I WOULD LIKE TO apologize for my comments about the dorms less than two weeks ago.
In that column, I wrote about the experience of moving in early to the dorms, and I was critical of that part of my first few days.
If any reader meets anyone who likes moving, let me know. I could use a helping hand next May.
I apologize, even if there̢۪s no reason that dorm management or staff should take offense from that. I really shouldn̢۪t take a chance with people who have that rare power to annoy me.
After all, I heard through the grapevine that many dorm staff and management are pretty angry about what I wrote in that column.
I figure it’s probably the comparing the dorms to “seedy roach traps,â€Â adding that the comparison was unfair to the roach traps.
To clarify how that̢۪s possible, I went on to say that, in my opinion, cheekiness and cheeriness on the part of the staff make a dorm room so hard to put up with.
I also said that despite the staff̢۪s cheekiness and cheeriness, roaches are more reliable, knowledgeable and friendly than any staff member I̢۪ve ever met working behind the Atrium desk.
I̢۪m sorry. I should have explained why I have such particular distaste for people paid to be my friends, why I never trust them.
Rationally, I always worry that their paycheck might bounce. That prejudice is unfounded, and I apologize.
Of course, that̢۪s not to say I don̢۪t like people who work at University Courtyard. I have many friends who later decided to work there in some capacity.
Easily more than half of them constantly, privately complain about poor rapport with residents and fellow staff, and most are seriously frustrated by the sometimes unethical but somehow legal working conditions over past years and summers.
Just because I̢۪ve heard it every year I̢۪ve lived in the dorms doesn̢۪t mean I̢۪ll hear it this year.
Anyway, if it prepares them for corporate America, it̢۪s good for them.
In any case, I just chalk it up to how some of my friends working at the dorms are often immature and ill-prepared to work in a professional environment. Even though most of them aren̢۪t.
Most especially, I apologize to Deborah- — in a secretarial pool, there’s always someone named Deborah — who can’t read a copy of The Collegian, her favorite paper, without cursing my name.
For some reason, I have a feeling my apology lacks credibility. Maybe this will help.
With God as my witness, I didn’t laugh uproariously for several minutes when I heard — in the dining hall, no less — that I got someone childishly mad for my few comments that weren’t self-deprecating in a mostly-positive column.
I laughed uproariously for barely a few seconds.
Why would I tease the dorms when they̢۪re such an easy target?
I didn̢۪t say that there sure are a whole lot of freshmen that move out within or just after a single contracted school year.
I didn̢۪t say how, with a frugal budget, a semester of the dorms for a semester could instead pay for rent, utilities, food, gas, Internet, textbooks and a half of tuition for the same period, with a little left over.
I never complained about the cafeteria food, or how most of it — besides the fruit and vegetables — looks about as edible as it did four years ago, no matter the actual health content.
I could care less for these complaints.
I like the convenience of on-campus living almost as much as I like actual menu items like deep-fried burritos, all-you-can-eat donuts and greasy chorizo.
They̢۪re part of my college experience.
The dorms are great for people who don̢۪t like talking to anyone. The way I look at it, it̢۪s preparing me for the apartment experience.
Until then, I like the dorms. It has nothing to do with the people who work there.
Benjamin Baxter is a post-baccalaureate student working toward his high school credential in social science. This is his fourth straight year of living in the dorms and of making the same sandwich at the RDH.
does anyone have a brain • Sep 28, 2007 at 1:31 pm
This has to be the poorest attempt at journalism I have ever read. I really do not understand how you can put down your fellow writers because they write about what people are talking about, then call them a rasict; but you put this crap out there for everyone to see that you are an absolute idiot. please forget how to type and save us all the pain of reading this shit!
oh, and in case you forgot, I looked over some of your comments from a while ago, so your own words can now bite you in the butt
while racists and bigots of all kinds have the right to free speech and expression of their thought, that doesn̢۪t make them any less bigoted and thoughtless. Chew on that.
does anyone have a brain • Sep 28, 2007 at 8:31 pm
This has to be the poorest attempt at journalism I have ever read. I really do not understand how you can put down your fellow writers because they write about what people are talking about, then call them a rasict; but you put this crap out there for everyone to see that you are an absolute idiot. please forget how to type and save us all the pain of reading this shit!
oh, and in case you forgot, I looked over some of your comments from a while ago, so your own words can now bite you in the butt
while racists and bigots of all kinds have the right to free speech and expression of their thought, that doesn’t make them any less bigoted and thoughtless. Chew on that.
Heather Billings • Sep 20, 2007 at 11:48 pm
I find it amusingly ironic that the story on Iraq has only four comments while this opinion (an oft-overlooked word, methinks) article is such a hotbed of intellectual debate.
Heather Billings • Sep 21, 2007 at 6:48 am
I find it amusingly ironic that the story on Iraq has only four comments while this opinion (an oft-overlooked word, methinks) article is such a hotbed of intellectual debate.
Michael Stivik • Sep 21, 2007 at 4:59 am
People is the Baker Hall used to vomit in the bathroom sinks after a hard night of pounding Bud Lights.
I was like — “c’mon, find a toilet, fellas.”
Michael Stivik • Sep 20, 2007 at 9:59 pm
People is the Baker Hall used to vomit in the bathroom sinks after a hard night of pounding Bud Lights.
I was like — “c’mon, find a toilet, fellas.”
Roach Motel • Sep 20, 2007 at 12:03 pm
the meal plan was a rip, but the best value I could find while living there was to get the 7 meal plan and share a bedroom in the suites. It was still a rip but much better than the price to live in a community hall. Now those things could get funky when you got a ton of smelly dudes occupying one floor and one bathroom.
Roach Motel • Sep 20, 2007 at 7:03 pm
the meal plan was a rip, but the best value I could find while living there was to get the 7 meal plan and share a bedroom in the suites. It was still a rip but much better than the price to live in a community hall. Now those things could get funky when you got a ton of smelly dudes occupying one floor and one bathroom.
Benjamin Baxter • Sep 20, 2007 at 11:57 am
I am a filthy, disgusting individual — with a penchant for hyperbole.
When something is obviously an exaggeration that could not be taken for fact, there’s no point going up in arms about it. It’s not like people believe it.
I state very clearly that I like disgusting food, and I like convenience, and I’ve stayed there past my undergraduate work. All in all, I like the dorms. Unlike the almost equally overpriced apartments near campus, I don’t have to cross streets to get home.
Then again, in the years I’ve lived at the dorms, I’ve heard these complaints again and again and again and again. As such, I strictly attribute them to people other than myself.
If my obvious exaggerations about dorm living in that first, self-deprecating column got people angry — it was innocent, with a rare positive outlook at the end — I thought I’d dedicate this whole column to the subject.
And, because it’s a column, I slathered it — rather unartfully, I might add — with sarcasm. There’s an art to it.
It’s not like I didn’t make allowances. I said the dozens of people who’ve consistently complained while working for the dorms might be irresponsible.
Many of them usually were, as complainers like myself and most of you tend to be.
I even mentioned that the cafeteria has added quite a lot of healthy options lately. It’s not like I take advantage of them.
It’s probably because I’m a disgusting individual.
Benjamin Baxter • Sep 20, 2007 at 6:57 pm
I am a filthy, disgusting individual — with a penchant for hyperbole.
When something is obviously an exaggeration that could not be taken for fact, there’s no point going up in arms about it. It’s not like people believe it.
I state very clearly that I like disgusting food, and I like convenience, and I’ve stayed there past my undergraduate work. All in all, I like the dorms. Unlike the almost equally overpriced apartments near campus, I don’t have to cross streets to get home.
Then again, in the years I’ve lived at the dorms, I’ve heard these complaints again and again and again and again. As such, I strictly attribute them to people other than myself.
If my obvious exaggerations about dorm living in that first, self-deprecating column got people angry — it was innocent, with a rare positive outlook at the end — I thought I’d dedicate this whole column to the subject.
And, because it’s a column, I slathered it — rather unartfully, I might add — with sarcasm. There’s an art to it.
It’s not like I didn’t make allowances. I said the dozens of people who’ve consistently complained while working for the dorms might be irresponsible.
Many of them usually were, as complainers like myself and most of you tend to be.
I even mentioned that the cafeteria has added quite a lot of healthy options lately. It’s not like I take advantage of them.
It’s probably because I’m a disgusting individual.
Opinion • Sep 20, 2007 at 10:09 am
ok so this is my third year living on campus.
i don’t think the dorms are a seedy roach motel, but i do think they could be better. they aren’t the worst ever (obviously or i would have moved out), but they do provide amazing convenience for a fresno state student that doesn’t want to find a non-existent open parking spot in the morning and can wake up ten minutes before their first class.
the people working at the atrium desk in the past have proved to meto be typically rude or incompetent. but this is a new year and i’ve yet to inexperience this. maybe i’ve only gone to the atrium on good days or maybe they are getting kinder… either way i’m hopeful for a brighter future.
as for the food. ok really… if you live on campus they force you to buy a meal plan! i would say that’s pretty darn presumptuous to think that all the people who live on campus want or like the food in the UCD (university courtyard dining), or RDH (Resident Dining Hall), or RDF (Resident Dining Facility), or STD (Student Teacher Dining), or whatever the heck it’s currently called…
i think it’s absolutely ridiculous that they force me to buy meals that cost me $8 and not make the food better than a $3 combo meal at good ol T Bell! i just dont understand. i try to think of it as a math problem. 2000 students x $8 a meal should = decent food that is both delicious and nutritious. but no. it really =not very appetizing food with limited healthy choices. i don’t get it, but maybe because i’m not gifted at math, on the other hand it could be because the dining hall isn’t gifted at cooking…
Opinion • Sep 20, 2007 at 5:09 pm
ok so this is my third year living on campus.
i don’t think the dorms are a seedy roach motel, but i do think they could be better. they aren’t the worst ever (obviously or i would have moved out), but they do provide amazing convenience for a fresno state student that doesn’t want to find a non-existent open parking spot in the morning and can wake up ten minutes before their first class.
the people working at the atrium desk in the past have proved to meto be typically rude or incompetent. but this is a new year and i’ve yet to inexperience this. maybe i’ve only gone to the atrium on good days or maybe they are getting kinder… either way i’m hopeful for a brighter future.
as for the food. ok really… if you live on campus they force you to buy a meal plan! i would say that’s pretty darn presumptuous to think that all the people who live on campus want or like the food in the UCD (university courtyard dining), or RDH (Resident Dining Hall), or RDF (Resident Dining Facility), or STD (Student Teacher Dining), or whatever the heck it’s currently called…
i think it’s absolutely ridiculous that they force me to buy meals that cost me $8 and not make the food better than a $3 combo meal at good ol T Bell! i just dont understand. i try to think of it as a math problem. 2000 students x $8 a meal should = decent food that is both delicious and nutritious. but no. it really =not very appetizing food with limited healthy choices. i don’t get it, but maybe because i’m not gifted at math, on the other hand it could be because the dining hall isn’t gifted at cooking…
Roach Motel • Sep 20, 2007 at 9:19 am
The dorms can be a seedy roach motel, depending on how disgusting you let the place get. It’s possible that Benjamin is a disgusting individual.
My time at the dorms was probably the most fun I’ve had. Just wait till you graduate and don’t live with your friends, have to clean your own bathroom and don’t have hot food waiting for you just a few feet away. And the part about going to work isn’t fun either. Problem is that you most likely love your time at the dorms for the most part, but feel some sort of power in printing bad things about the people who work there and attacking something that can’t really defend itself.
However, I don’t agree that the price is justified for most students. If you’re willing and able to go into a bit of debt because you enjoy the experience enough, it’s fine. But to say the RDH and pool make half a bedroom worth about 900 bucks a month is a stretch, especially while connected to a budget university like Fresno State.
I do agree that this opinion piece is power tripping and sarcasm at its worst.
and “I could care less” is just incorrect usage. I doubt your editor can bring his or herself to actually read any of these columns anyway though.
Roach Motel • Sep 20, 2007 at 4:19 pm
The dorms can be a seedy roach motel, depending on how disgusting you let the place get. It’s possible that Benjamin is a disgusting individual.
My time at the dorms was probably the most fun I’ve had. Just wait till you graduate and don’t live with your friends, have to clean your own bathroom and don’t have hot food waiting for you just a few feet away. And the part about going to work isn’t fun either. Problem is that you most likely love your time at the dorms for the most part, but feel some sort of power in printing bad things about the people who work there and attacking something that can’t really defend itself.
However, I don’t agree that the price is justified for most students. If you’re willing and able to go into a bit of debt because you enjoy the experience enough, it’s fine. But to say the RDH and pool make half a bedroom worth about 900 bucks a month is a stretch, especially while connected to a budget university like Fresno State.
I do agree that this opinion piece is power tripping and sarcasm at its worst.
and “I could care less” is just incorrect usage. I doubt your editor can bring his or herself to actually read any of these columns anyway though.
Benjamin Baxter • Sep 20, 2007 at 8:08 am
You have a coherent, organized and well-indented opinion. I’ve never felt so proud to be a fellow Fresno State graduate.
Thank you for sharing.
Benjamin Baxter • Sep 20, 2007 at 3:08 pm
You have a coherent, organized and well-indented opinion. I’ve never felt so proud to be a fellow Fresno State graduate.
Thank you for sharing.
Bobbi • Sep 19, 2007 at 7:01 pm
I feel bad that you take such delight in complaining about your surroundings. Frankly, the dorms are not the only “convenient” option for a Fresno State student. There are apartment complexes within walking distance from the school, so to say that “convenience” is the only thing that keeps you on campus is a little stupid. Think about it . . . You argue that the money would be better put towards rent, groceries, internet, etc., but do you really take into consideration the money you’re saving? Think about it . . . A pool, free internet access, and several amenities that aren’t available in off-campus housing (save for maybe the pool). Is it because you’re bitter that mommy and daddy will only pay for the dorms and you can’t manage to get a job? Shame, shame. Before you piss where you eat, you should actually appologize (in not such a back-handed way) to the staff who are trained to treat all residents equally and with the utmost respect and customer service. The dorms are a business just like any other, and while you may have had a handful of not-so-great experiences over your, what- four years?- in the dorms, by and large the staff that University Courtyard employs are kind, courteous people. I feel very sorry for you that you feel the need to take out your frustrations on them, and frankly, I don’t blame them for getting mad. Rightfully so. After all, you’re the asshole who chooses to offend the staff members who are paid not to be your friend (do you have them?), but to be a good representative of customer service, and then has the gall to feebly argue that the only thing that keeps you living there is “convenience.” Let’s face it . . . Not everything about life is convenient, and it’s time that you put on your big-boy pants, suck it up and behave in a manner appropriate to good journalism. I used to know someone who worked for the Collegian (long before you started writing for it), and I’m sorry to say that I’ve seen a severe decline in the quality of journalism since. I used to live in the dorms, and while they weren’t the biggest paradise I could think of, they were far from a “seedy roach motel” and my reason for moving off campus ended up being “graduation.” Four years. Obviously, they weren’t that bad . . . I mean, after all, you with all of your fine taste are still there aren’t you? Shame on you, Benjamin . . . You slander good people who are just trying to do their job, verbally assault their work environment, and all for the attention and egotism that is your opinion column.
Bobbi • Sep 20, 2007 at 2:01 am
I feel bad that you take such delight in complaining about your surroundings. Frankly, the dorms are not the only “convenient” option for a Fresno State student. There are apartment complexes within walking distance from the school, so to say that “convenience” is the only thing that keeps you on campus is a little stupid. Think about it . . . You argue that the money would be better put towards rent, groceries, internet, etc., but do you really take into consideration the money you’re saving? Think about it . . . A pool, free internet access, and several amenities that aren’t available in off-campus housing (save for maybe the pool). Is it because you’re bitter that mommy and daddy will only pay for the dorms and you can’t manage to get a job? Shame, shame. Before you piss where you eat, you should actually appologize (in not such a back-handed way) to the staff who are trained to treat all residents equally and with the utmost respect and customer service. The dorms are a business just like any other, and while you may have had a handful of not-so-great experiences over your, what- four years?- in the dorms, by and large the staff that University Courtyard employs are kind, courteous people. I feel very sorry for you that you feel the need to take out your frustrations on them, and frankly, I don’t blame them for getting mad. Rightfully so. After all, you’re the asshole who chooses to offend the staff members who are paid not to be your friend (do you have them?), but to be a good representative of customer service, and then has the gall to feebly argue that the only thing that keeps you living there is “convenience.” Let’s face it . . . Not everything about life is convenient, and it’s time that you put on your big-boy pants, suck it up and behave in a manner appropriate to good journalism. I used to know someone who worked for the Collegian (long before you started writing for it), and I’m sorry to say that I’ve seen a severe decline in the quality of journalism since. I used to live in the dorms, and while they weren’t the biggest paradise I could think of, they were far from a “seedy roach motel” and my reason for moving off campus ended up being “graduation.” Four years. Obviously, they weren’t that bad . . . I mean, after all, you with all of your fine taste are still there aren’t you? Shame on you, Benjamin . . . You slander good people who are just trying to do their job, verbally assault their work environment, and all for the attention and egotism that is your opinion column.
Davis Carr • Sep 18, 2007 at 11:20 pm
the dorms sound kind of sassy. My roommates and I once posted a bunch of Maxim and Stuff magazine model cutouts on our bedroom windows, and the RA’s and TA’s, or whatever the hell those people are called, actually had the audacity to come and force us to remove them because a woman who walked her kid past the dorms complained. We were like, “You’re on a gosh darn college campus—what d’ya expect?”
Davis Carr • Sep 19, 2007 at 6:20 am
the dorms sound kind of sassy. My roommates and I once posted a bunch of Maxim and Stuff magazine model cutouts on our bedroom windows, and the RA’s and TA’s, or whatever the hell those people are called, actually had the audacity to come and force us to remove them because a woman who walked her kid past the dorms complained. We were like, “You’re on a gosh darn college campus—what d’ya expect?”
Jonathon • Sep 18, 2007 at 5:12 pm
yeah i used to work for the dorms… i completely concur with everything that was said here. I don’t know why anyone get mad about anything said here its all basic knowledge to anyone who has had any kind of dealings with the dorms.
Yes I was Fired from staff!
yes this is who you think it is…
Hey the frustration was a daily part of the routine over there at the University Courtyard. I remember this one time administrators were working the hell out of everybody.
In response they gave us popcorn and a bunch of pointess items such as bubble gum and paperclips.
i’ve never been more insulted in my life…
DO YOUR THING BENJAMIN!!!!
Jonathon • Sep 19, 2007 at 12:12 am
yeah i used to work for the dorms… i completely concur with everything that was said here. I don’t know why anyone get mad about anything said here its all basic knowledge to anyone who has had any kind of dealings with the dorms.
Yes I was Fired from staff!
yes this is who you think it is…
Hey the frustration was a daily part of the routine over there at the University Courtyard. I remember this one time administrators were working the hell out of everybody.
In response they gave us popcorn and a bunch of pointess items such as bubble gum and paperclips.
i’ve never been more insulted in my life…
DO YOUR THING BENJAMIN!!!!
Benjamin Baxter • Sep 18, 2007 at 9:01 am
Besides, hating on the dorms has pretty universal appeal.
Benjamin Baxter • Sep 18, 2007 at 4:01 pm
Besides, hating on the dorms has pretty universal appeal.
Benjamin Baxter • Sep 18, 2007 at 9:00 am
For all I knew, only four people working at the dorms even read this stuff. It’s nice to get feedback to the contrary for once.
Benjamin Baxter • Sep 18, 2007 at 4:00 pm
For all I knew, only four people working at the dorms even read this stuff. It’s nice to get feedback to the contrary for once.
wtf • Sep 17, 2007 at 4:00 pm
You wrote a piece that maybe four people are interested in, with most of it being rehash from a few weeks ago.
I’m not one of the people interested, either.
Only about 2,000 of the 20,000-plus students live on the dorms anyway.
wtf • Sep 17, 2007 at 11:00 pm
You wrote a piece that maybe four people are interested in, with most of it being rehash from a few weeks ago.
I’m not one of the people interested, either.
Only about 2,000 of the 20,000-plus students live on the dorms anyway.