sobrinho said, “God’s laws dictate that abortion is a sin and that transgressors are no longer welcome in the Roman Catholic Church.” (Rape, evidently, is not enough to warrant excommunication.)
Sobrinho went on to instill a hierarchical view on the value of life: “Abortion is much more serious than killing an adult. An adult may or may not be innocent, but an unborn child is most definitely ignored. Taking that life cannot be ignored.” Yes, Your Eminence: Abortion is the murder of an innocent, and is a travesty. But how can you claim that any life is more important or worth more than any other? Who are you to say that the life of an unborn child is worth more than that of a terminally ill 78-year-old convicted murderer? I thought only God had that ability to judge.
The sadness of this case is overwhelming: A family was broken apart, and then kicked out of the institution that has incredible healing power; a nine-year-old girl’s virginity was taken from her; an unborn pair of twins was murdered. For the Church to do what it did to these “perpetrators” is a blow to the Church's credibility and reputation – when it takes up positions like this that are rigidly opposed to considering the complex ethical circumstances of a given situation, it only lends credence to the idea that the Church is an intolerant organization.
As someone who is against abortion, I challenge the Church to come up with some way to deal with abortion other than criminalizing it. With this case, the Vatican sent a message that it is not going to minister to those people caught up in situations where it seems like abortion is the only option; instead, it is going to turn them away.
With people like Archbishop Cardoso Sobrinho stupidly comparing abortion to the Holocaust – which, by the way, was an ideological, systematic execution of an entire people fueled by an irrational hatred – how will the Church ever be able to create a space for dialogue? According to Sobrinho, the Church doesn't want that: “We know that people have other ideas, but if they do, then they are not Catholic. We want people who adhere to God's laws.”
Your Eminence, mankind would be in big, big trouble if God only wanted people who adhere to his laws.
As an unemployed, soon-to-be college graduate with one foot out the door (senioritis), it’s clear that my life is flooded with responsibilities that just eat away all my free time. But when I find part of the day to take a little time to myself, I lay back in my recliner, crack open a can of Shasta and do what any tech-savvy American loves to do – check my e-mail.
E-mail is a vital tool for communicating and keeping informed with today’s society if only being used for the fundamental messages: chain letters, penis enlargement ads or notices from the bank that my account has been overdrawn for the seventh time this month.
Unfortunately, every so often I find that there are those who feel it acceptable to present me with frivolous information that only serves to waste my precious “free” time. With that I mean e-mails that alert the public to useless, uninteresting information like warranty registration requests or billing notifications. Those that contribute to these wicked acts are responsible for slowly eating away at my personal time (stealing time equates to a weak act of murder in my mind). And of all the culprits at fault, one is our very own University, LMU.
How often do you open your mailbox to find another notification for financial aid or some pointless survey to participate in? Not that I don’t encourage spreading the word that helps students afford tuition, but I’ve never once applied for financial aid during my tenure at school. Yet every other week another e-mail pops into my inbox warning me that I’m close to missing the deadline to receive my check. Why am I getting this?
If I’ve never signed up for financial aid in the past, what makes them think that I’m suddenly going to jump on the bandwagon? Also, does this deadline ever arrive? Every message informs me that my application’s been given another couple of weeks until being turned in as if there is no finite due date. It’s a waste of time – my time.
Then there are those damn, pesky polls and surveys. At the beginning of the semester, the office of Dr. Lane Bove sent out a campus wide e-mail asking – well more like pleading – students to participate in a leadership survey. Alright, I’ll allow someone the chance to get their message out there, but if I don’t respond the first time you call out, please don’t confuse that as an invitation to continue the conversation. Throughout the rest of winter, my inbox would receive a consistent visit from Dr. Bove asking me for my help in the survey. Wasn’t my apathy strong enough the first time for anyone to get the hint I wasn’t interested? Guess not. My beloved “time” continued to evaporate as more and more attention was placed into deleting these abhorrent cries for attention.
What’s worse was that every e-mail I saw regarding these infamous surveys always carried the subject heading: “last chance,” as if implying the messages would soon stop. Not only did my University continue to eat away at my life, it was playing mind games with my fragile, little brain while doing so.
Most things that enter my mailbox I accept with arms wide open, but what I hate most is unnecessary repetitiveness. Sending the same bit of information over and over again, hogging memory and wasting my time is tantamount to murdering me in a weak, prolonged fashion. Although it’s being done in small portions, my life’s being taken from me; I won’t allow for it.
Stop the redundant e-mails and respect one’s free time. It’s important that we all receive undisturbed time to ourselves that allows us to catch up on the important things: watching online clips of amateur backyard wrestling and squirrels riding on water skis.
-Trevor Nelson
Image may be distributed and modified under the GNU Free Documentation License.
From time to time I like to scan Cnn.com to see what is going on in this wonderful world of ours. Remarkably, when I checked under U.S. News, I found my new favorite article headline of all time: "Ohio man seeks trial over getting DUI on motorized barstool."
This man decided it was a brilliant idea to attach a barstool to a lawnmower engine, and after downing around fifteen beers, took it for a spin around his neighborhood. After reaching speeds of around 40 mph, he apparently had a fairly rough crash and the police had to come to the rescue. By the end of the day, the guy got arrested and ended up with a DUI.
Now, I can speak for a lot of people when I say that this story is pretty funny. Almost immediately after I finished reading this story, I began to wonder why this guy even made his little invention in the first place. Was it so he could drive to a bar, have a drink, and then drive home without even getting up? Or was he simply tinkering in his garage when he noticed that he just happened to have an extra bar stool lying around?
Yet those points aside, how did this story ever reach CNN? People around the world will be able to log into this website, and hear about a guy from Ohio who drank one to many beers and decided to take his bar stool for a ride. There is nothing wrong with reporting on something entertaining for the sake of a good chuckle, but when this story rates as number three on today’s “stories most e-mailed”, you have to wonder what kind of news people are actually looking for. Sure people might get bummed out when they hear about a helicopter crash, or that North Korea is working on sending missiles into space, but isn’t that news a bit more pertinent?
I hate to talk about our neighbors on the other side of the pond, but the BBC has got articles on the current situation Hugo Chavez, on the new Israeli prime minister, and on top of that they’ve got the latest cricket scores as well. While cricket is not very high on the list of things that rev my engine, I believe the Brits do the news better. They leave the drama and the gossip for the tabloids, and deliver genuine news stories. Being that we as a nation are not very popular, I feel we should start paying attention to what is going on in the world, and by doing this maybe we can change a our global image.
The Internet does strange things to people. I’ve written about this in a previous column, if anyone cared to read it. Once people have the opportunity to act anonymously, they really do convert moral inches into moral miles. The next thing you know, we see people doing things they never would in their normal inch-living day.
You know, I also wrote a separate column that talked about swearing, and when to do it. It has become clear that many people have never learned how to properly swear. For example: A cheerful reader left a comment as follows: “I have no words to describe myself, so [expletive] you.” Funny thing: It seems that this reader did, in fact, have words to describe their - what would you say - emotions? Their choice of words just lacked any serious effort at creativity.
The most damning thing that I experienced over the past couple of days was the easiness from which blanket statements were thrown by blog readers over certain issues and topics. Some readers would do better by throwing a blanket over their monitor and keyboard – nothing short of terminating usage.
In defense of the writer, Isa Gillette, I will say a few things. With the content written in her blog post, it should be evident that her experience in the Lair was not a random occurrence for her; it was a recurrence. On multiple mornings, she deals with the same employee who makes it difficult for her and everyone else to get in and out of the Lair quickly. While the problem may be pointed to the individual employee, I think it would be valuable to consider the possibility of an understaffing during those hours. Long lines at the registers are not something entirely new to the Lair.
Furthermore, at the bottom of Ms. Gillette’s post, there was a link to Jose Martinez’ blog post, which essentially offered an opinion of the complete opposite. The reader would do well to consider this before vocalizing – what I would call – emotional comments, which seem to be completely devoid of rationalization.
While Notre Dame tapped President Barack Obama to speak at their commencement ceremony, LMU tapped another president to speak at this year's commencement, former president of Mexico, Vicente Fox. Fox served as president from 2000-2006. What makes the timing of the announcement interesting is that Fox was set to speak at the University of New Mexico's commencement, but the university recently canceled his speech due to logistical and security concerns. Although, word on the street is that students and faculty members were not too happy about the choice and expressed their discontent to the university.Fox is set to speak at a public lecture University of California at Irvine, next Wednesday, and some students plan to protest in response to his visit. I am sure that some LMU students will not be happy with this, but I have to wonder how far those students will go to have their discontent heard. The selection of Fox to speak at commencement is definitely interesting, with the recent events in Mexico, the ongoing immigration debate, are among things that many Americans tend to associate with Mexico as of late.
I wonder what he will say to the 1,200 or so seniors on May 9th. Given the current state of the economy, the fact he worked at Coca-Cola as a supervisor for operations in Latin America, and that the fact he supposedly made major bank during his term, he'll definitely say something about the economy (in case you haven't heard the economy sucks right now). Other than that I wouldn't have a clue what else he would say.
I didn't follow the Fox administration closely but this is certainly a pick I don't have a problem with because it will definitely get the campus community talking ; maybe even the world as Fox is still very much relevant in the public eye since leaving office. I think that this story will definitely make a bigger noise as we get closer to graduation, 37 days and counting.
Fr. Jonathan Morris is FOX News’ religious contributor, and he is not happy. As it turns out, the University of Notre Dame had the audacity to invite the president of the United States to speak at commencement this year, as well as receive an honorary law degree. He accepted – those honorary degrees have got to be the best perk ever.
In a recent blog post, Morris wrote that “hundreds of thousands of American Catholics, including high-ranking church officials, have expressed outrage over what they see as Notre Dame’s betrayal of [distinctly Catholic] values for the sake of worldly prestige.” Calling Notre Dame the “jewel of American Catholicism,” Morris questions how “Notre Dame officials can reconcile their choice to honor a president who has rejected – and continues to reject so aggressively – their cornerstone value of the right to life.”
Morris uses misleading language. First, people aren’t upset because they believe President Obama betrays “distinctly Catholic values” – they’re upset because he’s a pro-choice president. (Only use the plural when you’re referring to more than one distinctly Catholic value, Father.) But, if this is about the sanctity of life, then why wasn’t there an outcry when President Bush spoke at Notre Dame’s 2001 commencement? He was the guy who’d later go to war and cause thousands of American deaths, not to mention huge Iraqi and Afghani casualties. You’ll have to forgive me for remembering that abortion and stem-cell research aren’t the only issues when it comes to the right to life.
In other news, Notre Dame doesn’t need any more prestige, Fr. Morris. To accuse the university of seeking Obama as its commencement speaker for the sake of fame is as close-minded as saying Obama shouldn’t be president simply because of his stance on a single issue. Notre Dame, who has clearly said they don’t support all of the president’s views, sends a clear message with this invitation: “We’re open to dialogue, and won’t completely shut those with differing opinions out.” It’s funny, because in a Feb. 2006 blog post, Morris wrote, “Respect for belief is just as important as freedom of expression. They were never meant to be at odds with each other.” I guess that doesn’t apply when the other person’s belief isn’t the same as yours.
Morris thinks that Notre Dame sends out a different message, though: “As you go forth into this world, the best way to find common ground on divisive issues, as President Obama has invited us to do, is to whitewash our institutions of what makes us uniquely Catholic, Protestant, Jewish . . . or whatever else gets in the way of prestige, or the sitting president’s agenda.” I’d like to see that press release. How about this, Padre Morris: By speaking at the commencement of a Catholic institution, President Obama is gesturing that he’s willing to be in conversation even with those who expressly disagree with him, in an ecumenical spirit of sorts. That’s kind of what presidents do.
As a Catholic, I certainly stand in opposition to some of what Obama stands for.
The world – the Church especially – would benefit from a certain spirit of open-mindedness, though, that at the very least would allow people to enter into dialogue with those they disagree with. If Obama came to LMU for commencement, what would it say about our University if we were to start a petition like this to prevent that from happening? Can we really say we’re committed to a service of faith, the promotion of justice and the education of the whole person if we shut out those who don’t think the same way we do? Fr. Morris seems to think so.
Kudos to Notre Dame for nabbing the president of the United States for commencement speaker. Kudos to President Obama for agreeing to speak at a Catholic institution. Fr. Morris, and anyone who signed the petition with the sensationalist title (“Notre Dame Scandal”): Wake up.
So it’s sometime in the morning before you have class and you stop by the lair to grab some food. You’re in a rush. Problem: There is only one line to pay for your things and there are 25 people in front of you. Why? Because the esteemed Sodexo employee working the register is intent on taking the maximum amount of time to do the simple tasks of pushing buttons on a register and sliding a card.
Every morning I hope that maybe they will assign someone new to the register, but I’m not surprised to see that they have, yet again, chosen the most irritating person to run the register. Making my way to the front of the line, ten minutes later, I find my helpful cashier staring me down as if my intentions of buying food are somehow less than honorable.
Next she counts up the items I wish to purchase, not once, but twice. She finally deems it an appropriate time to push the buttons on the register. Now, I’ve been charged for either chow mein or a salad, when all I’ve tried to buy is my oatmeal. When the mistake is corrected she starts over. On the most special of occasions, I will be one of the lucky few who have made the cut of paying double for my cereal because I have committed the ultimate in Sodexo sins by overflowing my cereal bowl. Naturally this makes clear my true thieving nature, so she proceeds to glare at me as I hand over my one card.
Not to move too quickly, she asks if I would like to use Lion. She must imagine it’s a hobby of mine to change up my daily payment methods to confuse her – not the case by any means.
Finally, I’m in the home stretch and even though I tell her I don’t need a receipt, she guards my OneCard as collateral. She asks me if I’m sure, as if I will really have such a strong change of heart in five seconds. She hands me my OneCard as slowly as possible, as if to warn me that we will meet again. Now that I’m late for class, it really doesn’t matter. I just feel for all those poor kids behind me who will soon have the same pleasurable experience. -Isa Gillette
Facebook has been a force to be reckon with at LMU since 2004; it has become part of LMU's social fabric. Facebook certainly made quite the impression a few years later during Campaign Week that Facebook groups and pages have become the standard campaign tool to reel in supporters and more importantly votes. Facebook groups and pages for Presidential tickets and Senatorial candidates were overwhelmed with information about their platform and posed as another way to communicate with the candidate.
As for this year, I cannot really say Facebook groups of the tickets provide wealth of information but really something left to be desired. Going through the Presidential tickets all I read is fluff and not much substance. Every time a ticket mentioned an issue that they wanted to fix, the next question was how? From this, it definitely still needs work. It's disappointing considering that the voter has very little to go on, just a vague promise and a catchy slogan (and sometimes not even that). Although props to the Frontiera-Aiello ticket, they got one new idea that they want to implement "Free CONVOsation" which sounds promising but all they do is mention it.
The goal of these Facebook groups is to provide a complete and clear platform for the student who may not be able (or really wanting) to go to a debate or Town Hall. Providing such information is paramount as disclosure of a ticket's platform is indicative of the accountability they plan to maintain if they are elected. Unfortunately in this case, both tickets fail to do this leaving the voters to scratch their heads and possibly not trust.
Judge for yourself and see if these Facebook groups for the Presidential Ticket fit the bill:
No, I'm not talking about the Masters Golf Tournament, but there still might be plenty of greens.
CollegeFest is here once again, and reggae stars Rebelution will join the likes of Shiny Toy Guns and headliners Cold War Kids for the annual concert hosted by ASLMU.
Although I'm not too familiar with the music of these three bands, I'm more than willing to give them a chance for the sake of a good time.
Thankfully, LMU's administration reconsidered its misguided position of outlawing outdoor concerts. It would have been quite a shame if our picturesque bluff went unused on a Sunday afternoon in March.
Now here's the point of interest: Will attendance, or the overall vibe, be affected by the concert being held on a SUNDAY AFTERNOON?
Holding a concert on a Friday or Saturday allows for the requisite day of recovery often necessary in the wake of a giant festival or party. Sunday, as dictated by scripture, should be used as a day of rest (or when students do all of their homework for the week).
Will a Sunday concert make some students reconsider going to the show? I guess we'll have to wait and see, but CollegeFest veterans should keep their eyes peeled, comparing this year's turnout to that of years past.
Today starts the longest and most annoying week of the year at LMU, ASLMU Elections. I say this having campaigned as a Senatorial candidate 3 years ago, being a campaign manager for 2 years and serving as the Election Chair; so I have been in the business of annoying students in past elections. Rather than hearing empty promises and candidates drone on and on this week, here are four quick ways to avoid the candidates:
1. Do not go to convo - You may think this is easier said than done, but actually it's quite easy to do. The hot spots during convo are Alumni Mall, the Lair and the Lair Patio. Apparently candidates' canvassing to hit up students for votes is concentrated in this area.
2. Sport those elusive white earbuds - based on a makeshift experience I did a few years ago I find that walking around campus with your iPod, that's a sign that you do not want to be bothered and you'll be avoided. So if #1 is too difficult, listening to your iPod is a safe bet.
3. Go to the gym - The gym is one of the "safe zones" on campus during campaign week. Years ago, campaigning at the gym was not allowed so the gym became a "safe zone" from annoying campaigning (because working out is serious business). So if you're thinking about getting in shape or shedding a few pounds, this would be a great week to start!
4. Use the "I'm in a rush!" line - There are times where encountering the candidate is inevitable. However, you can get out of it quickly. I have encountered solicitors, and many surprisingly are polite. They'll ask me if I have a moment and I'll respond with a guilty look, "I'm really sorry but I'm in a rush." Then they let me go on my merry way. Candidates don't want to get a potential voter angry so they'll honor your request and desist.
Use these four tools wisely and campaign week and voting will be just an afterthought. --- Faiza Mokhtar "Beating the Election" is a week-long series that takes the unconventional and satirical route in understanding this year's ASLMU elections.
I think I'm going to stick with the topic of Sodexo because, well, they always seem to have room for improvement. I don't, of course.
Anyway, I recently found something out quite interesting or rather, appalling after I had taken a fancy to the "new" salad bar, Garden Daze, in the Lair.
I wanted to see what my salad was like without meat for a couple of reasons. One: I was doing it for an article. And two: I was really low on money and figured that without chicken the price of the salad would be cheaper
Appalling factor? As I strolled over to the cash register, I coolly told the cashier, “Chinese chicken salad. No meat.”
She said there was no button to reduce the price. If I were a tea kettle, you would have heard my high pitched whistle – it probably would have made you deaf.
Sodexo doesn’t discount the salads if there is no meat on them. I suddenly felt a great deal of sympathy for vegetarians on campus, who never get discounted for being a better person than me.
There’s all this talk about people being rewarded for acting “green.” Well, what about not acting “red” by being a lover of meat? Plus, being "green" can include eating less meat. Cows emit some serious CO2. Eat less cow, have less CO2. Talk about bad gas.
Look, I love meat, don’t get me wrong, But if a salad costs the same price with or without meat in the Lair, that is just one less incentive for me to go cold turkey on eating meat.
In terms of running a business, I have no idea how this is fair to the consumer. In terms of principal, when you buy more merchandise, you pay more money. You should never be paying the same amount of money for less merchandise.
That’s like saying “the sky is down,” “Christmas is Halloween,” “children are dragons” and “Sodexo runs a perfect business.”
The other day, while standing in the sandwich line at Roski, I witnessed the ugly side of the LMU student body (and no, I wasn’t looking at my reflection in the sandwich display). I was second in line, and the person in front of me was unhappy with the fact that he’d been waiting more than 30 seconds for a Sodexo employee to come and help him. To show that was upset, he pursed his lips, exhaled loudly and shook his head. (It’s hard for most people to express disapproval without coming off like an inconsiderate numbskull.) Then he turned to me and, because idiocy loves company, said, “Can you believe these people? Who do they think they are?”
I smiled halfheartedly in response, which I regret. What I should have said was, “They’re underpaid employees dealing with thousands of students like you who feel entitled, and therefore treat them like second-class citizens.” And yes, I can believe them.
The way that some LMU students treat the workers in our school’s eateries, quite frankly, disgusts me. During my freshman year alone, I lost count of how many times people chose not to say please or thank you. That’s hardly the worst of it – I’ve seen many people demand their order, instead of asking for it. I’ve witnessed students throw fits because they got rice on their burrito, or because their breakfast sandwich took five minutes instead of two.
This needs to stop now.
I understand that we’re paying for this food, and that Sodexo employees are getting paid to prepare it to us. They’re not getting paid, however, to put up with students with an inflated sense of entitlement; they’re not getting paid to listen to you strip them of their dignity by bossing them around and expecting them to attend to your every whim.
But, some might argue, why should we treat them this way when they appear to have bad attitudes themselves?
Well, why do you think some of them have a bad attitude?
I’d like to see how well the students in question deal with serving people like themselves all day long. I’m sure students’ rolling their eyes gets old for anyone after a while. I admit that I have somewhat of a double standard when it comes to Sodexo employees’ attitudes: I sympathize with those that seem like they’re miserable and treat customers with a sense of detachment, and I admire those who strive to enjoy their job and interactions with students. But after seeing so many students treat so many employees unjustifiably poorly, I think such a double standard is only fair.
This is not a blanket criticism of the LMU student body – I understand that many students treat the employees in our dining facilities with perfect respect, and even go out of the way to make conversation with them at times. I applaud these students. To the rest, who feel that because you’re paying a large sum of money, you can treat the employees however you want, I challenge you to remember that you’re representing a Jesuit institution, a tenet of which is social justice. To treat any fellow human being as less deserving of respect and dignity than you are is a huge violation of this justice, and is something that nothing, not even an exorbitant cost of attendance at LMU, can justify.
Think of getting "Facebook'd" as getting Rick Roll'd on Youtube by a "friend" but really giving your computer an unpleasant surprise and you a major headache through Facebook. I'll let the man in the video explain it to you...
In case in you didn't want to hear the CNN reporter drone on about this, basically you can get a worm on Facebook. How you ask? Essentially, you get a message from one of your Facebook friends to check out a cool (read: very lame) video on Youtube. On YouTube, you're prompted to download a Flash plugin update. Download the plugin and you've just been Facebook'd with the Koobface Worm which is malware on your computer.
Thanks to the Koobface worm (which is book spelled backwards plus "face," how cute), life on Facebook is a bit more complicated; as if we already have enough problems with this social networking tool such as vague and ambiguous Terms of use, "Social ads," annoying photos and note memes and petty Facebook drama. This is a bit overwhelming. My experience on Facebook is not as pleasant as it used to be. It's too late to go back to the days where nuisances such as hacking your account and make unauthorized posts happened on MySpace or better yet when Facebook was available to only users with a college e-mail address.
It was a simpler time, I wish we can return to that. Too bad technology will never allow for that to happen.
I think that in all fairness the people working at Sodexo deserve at least a clap or two for improving the quality of food in the Lair. Between Quiznos and the new salads, I don’t have to go to my next class with my stomach screaming, “Why did you eat the Loco Nachos? You’re crazy!” Ha. Ha.
Anyway, Sodexo doesn’t often get credit for doing things right, and I figure: Give credit where credit is due.
1) Now, about the charging for cups of water …
There should be reusable, washable plastic cups for us to drink water from. I’ll never get over having to pay 25 cents for a blue Pepsi Co. cup.
“You may be asking yourself: Do I feel lucky?” and with a slight grin he clicks back the hammer of his magnum, “Well, do you punk!?” If you don’t know this line from this beloved American classic “Dirty Harry,” then your obviously not a fan of tough guy movies. In that case, you’re probably more familiar with lame “chick flick” movies like “Pretty Woman,” but I digress.
Anyway, if you’re an average red-blooded male like me, when you watch movies like “Die Hard,” “Braveheart,” or “The Boondock Saints” you feel a pressing need to either grab a giant pistol (or depending on the movie, a huge sword and kilt) and go out a blow away some bad guys. These movies get the testosterone flowing, and they make the idea of pursuing justice with a manly vengeance a truly appealing idea.
But in reality, you simply can’t go out and be a vigilante, simply because society frowns on the idea. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying we should all have the right to put somebody down if they harm us, because that unfortunately allows ordinary individuals to take the law unnecessarily into their own hands. For example, if I was in a bank and it was being robbed, and I grabbed a security guards gun and started shooting, one of two things could happen. First of all, just like a movie, I could miraculously shoot all the bad guys, and then get to be hero, and then promptly hook-up with the beautiful girl who was standing behind me in line.
But the other thing that could happen is that I could accidentally hurt the wrong people and make the situation much worse. I am not a cop, so I have no reason to step in and make matters worse. In other words, we all can’t go around being the tough guy and beating up anyone who crosses the line because in the end you will end up crossing the line yourself. Yet what I will say is this, if an injustice is occurring, the worst thing you could do is nothing.
As Edmund Burke said, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." So don’t go out and be the jerk beating up everybody left and right, but at least do the right thing, and stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves.
I've always had an aversion to needles, especially the kind that doctors jab into your arm in order to suck out a pint of blood. That's why I couldn't believe myself when I agreed to donate blood last week. A few weeks ago, my roommate was taking sign-ups for his service org, and asked if I'd do it. I laughed. "Why not?" he asked. I didn't really have a reason, which ended up being my fatal mistake. "Would you let the doctors draw blood from you if it would save your life?" he asked, innocently. Of course I would. "Then why not let them do it to save other people's lives?"
Damn.
So I signed up and forgot about it – until last night. My roommate told me to make sure to drink lots of fluids and eat a good meal in the morning. I was touched at his care and concern, until I realized why he was telling me that. Then I was panicked. I went to bed apprehensive and woke up weak-kneed and nauseous. (And that was before I ate a Sodexo breakfast.) My appointment time arrived, and I texted "I love you bye" to my mom and went to St. Rob's Auditorium, where the bloodsucking was set to happen.
I filled out forms that detailed my medical history, and was more than slightly-tempted to answer "Yes" to questions that asked me about paying for sex in an attempt to escape. I decided against it, because I realized that if I died giving blood, my parents would likely see that form and would be left wondering forever. After that, I was greeted by a very kind nurse who spoke very bad English, and she detailed conditions under which I should not donate. I prayed I heard her correctly.
She pricked my finger and took blood from there without really telling me why. "First time?" she asked. I replied yes. She just laughed, which did little to console me. When she was done, I got up as if to leave – that wasn't so bad. "Oh, no," she laughed. "We use a much larger needle to take blood from your arm after this." Of course, her English was flawless when she said stuff like that. She led to me a chair that reminded me of the chair I'd sit in if I'm ever sentenced to lethal injection, and another happy nurse came and started rubbing my arm down. She told me not to look, so of course I looked when she jabbed an enormous needle into my left arm. I felt a bit dizzy, but then regained my composure and tried to look cool as a pint of blood was taken from me.
It was over in about 10 minutes, and I was told to hang out for about 15 minutes, probably in case I started dying. I went to the cookie table and took more than I was supposed to and had a seat. It really wasn't that bad. The most painful part was when the nurse removed the tape that held the IV in place from my hairy arm. As I sat, some cheery person told me that I saved three lives with my pint of blood. "Well, not yet," I said. Nobody likes a literalist.
That aside, saving three lives is certainly worth the anxiety I experienced beforehand. I used to hate it when people pressured me to give blood, so I won't do that. Instead, I'll just encourage you, tell you the cookies are really good and ask you the same question my roommate asked me: Would you do it to save your own life?
With this innocent posta few weeks ago, the ubiquitous social-networking Web site Facebook announced an "update" to its terms of use. No big deal, right? Not too many users were even aware that it even occurred.
Soon thereafter, however, some media outlets began to dig a little deeper, and what they found was pretty shocking to a number of people. Under the new rules, you forfeit any and all rights of control over content you post on the site, even after you've deleted an account. The Consumerist was the first to break this revelation.
Word spread quickly, and before they knew it, Facebook was flooded with angry responses from people all over the world. It didn't take long for Mark Zuckerberg and his crew to cave in to the pressure. Now, they've revoked the changes, and have promisedto include more user input in future decisions.
Where does that leave us, the average college student who logs in without fail every day? If we don't pay close attention to what Facebook, or any other site we belong to, is doing, then we run the risk of losing individual content control. The challenges of cyberspace are numerous, but this is definitely a battle we can't afford to lose.
It's high noon and right about now you're out of luck for parking. Cruise through U-Hall: full; Speed through Drollinger: not an open spot in sight; Cringe upon arriving at Hannon lot only to find that there is a parking spot at the opposite end of campus adjacent to the Children's Center. Aside from that debacle, finding parking isn't the only issue but really avoiding that white receipt-like paper folded in your windshield wiper from our friendly P-Safe officer.
There are so many opportunities to be one of the lucky ones to have this paper bestowed upon your car; such as not parking in your assigned spot, parking outside the lines. Shouldn't this lame Dodge Neon get a ticket?
Absolutely it should! Unfortunately, it did not because this parking fail occurred at night so of course leave it to P-Safe to not be around Drollinger at the time to make the ticketing magic happen. Of course, earlier in the day, my car was ticketed. Why? Because I parked in Drollinger and my spot in is Hannon Lot. Call me crazy, but shouldn't our fabulous Dodge Neon here be getting the ticket too? I mean look at how it's parked?!?! It's clearly screwing someone out of an already subcompact spot. Trust me, when Homer Simpson made a parking fail, it was brilliant, this is just annoying. It doesn't matter if this was at night, P-Safe, ticketing should be a 24/7 thing not just something for P-Safe to pass the time from 7:00 am to 4pm on weekdays.
Why are teachers allowed to cancel classes? While most students rejoice upon reading a sign stating, "Class has been cancelled today," posted to the door of the classroom, I think there is a much bigger issue at play. Without falling into the "I pay 40k a year and therefore deserve X" category, I find it to be a major sign of disrespect to the students and to the University when teachers cancel classes. Family emergencies aside, professors, I believe, should not be allowed to simply decide that class should not meet on a particular day.
In almost any other profession, not showing up for a meeting or for an entire day without giving their co-workers or clients proper notice, and a reschedule would result in automatic discipline (lost pay or demotion). Imagine if a pharmacist decided not to show up to work one day and simply left a note on the counter announcing the day off; the outcry from customers would be overwhelming. Why does this rule not apply to professors?
If a professor asks me to take his/her class seriously, then I expect the same from them. Cancelling class with a simple note on the door without offering to reschedule it or temporarily offering more office hours for the lost time is a big slap in my face. We, as students, should demand more from our professors. Next time a teacher cancels class (again, family/health emergencies aside), I urge you to demand an answer.
Bring back the old espresso machine: I'm a bit of a coffee snob, but it really doesn't take more than a Jamba-juice-enhanced-pallatte to realize that the new "fully-automatic" espresso machines in the Lion's Den make crappy espresso. It's not normal to find a sludge of water and coffee grinds at the bottom of a double shot, as these machines regularly output.
Respect my mug: I'm pretty happy with the Lion's Den's new green disposables, but still, for an establishment that puts out so much container waste per day, there are certainly no-waste solutions. How about this? If I bring in my own ceramic mug and you fill it with coffee, give me a coffee for less. It's not that novel of an idea -- we've seen it at all sorts of corner coffee spots. Instead, the closest the LD gets to a mug program is one where you buy their proprietary, over-priced thermos.
Real apple cider: Sometimes I really need a non-caffeinated drink and the Den is slim on those. Especially during the Winter and Fall -- we have to get some hot apple cider in there. It's a perfect specialty drink for a place like the Den. But none of that heated apple juice crap that they serve down in Uhall. I want a real tangy, un-filtered, cloudy beverage.
We are all scared of something, whatever it may be. For me, I had to confront my worst fear a few weeks ago. I was getting ready to head to the beach and was going through my usual routine of getting all of my gear together. I went to my apartment balcony, grabbed my towel, which was drying from the other day, and then walked back inside, and threw it on my chair. That’s when I turned around and saw a good three-inch spider jump down from the towel. I swear on my life, that that nasty little devil looked up at me for a split second, and then took off running towards my refrigerator.
To be honest, I did absolutely nothing, mainly because I hate spiders with an utter passion. I am almost positive that he knew I wasn’t going to anything, and he must have been laughing in his little spider brain. Anyway, I can’t stand these nasty critters whatsoever, and I know I have always been that way since I was a kid. It’s the way they look, and all those extra legs, that just sends shivers down my spine. I hate to say it, but I can’t walk down the reptile aisle at PetCo, because I know that one of those little tanks has one of those god-awful tarantulas just sitting there, all hairy and disgusting.
But on that note, I have no problem with any other creepy crawlers. I am cool with snakes, other bags, rats, and any other nasty little bugger you can think off. So why am I afraid of spiders? I have no clue. I thought about it though, and I guess that a lot of people have their own particular phobias. My girlfriend is afraid of heights, and my dad hates cockroaches. They don’t really know why, they just know that they do. So I guess I really don’t have to be too embarrassed about my little fear. Some day I’ll get over this though. I’m not sure how, and hopefully I wont have to go the ridiculous extreme of buying a pet tarantula to do so, but I know that one day I will.
With all of the hullabaloo over the stimulus package on Capitol Hill this week, it was another somber reminder of where the American economy is headed, with or without governmental intervention.
Back here on the bluff, students and families are preparing for financial aid season; it’s a safe bet that some of them will be unhappy with what eventually transpires.
Every university across the country is bracing for some harsh realities. More transfers, fewer applicants and reduced matriculation rates mean less income. Perpetually ballooning budgets and jumps in tuition won’t do anything to alleviate the pain.
Given the current climate, some university officials have decided to tackle the situation head on. In December, Stanford’s highest-ranking administrators announced they would be taking a 10 percent pay cut in 2009 (including President John Hennessy who makes around $700,000). Stanford Provost John Etchemendy said in a letter to the school they would be “irresponsible not to prepare for this eventuality.”
Any way to address budget concerns is a positive step.
LMU has announced a hiring freeze for all non-academic staff positions, but I wonder if the shot-callers around here would be willing to consider pay cuts. It’s hard not to notice the nice cars they drive, so we can assume they’re doing OK for themselves.
When next year’s tuition is announced within the next few weeks (something I luckily won’t be paying), get ready to ask some serious questions of those who handle the money at LMU, and reap the benefits.
Wondering is what I do. I’m sure the phrase “I’m beginning to wonder” can be found in more than a few of my articles.
Today, I’m wondering why so many students at LMU don’t seem to care. How can some of them pay $40,000 and be OK with never going to class? How can some students turn in papers written on Martin Luther King Jr. when two weeks of lecturing was spent on Martin Luther, the man credited for spearheading the Protestant Reformation. Does the 95 Theses ring any bells? No, nothing? Not even a church bell? Well, this girl in question basically wrote a paper that was 450 years off from the subject material; she wrote about the Civil Rights Movement, not the Protestant Reformation. Failure confirmed.
What’s the point of going to college, if you aren’t even going to pay attention? I’m not asking for everyone to be a super-duper, outstanding, A+ student, but I am asking for at least B- students. Getting a B- shows that you’ve at least applied yourself to a level above apathy. And apathy is just a plain waste. Too many young, and even older Americans would love to switch places with our privileged bums. They’d love to receive a higher education, but they didn’t have an opportunity to do so.
Essentially, though, your life is certainly not my life. I won’t tell you how to live it. You can waste as many opportunities as you want. But then I’ll probably tell you: “You suck at life.”
Unlike T.I.'s single which chronicles his personal metamorphosis during his house arrest, the men's basketball faces the fact that their chances of not being the worst team in the nation and having worst season in school history are pretty much dead and gone. I realized this months ago with the poor shooting percentages, the lack of defense, the ever revolving injury list, and a coach who resigned only go to the NBA shortly after; I stopped caring and believing. With the embarrassing loss against Pepperdine Saturday, it's pretty much a lock now that the men's basketball team is on its way to the record books, but for all the wrong reasons.
Photo: Courtney Toomey/Loyolan
There's another thing that's dead and gone as well are the fans (or lack thereof). The Pepperdine game is one of the biggest games of the year for LMU and that shows in attendance. With the exception last season, since 2002-03 season, on average about 3,000+ of us pack Gersten where the largest attendance was in the 2006-07 season with 4,005. Now I wouldn't exactly say we packed Gersten this past Saturday because only 2,385 of us bothered to show up (I was not one of them). Correlate this with our atrocious record, this will makes sense because honestly who wants to see a losing team? To add, a losing team that has a greater chance becoming a laughing stock than a decent finish.With six games left in the season, this begs the question: Have we left our team for dead and gone? The answer is a resounding yes and hope that next season doesn't suck as much.
In the meantime, you're better off watching women's basketball, where they have a winning record. ---Faiza Mokhtar
If you’re currently a freshman, or a prospective incoming student, I feel bad for you, I really do. With the new policy of ticketing loud parties immediately, instead of first giving a warning, the greater Loyola Marymount party scene is going to die, and possibly a quick death at that. That means, because of the year-round equivalent of Ebenezer Scrooge and his inability to appreciate the fact that others have a better thing to do with their Friday nights than throw obstacles into the lives of the others, an important part of the college experience is going to be excised out of the average student’s life. Sure, not all college students party. In fact, even many of the ones that do are not part of the scene that causes a bit of a ruckus. Or, according to the LAPD as of a couple weeks ago, a hellish maelstrom of thumping music, drunken screaming and white crowd noise worthy of a $1200 ticket. If I blow through a stop sign or a red light, I pay a lesser ticket than what was given to homeowners last night that happened to entertain a large crowd.
The thing about rowdy, large parties is that, for most undergrads, it’s their only opportunity for the rest of their lives to be in that kind of atmosphere, to blow off steam and stress with dozens of their peers, to experience a kind of energy that will never be found again in their lives after graduation. It’s an experience that needs to be had to find a proper balance between the pressures of schoolwork and the looming real world, to enjoy the last minor shreds of irresponsibility, to know it so that it can be grown out of.
For those miserable homeowners that feel the need to call in the cops on a gathering of students, and I can say that the ticketed party I was at last night was neither particularly boisterous nor crowded, they are forgetting the joys of a time period when you could feel that you were amongst 50 of your friends, when you could forget your finals week by embracing your peers, when it’s not about the life outside the party but the one where you can lift up a beer and savor the life inside. You see, freshmen, incoming students, you’re not going to have that within safe walking distance of your college, free from threat, free to enjoy yourselves. You may, if you look for it, find it a dangerous car ride away, in unknown territory, among many that you don’t know, and there’ll be a house in Westchester where someone will go to sleep without a sound outside then or even maybe in the morning, when due to circumstances you don’t make it home.
I was taking out my surfboard from my car in the parking lot at El Porto when the guy parked next to me got out of his car, walked up to the parking meter, and let out a series of swear words that would make an army sergeant blush.
Let me explain, see recently the amount of time a quarter could get you there went down from fifteen minutes to ten. So for an hour in the water, you have to drop a $1.20. If you’re in the water pretty regularly, like I am, it tends to rack up rather quickly.
But that aside, the guy did let out at least one interesting nugget of insightfulness, and that was, “They don’t pay us to do this!”
Well, he is right, he and I don’t get paid to surf, but then again, I am not a pro. But it got me thinking, what if I was paid to do what I love? I love to surf; so getting paid to do it would be great, right?
But then I thought about it, and I figured that there would be a lot of pressure on me to make sure my surfing was fantastic. If I was getting paid to do it, I couldn’t really afford to have an off day out in the water. I would have to be top of my game every time I went out. But over time I really think I would stop seeing surfing as fun and more as work.
I am only saying this because we all figure that getting paid to do what we love would be great, and that it should be a major goal for a person to achieve. But if you mix your passion with the stress and pressure of bringing home a check, you might forget why you love that particular activity so much. So if you ever get paid to do what you love, what ever it may be (save for killing people), remind yourself from time to time why you love that passion.
I don't often lose things. I carry three things on me: cell phone, wallet and keys. I check my pockets to an extent that you might believe I have OCD. After all, it can't be that hard to keep track of three things, and I'm 22, not 12.
You can imagine my surprise when I was standing in line at Chipotle and a guy asked me what my name was. I was beginning to think I was going to be famous. I looked over my shoulder to see if he was talking to the guy behind me, and I then swiveled back, "Who me?"
"Yeah, what's your name?"
I replied with surprise, "Alex." With that, he handed me my wallet. My world fell apart as if he had passed a baton of doom – not the leather wallet I had grown to love. How could I lose my wallet? I then became overwhelmed with graciousness and offered to buy him his meal. He refused.
About two weeks later, I pick up a voicemail on my phone from Public Safety. They let me know that my wallet was found and returned to their office. Once again, my mind was blown. My thought proceeded in the same way as before: How could I lose my wallet? And how could it possibly have been returned to me?
I've been dubbed a pessimist by many, and their title is probably well warranted. I expect the worst in order to avoid disappointment. I certainly don't expect to get things back that I've lost, especially things that have value.
Maybe I need to have a little more faith in my fellow students. (Our mission statement says something about that, right?) *Scratching my head*
Maybe they will do the right thing. Maybe I'm losing my grip on pessimism. Probably not. -Alex Tandy
The opinions presented throughout this blog are from various staff members of the Los Angeles Loyolan. In their being personal opinions, they do not represent the opinion of the unified product that is the Los Angeles Loyolan.
The writers of this blog will be discussing relevant campus issues, through the means of either campus or national news. Yes, the recession does affect you, and yes, a writer may post something revolving around this topic, as long as it is relevant to the student body.
Please feel free to comment on any of the articles presented – but do, in the interest of a belief in the progression of human beings, refrain from flaming with derogatory and hateful language. Those comments will be happily deleted.
The Loyolan staff blog contains the opinions of various staff members of The Los Angeles Loyolan. Staff bloggers will be writing about news that not only affects the bluff, but the world around us as well.
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