On Monday, I read an opinion piece about the trials and tribulations of registering for classes in the Opinion and Commentary section of The Eagle. We went on a day's journey with a young student who had to interact with some of AU's busiest offices. I felt that the piece was an accurate response to the mindset that many of our peers, particularly the mindset of undergraduates, have on this campus. During this time of the year, you could sense all the frustration that students such as last week's author have with the "bureaucracy" of certain offices on this campus. Now, before you start applauding me, hear what I have to say.
I have been an undergraduate at this University and now I am currently a graduate student. I have dealt with the offices mentioned in last week's piece. I have dealt with the Registrar's Office, the Undergraduate Advising offices of SIS and SPA and the CAS Graduate offices, so I am able to empathize with the day that was so wonderfully described to us last week. However, I would like for you to refer back to my first paragraph. I said that the opinion piece was an accurate response of the MINDSET of many of our peers, and when I mean peers, I could almost be certain that the author is an undergraduate. In my six-plus years as a student, I have been able to see distinct characteristics that many of our peers possess. First and foremost is the attitude of entitlement.
Many of our peers feel that because they spend some of daddy's money here, they are entitled to treat the working community on this campus any way they please. Some demand to see their professor or adviser on a moment's notice - and God forbid if they are busy and can't stop their lives for our "special peers" who expect them to be at their beck and call. I mean, the world does not revolve around them, nor does it revolve around the wonderful people who have to pace back and forth in the eating sections in Mary Graydon Center and pick up the trash from our "special peers" because they are "entitled" to leave it wherever they please. How many of you have ever heard our "special peers" say this phrase: "I pay your salary." Yes, I'm sure you have heard that many times, and if you haven't, then you are probably the one who is saying it. I feel ashamed because as an undergraduate, I had said it in my mind before, but I never said it out loud because I was raised better than that. I quickly got over those thoughts due to my respect toward people. These workers with whom we deal on a daily basis have lives, feelings, families, children (who are older than our "special peers" and me) and a tough job. How dare anyone, especially someone who is aged 17 to 22, disrespect these workers with the phrase "I pay your salary." Would you want anyone, especially someone your age, disrespecting your mother or father like that? I don't think so. But for some reason our "special peers" feel that they have the right to disrespect the staff at AU if they are upset.
The next characteristic is also a common one of our "special peers." When I first started reading how that poor student's day was being sucked into the AU "black hole," I felt frustrated also. Then I started to read the piece again. Last Wednesday this student had to be subjected to the black hole. "Tick, tock, tick, tock, [his] day just being wasted." The nonsense of the bureaucracy of this campus was appalling. This poor student had to register yet was stuck in financial aid and the registrar's and advising. Then it hit me: Why was this student trying to take care of all these issues on the same day that he could register? Maybe the wasted day had nothing to due with any type of bureaucracy, but maybe the wasted day had something to due with our "special peer's" lack of responsibility and poor planning. Wow, what a concept. I mean, I saw my advisor weeks ago, about two weeks before I could register, made sure I was authorized and registered for my classes when my day came up in less than five minutes. Better planning on my part? Possibly, or maybe I was just one of the lucky ones who didn't get infected by that awful "Screw The Student" virus. You see, my computer has a firewall called "responsibility." I had to learn as a graduate student that if I get screwed, the first person I need to find blame with is myself, not someone who has a caseload of 250 of our "special peers."
I would like to tell our "special peers" that there are no "mystical forces of the universe" working against them. Their attitude of entitlement and their lack of responsibility are the only forces at work. I also would like to tell them that they are adults now in an adult world, so it is time to act like it. Save the tantrums for mommy's living room in the Hamptons. Personally, I feel honored and lucky that I have had the opportunity to receive a higher education, and I would like to thank all of faculty, staff and offices at AU for helping me achieve it. They work hard, and it is not easy running a little city like AU. I leave you with a saying that a very wise man once told me. "Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine"
