Blame It On The Dining Hall

On my way home from work the other day, I stopped at CVS Pharmacy with the intentions of picking up my prescription. While I was there, it dawned on me that my friend's birthday was on the following day. I searched around the store looking for a gift, but my options seemed limited to "Bump-Its," lotions, vitamins or "The Perfect Brownie Maker." On my way to the cashier I recalled that we shared a common love for Butterfingers. I picked up a bag of the mini-individually wrapped ones and a card and was satisfied with my modest, but thoughtful gift.

"What a good friend I am," I thought.

Once I got to my room after my long day at work, I realized something: I was extremely hungry. I opened up the bag of Butterfingers and told myself I could have just one and I would put the other Butterfingers in a pretty little gift bag, which would be even better and more thoughtful.

"What a creative friend I am," I thought.

I sat down at my desk for some late night studying with the bag of Butterfingers next to me and one Butterfinger soon led to two... to three.. to five... to the whole bag. I mindlessly sat there and chomped down my friend's entire birthday present.

"What happened to being a good friend?" Months of willpower restraining me from eating the freshly made cookies at the dining hall had disappeared along with the bag of Butterfingers. So I promised myself I would hit the gym extra hard the next day and did what any hungry SMU student would do. I blamed Umphrey Lee.

It's Official...

Facebook has taken over the world. Okay, well maybe it hasn't actually taken over the world, but it sure seems like it's getting close. My cell phone took a dip in a puddle this past weekend, so on Saturday I headed off to the T-Mobile store to get a new one. I had planned to get the same phone I had before, but since I had my other phone for over a year, the sales associate told me I could upgrade to a new phone for half the price. He recommended the Motorola Cliq and since I really had no idea what phone I wanted, I took his word for it.

Upon leaving the T-Mobile store, excited about my new phone, I sat in my car and began exploring my phone's features. On the homepage of my phone, I quickly noticed three icons with the infamous white "F" in a blue square, representing Facebook. The default homepage setting of my new phone includes a box showing you your current Facebook "Status," along with the ability to change it without signing onto the actual website, it also includes "News Feed" box, presenting me with my Facebook Friends status updates, and my phone's Messaging box that used to only include Text Messages on my previous one, now includes Facebook Messages. My Contact list in my cell phone now also includes all of my Facebook friends and their emails if they have it listed on their page.

Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining about these features on my new phone, however I was surprised by how much of my phone's default homepage included Facebook. I had to download an application on my previous phone for similar features regarding Facebook, but this one came more than fully stocked with the features just a year later. I no longer have to sign on to Facebook to update my status, send messages or see what my friends are up to, I can now just glance down at my cell phones home screen for all of the above. I did however actually remove the icon where my friends status updates show up because I found it to be a little bit of a Facebook overload for me.

Social Networking popularity is clearly increasing exponentially, where now cell phone manufacturers believe its important to include Facebook features on their new phones to help market them. In turn, these new phone features also have people logging on to Facebook even more. Since I got my new phone, I have noticed myself on the site much more due to its constant presence on my cell phone and I also find it kind of annoying that I have to scroll through all of my Facebook friends to find the person in my Contact list that I am trying to call. Even though I love my phone, I'm starting to think that all this Facebook stuff is just a little bit much....

Loyalty Over Honest Values?

In my Wellness class this week, we did an in class poll regarding what we would do if we found ourselves in various sticky situations. One of the situations given was somewhere along the lines of the following: You are the Treasurer for your student organization and have about $300 in your possession from the club. Your friend calls you one Friday night and sounds like he/she's been crying and they tell you they're in jail for driving under the influence and they are a few hundred dollars short of bail. They say they are good for the money and will pay you back as soon as they can, but the only money you have is the money from the club. What would you do?

Almost everyone, except myself and a few others said that they would bail their friend out of jail with the money from the student organization. They justified this with explanations of how they couldn't just leave their friend in jail and that as long as they paid you back, it wouldn't matter because they are your friend. I was blown away by this. My classmates would essentially steal money from a student organization to bail a friend out of jail who could have killed someone while they were out acting recklessly and driving under the influence. It would be a different situation if the money being used to bail the friend out actually belonged to you, but really?! Stealing from the organization that trusts you with their finances?! It was seriously shocking to listen to my classmates list off reasons justifying their answer to this question.

I understand that loyalty is a very important aspect of friendship, but so is being accountable for your actions. It's not justifiable to steal money to bail a friend out of jail when they chose to act inappropriately. What about the loyalty you are supposed to have to your student organization and values of being trustworthy? What is happening to my generations values and integrity?

Tipping Point

I have been working at Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant since it opened in early November and I recently switched from being a hostess, to being a waitress. Some called me crazy for giving up the $9 wage I was given for taking guests to their table, but I couldn't stand how boring it was standing around at the host stand. In Texas, the wage for a waiter/waitress is set at $2.13/ hour, which in my opinion, is completely ridiculous. The "logic" behind the wage being so low is that you will end up making at least minimum wage ($7.25) from the tips you receive. To me, this is a flawed logic because there are nights when the restaurant is empty and I'll walk away making $10 in tips after being there for close to four hours. You also are required to do side-work at the restaurant such as rolling silverware into the napkins, sweeping floors, wiping down the kitchen or cleaning the bathroom. This is all done for $2.14/hour. Given, there are nights where I will walk away with $50-100 in my pocket, which makes up for the slow nights, but at the end of the week, I'm still only averaging about $2-3 more per hour than a hostess.

In California, where I'm from and will be waitressing this summer, there is no difference between the wage a Server is paid and the minimum wage and that's the way it should be. Waitressing is a demanding job that requires you to walk quickly around the restaurant, heeding to your guests commands for hours on end. The tips given by the guests should serve as a reward for hard work and not be the means by which I am paid. I mean, really? $2.14/hour? How can that seriously be rationalized when a restaurant would be nothing without the hardworking waiters and waitresses to take care of the guests? I should be making much greater than $2-3/hour more than I did as a hostess because it's a much more demanding position.

Thankfully, I can look forward to the better wages I'll be making this summer working in California and that I'm at least making more money now than I did as a hostess, but something needs to be done about the Tipped Minimum Wage Law in Texas. $5/hour would be a much more reasonable wage for such a hard job.

Spring Fever

Although it snowed this past weekend on the first official day of Spring, I must admit, I am already suffering from Spring fever. We have reached our midway point for this semester and there are roughly seven weeks left to go before Summer vacation and I am steadily finding it harder to push myself in school. Thoughts of moving out of the dorms once and for all and finally getting three and a half months of well deserved vacation from the non-stop hustle of juggling school with work, sorority life and exercising fill my head. This time of year is full of distractions with extended daylight hours, beautiful weather and an increasing want for being outdoors, but yet school work is getting increasingly more important as we near Final Exams, so I face a struggle. Every year I face the same struggle and always manage to pull through with parent-pleasing grades. If you find yourself in the same position, wanting to be in the beautiful outdoors and losing motivation to pull through here are my personal tips for how to beat "The Fever."

1.) Don't fight your need to be outside. Grab your books, laptop, other study materials and a blanket, head outdoors and study on one of the many lawns around SMU's beautiful campus. If you are too easily distracted by studying with people walking by and birds chirping, then just take a 30 minute study break and go for a walk outside.

2.) Plan fun outdoor events with friends FOR THE WEEKENDS. Don't ditch class to hang out outside because of the beautiful weather or you may end up spending your last few weekends here trying to catch up on what you missed. Instead, go to class every day and stay on top of your work so you can dedicate your weekends to fun with friends.

3.) Get exercise. The warm, sunny weather gives a majority of us more energy than we know what to do with, so before you start studying, go burn off some fuel at the gym or combine this with your need to be outdoors and go for a run outside. You'll be more likely to get your work done after you've gotten rid of the excess energy.

Umphrey Lee Needs Improvement

All my life I have struggled with the "battle of the bulge." I'm not saying I'm fat, but I have always had to be extremely conscious of what and how much I eat because I was not blessed with an incredibly fast metabolism. I gain weight easily, but I don't lose it easily. Coming into college, my fear of gaining the "Freshman Fifteen," far outweighed my fears of more challenging classes and being away from home. I'm not a heavy drinker and I knew I wouldn't become one in college, so I wasn't worried about beer weight, but instead, it would be the first time that I didn't have a kitchen to prepare my own healthy meals.

Umphrey Lee is my main source of campus food. While they boast about their "Spa Cuisine" section with a salad bar, I must say that I find it very hard to make healthy choices there. The salad bar has the same options every day with no variations except for the occasional bowl of peanuts or raisins. Who wants to eat the same salad every day? There are no options in the salad bar for a protein to add on top of the salad, such as sliced chicken, tuna or turkey, so to supplement my boring salad, I usually have to resort to a hamburger patty or an egg.

The wrap/sandwich bar can be another healthy option depending on the contents chosen, however there aren't any low-fat/non-fat dressing or cheese options to put on your sandwich. At lunch, there is also someone to make the sandwich for you, which sounds nice, however I can't control the amount of dressing or contents the person loads on.
Fish fridays are a refreshing/healthy option offered at Umphrey Lee that I must commend, but the line is usually so long when I have my lunch break, that I don't even get to have it.

Less healthy options at Umphrey Lee are plentiful. Daily, there's multiple types of pizza available, hamburgers, grilled cheese, and not to mention, the infamous dessert bar. Every kind of cookie, cake, brownie and sometimes pie that you can imagine are offered. There is rarely low-sugar or low-fat desert options and when there is, it's usually just one type.
Weekend food at Umphrey Lee is also just plain pathetic. Given, they don't have most of the staff on during the weekend, but I don't feel that it's fair to force us to pay for a meal plan, when on the weekends, the food options are so limited most students can hardly stand to eat there at all.

I appreciate SMU's effort to make more healthy options available with the Spa Cuisine section, however, there is still much more room for improvement. A nice balance of genuinely healthy options and less healthier options would be wonderful and appreciated by many more students than just me. I can't express how excited I am to move off campus next year so I can prepare my own healthy meals again. In fact, it's one of the main reasons why I decided to not stay on campus for another year. Umphrey Lee and Mac's Place are not worth the $2000+ dollars you're forced to pay a semester, not including the food I purchased on weekends to avoid the mediocre food.

An Atypical Friendship

Best Buddies was the first organization I got involved in on campus this year and it was one of the best decisions I ever made. Best Buddies is an organization that pairs a typical person with an atypical or "disabled" person. (The use of the words "normal" and "disabled" is discouraged in this group because of their negative connotations in the atypical community.) The pair spend time together at least once a month and basically just befriend each other. There are also big group events like a Halloween party and a Valentine's Day party.

My buddy's name is Amy and she is 34 years old. I don't know her diagnosis, nor do I care to know because it's not important. It is not what defines her, it is just a challenge she must deal with and one small aspect of the wonderful person she is. I can never have a conversation with her without smiling or laughing and she is more caring than many of the friends I've had throughout my life. We couldn't have been a better match.

From day one, we hit it off. We have similar interests in music, movies, shopping and more. We talk on the phone multiple times a week and share stories about our days. She continues to show me how "typical" of a life people with disabilities can lead, just with some modifications. She lives with her mom, but she has a job wrapping pastries/cookies in her local market in Plano and has a steady boyfriend. She also volunteers multiple times a week and is on a bowling league.

I recently went bowling with Amy and her boyfriend and was amazed at how well she bowled. My preconceived notions of her abilities fell into the gutters, but her bowling balls rolled smoothly down the lanes. She bowled three strikes in a row on her three frames and I found myself feeling guilty for doubting that she had bowling talent before I even watched her just because of her disability.

The more time I spend with her, the more I realize that preconceived notions of atypical people are extremely prevalent in our society and can be very hurtful. I went out to dinner with Amy and the hostess did not even bother to give Amy a menu because she assumed that Amy wouldn't be able to read it. The server also proceeded to ask me what she wanted to eat, instead of asking her. I know that neither of those things was done to be intentionally cruel, but Amy told me after dinner was over how much it hurt her, but it was something that happened often.

No matter what differences seem to be present in someone, we need to try our best to look past what we see and realize that they are generally much more capable then we presume. Instead of assuming their inabilities, assume that they are able and treat them like you would treat anyone else. Amy has taught me this incredibly valuable lesson and it has changed the way I look at people who are different than me. She has shown me how to not only love all kinds of people, but to assume the best in people and embrace differences.

I know not everyone will get the same opportunity to experience a friendship with someone atypical, but I hope that in passing or in a quick exchange with someone who is atypical, that my friends, family, and anyone who reads this can assume ability instead of disability and see past the difference, like Amy has taught me to do.

Is This Generation As Lazy As Some Think?

Don Tapscott’s book, Grown Up Digital, was written to dispel the negative myths about our current generation, growing up in a technologically advanced world. In the introduction, he introduces the ten major concerns and critical views of the “Net Generation.” One of these criticisms is that children and teens today are unmotivated and lazy and therefore, will not succeed in the workforce (4). These critics believe that students in this generation have no career goals and spend more time on Facebook and Myspace than they do working on their future. They also believe that this generation is incapable of handling the demands of the workplace today and in the future(5). When they finally become employed, they also allegedly expect their workplace to accommodate their need for advanced technology and listen to their suggestions for changes in the way their workplace is managed.

The allegation that teens today are unmotivated and lazy is not at all supported by legitimate evidence. Nowadays, teens are balancing school with jobs, sports, music, community service and other extra curricular activities more than ever before. Making good grades is no longer enough to get you in to the college of your choice, you must also be incredibly involved with other activities. Most teens have very little downtime and if they choose to spend it on Facebook networking with friends, what is really wrong with that?

In regards career goals, I must also dispute that allegation. More and more students decide to go to college every year to pursue a degree so they can get a good job and make a living for themselves. They may not know right away what they want to major in, but sooner or later they figure it out and graduate into the workforce or go on to further their education with graduate school. The demands on this generation to be highly educated is much higher than earlier generations, so it is a stressful task to pick a major for a certain job and know that you want to spend the rest of your life in that career. For example, if a student chooses to pursue a degree in the arts, but later decides they want to be a business man, they must go back to college to get a different degree and with the costs of colleges rising, not many people can afford to do that.

I don't believe accusation that when a Net Gener gets employed, they immediately ask for newer technology and better management. That kind of behavior would result in job loss. However, if they are employed for a long period of time and they make suggestions for how management could be improved or what technology would better suit the workplace, good for them! I'm proud of my generation for taking initiative and not just settling for mediocre management and outdated technology. Those are the kind of people that change our workplaces and world for the better. I can remember countless times of my parents complaining about their bosses, but they never actually took the step to make suggestions for improvement. I work as a hostess in a new restaurant and my managers actually ASK me for suggestions for improvement in management and the hostess job requirements. I have only been working there since October and I am already promoted to be a Hostess Trainer because of my thoughtful suggestions to make our workplace better. When you take the time to try and improve where you work, most managers are impressed and respect that you care about how smooth your workplace runs.

None of the above allegations are supported by evidence when you take a close look at the current generation. Yes, we like to spend time on the computer and love social networking sites, but that is just a part of our generation. It does not make us lazy, unmotivated, or unfit to work in the modern day workplace.

Fostering Hurtful Words on a College Campus...

At many colleges across the U.S., including Southern Methodist University, students are having their reputations and self-confidence destroyed on the world wide web. College ACB is an anonymous gossip site where anyone can post topics ranging from the "Rankings of the Sororities on Campus" to "Who has hooked up with who?" Many students, both girls and guys, are having their alleged "promiscuity" posted on the internet where their peers are left wondering if what they are reading is actually true. Recently many people I know have had their reputations tarnished by the lies posted on the site and it has left them feeling hurt, upset and frustrated.

A bitter roommate can post whatever they want about their roommate and permanently ruin their reputation or self-esteem without actually having to face that person. This cowardly and vicious way of attacking each other and is not only hurtful, it is also illegal. Spreading these false rumors about fellow classmates is known as defamation of character and is punishable by law. Users can be traced down and sued for the comments posted on the website, so posters should be aware of that fact before deciding to spread lies about someone via the internet.

How can a website that fosters defamation and slander be legal or tolerated? On the CollegeACB.com blog, the website owner responds to angry users saying, "Our site doesn't call for salacious gossip, we let students dictate discussion. While I concede that the level of discourse is nowhere I'd like it to be, I'm passionate about giving an open forum for discussion where people can share without fear of retribution." My response to that is : If you know your website's anonymous poster content generally IS "salacious gossip," then how can you claim that your website doesn't "call for it? "

However, regardless of having this online bullying website available, I am disappointed in my schoolmates for using the site to make such malicious comments about each other while we are in COLLEGE. We are no longer in middle school or high school and this kind of behavior is unacceptable and immature. SMU needs to have this website banned indefinitely to prevent any further destruction of their students reputations.



Link to another site about problems with College ACB: