Thursday, April 14, 2011
The Health Center Sucks
Today when I woke up, I immediately knew that I have a sinus infection. After thinking about how much it sucks I knew that I needed to do something about it. I didn't even think twice before I decided to go to an urgent care facility instead of the health center. I think I've been to the health center twice this year and luckily, both times I was actually able to get a prescription which is practically unheard of. However, the catch was that I exaggerated the severity of my symptoms and the duration of my illness...that is literally the only way they were prescribe you antibiotics right away. I learned this because in previous years, I would go in with the same illness/symptoms (usually a sinus infection because I get them three times a year like its clockwork) but say that they just started and they would tell me to wait it out, claiming that "doctors now-a-days say to let your illness drag out and you can usually get better on your own." Yeah....that is complete bullshit. Since when has any credible doctor advised someone to let an infection drag on? That would be never. And almost all they give you in the time being is a brown paper bag with salt packets and Advil..yeah that's going to do something. Not. In addition, its almost impossible to see the doctor during the week because she is completely booked and only she can write a prescription. My favorite part is when they tell you to take Musinex D for every illness you come in with. Today, when I was at Urgent Care, my doctor told me under no circumstances to take Musinex because it would dry my sinuses out and make me feel worse. What sound advice the health center nurses have. Anyway, I was in and out of there in less than an hour which is about the same time it would take if you already had an appointment at the doctor with the health center. The copay was $35 but that also covered my prescription, a free refill, and some nasal spray. Definitely worth it. Plus, depending on your insurance, it could probably cost even less. Needless to say, my advice for students who know that they are really sick and need antibiotics, go to an urgent care instead of the health center. You will be helped faster, get better advice, and get everything you need rather than waste your time waiting around for someone that will not help you.
Friday, April 8, 2011
I just wanted to write about how much I love twitter. I've only had it for a few days, but it has no been added to my list of websites that I check every time I get on the computer (facebook, email, and yahoo news). It not only is fun to follow your friends, who meaninglessly update what they are doing every few minutes, but following celebrities and news sources is a lot of fun too, and can be educational. While following your favorite celebrities is not, you still get the entertainment factor. Right now, I'm following Rain Wilson from the Office, Daniel Tosh, Will Ferrell, Snooki, and Stephen Colbert to name a few, and they are hilarious. It's really nice to get on Twitter and have a little laugh about what these characters say to brighten your day. On the other hand, I'm following Speaker of the House, John Boener, which is very informative because I now know a lot of what is going on the the passage of certain bills and the government lock out. I also plan to follow some news sources so that I can get up-to-date news at any time. It is very convenient for that. In addition, its fun. And it allows you to stop updating your statuses on Facebook, which is something that drives me nuts. Some people treat Facebook like it is a Twitter which is really annoying. But that is exactly what Twitter is for, to be annoying and post what you are doing every two seconds. I would not say that Facebook should be used in the same way. SO if you are one of those annoying people on Facebook that blows up everyone's news feeds with your meaningless shit, I would advise you to get a Twitter, it is much better for that!
Racist Radio
It is really interesting how an incident of racism on a college campus can stir up so much controversy, yet everyday listeners of a popular Springfield radio station that is extremely racist, do not say a word.
The radio station that I am talking about is 102.9 which plays mostly rap, hip hop, and r & b music. Since most of these genres of music are played by black artists, I don't see a problem that the radio station plays mostly music composed by black artists. But I do have a huge problem with their commentators, specifically "Russ Par and the morning show."
I work at 8am every day, and am driving for the bulk of the time so I have done a lot of listening of the radio and specifically 102.9 because I love the music they play. But one day, I heard something that really disturbed me. It was black history month and Russ Par was asking if listeners would call in to answer questions about important figures in the African American freedom movement. This seems fine so far, but then he said "We only want black listeners to call in because other people just don't understand as well, or aren't as aware of the black figures that made these strides." ARE YOU KIDDING ME? He even admitted he was being a little racist but wasn't doing it "directly." How much more direct can you be? Other people don't understand? I don't think that is true. In addition, there were many white people who positively contributed to the movement as well, and they did not get any recognition on the air. I don't understand how ignorant some people can be. And they wonder why there is still racism in America. It is because of the little things like this. It is the ignorance of it all. And this isn't the first time they have said things that were outright racist towards whites or have had programming that is specifically targeting African Americans and encouraging them that the world is still the worst place for them...
In another recent show, they were convincing people that property tax increases or just the principle of high property taxes in neighborhoods that are primarily black, are issued so that they move out of the neighborhood. Do people really have no clue what property taxes function as and why they are raised in certain areas? Most of the time, they directly correlate with increases in standards of living, and a majority of the taxes go toward the funding of public schools. If there are public schools that the government believes are doing very well or want to do better, they will try to increase their funding by raising property taxes. It is not a race issue whatsoever. So encouraging listeners who clearly are not knowledgeable on the subject that they skepticism of property taxes correlation with the demographics of neighborhoods is not doing any good. All it is doing is increasing racist feelings among citizens.
It just really makes me mad that a radio station, which defines the democratic values that free speech has in America is still used improperly and offensively to certain racial groups. If the radio station was the other way around, white people only letting other white people call in, or saying that their group was undermined in society for completely unrelated reasons, there would be complete uproar and drama. If African Americans expect the race problem to go away then they also need to stop contributing to it.
The radio station that I am talking about is 102.9 which plays mostly rap, hip hop, and r & b music. Since most of these genres of music are played by black artists, I don't see a problem that the radio station plays mostly music composed by black artists. But I do have a huge problem with their commentators, specifically "Russ Par and the morning show."
I work at 8am every day, and am driving for the bulk of the time so I have done a lot of listening of the radio and specifically 102.9 because I love the music they play. But one day, I heard something that really disturbed me. It was black history month and Russ Par was asking if listeners would call in to answer questions about important figures in the African American freedom movement. This seems fine so far, but then he said "We only want black listeners to call in because other people just don't understand as well, or aren't as aware of the black figures that made these strides." ARE YOU KIDDING ME? He even admitted he was being a little racist but wasn't doing it "directly." How much more direct can you be? Other people don't understand? I don't think that is true. In addition, there were many white people who positively contributed to the movement as well, and they did not get any recognition on the air. I don't understand how ignorant some people can be. And they wonder why there is still racism in America. It is because of the little things like this. It is the ignorance of it all. And this isn't the first time they have said things that were outright racist towards whites or have had programming that is specifically targeting African Americans and encouraging them that the world is still the worst place for them...
In another recent show, they were convincing people that property tax increases or just the principle of high property taxes in neighborhoods that are primarily black, are issued so that they move out of the neighborhood. Do people really have no clue what property taxes function as and why they are raised in certain areas? Most of the time, they directly correlate with increases in standards of living, and a majority of the taxes go toward the funding of public schools. If there are public schools that the government believes are doing very well or want to do better, they will try to increase their funding by raising property taxes. It is not a race issue whatsoever. So encouraging listeners who clearly are not knowledgeable on the subject that they skepticism of property taxes correlation with the demographics of neighborhoods is not doing any good. All it is doing is increasing racist feelings among citizens.
It just really makes me mad that a radio station, which defines the democratic values that free speech has in America is still used improperly and offensively to certain racial groups. If the radio station was the other way around, white people only letting other white people call in, or saying that their group was undermined in society for completely unrelated reasons, there would be complete uproar and drama. If African Americans expect the race problem to go away then they also need to stop contributing to it.
Scheduling
Personally, I've never had a problem with scheduling. I came to Wittenberg with a few extra credits from AP classes I took in high school so I was one of the first groups of freshman to schedule. Since then, I've only dropped one class and have taken a summer internship that gave me 8 extra credits so that I would be even more ahead of the game, especially when it comes to scheduling.
Honestly, I laugh at a lot of the people that have trouble with scheduling because they are the people that have dropped multiple classes, are behind in credits, or don't take the initiative to email a professor beforehand to at least ask them if they could potentially save them a spot for a particular class or add them in. I think that Wittenberg's system of scheduling is the best way they could possibly do it, with students' number of credits determining how early or late they schedule. It is the most fair way to do it because it would really piss a lot of people off if the lazy students that don't even give a shit about school and drop a class because it gets a little too hard for them, scheduled before everyone else.
So the system is not the problem, but I think the number of classes offered for certain majors is. I do feel for a lot of Communication students because the Comm department really does not offer enough 300 level classes for upperclassmen or even underclassmen who want to get ahead. I've had several friends that have gotten closed out of several Comm classes every single semester. Must be frustrating. But at the same time, if you know what you want your major to be early on, then I would suggest that you start chipping away at classes as soon as possible. I'm really happy that I did it that way. I finished my political science major the first semester of my junior year, except for methods. Essentially, all have to do to graduate is take two more classes for each of my minors, and I have been able to do so along with taking on 12 credits for 3 semesters of college. Convenient huh?
Honestly, if students just took some initiative to do things the right way and not save all of their important classes for their last two years, they will have a lot less pressure to stuff classes into their schedules to graduate. Balance is key. Like taking two gen ed's and two major/minor classes per semester. It's really not that complicated and it makes scheduling a lot less complicated as well.
Honestly, I laugh at a lot of the people that have trouble with scheduling because they are the people that have dropped multiple classes, are behind in credits, or don't take the initiative to email a professor beforehand to at least ask them if they could potentially save them a spot for a particular class or add them in. I think that Wittenberg's system of scheduling is the best way they could possibly do it, with students' number of credits determining how early or late they schedule. It is the most fair way to do it because it would really piss a lot of people off if the lazy students that don't even give a shit about school and drop a class because it gets a little too hard for them, scheduled before everyone else.
So the system is not the problem, but I think the number of classes offered for certain majors is. I do feel for a lot of Communication students because the Comm department really does not offer enough 300 level classes for upperclassmen or even underclassmen who want to get ahead. I've had several friends that have gotten closed out of several Comm classes every single semester. Must be frustrating. But at the same time, if you know what you want your major to be early on, then I would suggest that you start chipping away at classes as soon as possible. I'm really happy that I did it that way. I finished my political science major the first semester of my junior year, except for methods. Essentially, all have to do to graduate is take two more classes for each of my minors, and I have been able to do so along with taking on 12 credits for 3 semesters of college. Convenient huh?
Honestly, if students just took some initiative to do things the right way and not save all of their important classes for their last two years, they will have a lot less pressure to stuff classes into their schedules to graduate. Balance is key. Like taking two gen ed's and two major/minor classes per semester. It's really not that complicated and it makes scheduling a lot less complicated as well.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Spring Break
This is a little delayed, but I guess I could talk about what I did on spring break here in the lovely Springfield Ohio. I left to go home to buffalo the Friday before spring break and spent the long weekend at home by hanging out with my family and friends. My parents and I went to a movie (I can't remember what is was but I know it was good) and one night I ventured downtown for one of my good friends' 21st birthday. Unfortunately, the weekend was up before I knew it and I had to head back to school on Tuesday in time to make my LSAT class in Dayton. One of my friends needed a ride back to Ohio State so luckily, I was able to have company for five out of the six hours I was driving. I got back home to my boyfriends house that I stayed at the rest of break, in time to make dinner and then hit the road again :( needless to say, it was a long day. On Wednesday I mostly cleaned up the house until I had to work for my soccer coach in the evening. On both Wednesday and Friday, I helped him train younger club teams from the Springfield area. It was a lot of fun, I loved interacting with the little kids and it was so funny to see them play. Sometimes I wish I was still that age. Friday was also and interesting day though, as I got a flat tire on the way to "fake and bake" so I wouldn't look so pale compared to everyone that was coming back from their spring break trips to Florida and beyond. I guess people just leave metal rods in the middle of the road :( So I had to call AAA to put my spare tire on, and all was well from there. However, when I was leaving to work for my coach again early Saturday morning, my spare got a flat as well. Really unfortunate and unlucky, but I'm definitely the one to blame...when I pulled the metal rod out of my tire the first time, I accidentally left it on the road....and then ran over it again...Blonde moment I guess, but I did have a good laugh. But at 7am I had to drive to a place next to Station that fixes tires...and then I had to walk to the HPER from there. Not fun. Regardless, people started coming to Witt so we decided to go out, despite my resiliency at first since I knew I had work at 7am again on Sunday. Long story short, and a few Jim Beam and Cokes later, I was pretty blacked out. I ended up crashing on a friends couch, and not waking up to my alarm at 6am because my phone was in pieces scattered throughout the room. Plus, the clocks turned forward so I ended up being two hours late for work...still drunk...
Friday, March 18, 2011
The Negative Side
I guess I would have to say that one of the most negative aspects about Witt is how much it has changed. Both of my parents went to Witt so needless to say, I've heard countless stories about their endeavors. But I've noticed that Witt has just gotten more tame over the years. We no longer get out of classes early on W day, and there are definitely no longer free kegs in the hollow, anxiously awaiting students' arrival. The music starts at 4:00 and there is a small square of grass reserved for an obnoxiously overpriced beer garden. The most rowdy people on homecoming are the alumni, and I'm not talking about the recently graduated, I mean the over 50 crowd, including my parents. My Sophomore year, a bunch of my Dad's frat brothers came to Witt for homecoming, and initiated me into their "151 Club." Essentially, they went to every football game with a can of Coke filled with 151 proof rum, and only a splash of Coke and would get completely inebriated. Sounds pretty fun if you ask me. And of course they made me drink some and I was soon feeling the effects of what they felt years ago. I loved it, I think those are some of the greatest traditions. Now, barely anyone goes to the football games regularly, and its a stretch to see a lot of people out during the week, and even on Fridays. If anyone else is disappointed in this, I think we should step it up and get people back out. I'm so sick of the excuse that people have too much work. We all have too much work. But if we can get it done during the week so we don't have much to do on the weekends, then why not take advantage of our free time? We only have 4 years at college, and most of us only do it once. So why take things so damn seriously? Is your employer really going to care that you had a 4.0 but did nothing with your time? NO. They will think that your a LOSER. They want people that are well rounded, did well in school, but can still balance other things. I think we can spare a couple of tenths on our GPA. Would you rather get a 3.4 and have fun, or a 4.0 and be miserable? That's what I thought. And I know its hard to believe, but some people can actually do both. Stop taking college so seriously and have some damn fun. Anyone with me?
These are a Few of my Favorite Things
....About Witt. It honestly makes me really sad after reading a lot of your blogs where the negatives of Witt either outweighed the positives, or you couldn't think of any positives at all. I know that I have been frustrated with a lot of different things since I've been here, but at the same time, I don't think I could be any happier. I love this place. I think my favorite thing is all of the people that I have made friends with that I never thought I would get the opportunity to meet. Because people are so involved in Witt, you get to meet so many different groups of people... from different classes, sports teams, Greek life, intramurals, secret societies, student senate, etc. If I didn't play soccer or join my sorority or wasn't involved in other things, I never would have met a lot of amazing people. And maybe it is because I am from NY that I think people are a lot nicer here for the most part, but I have always felt comfortable in the Witt community and college has been drama free for me.
And I know that everyone complains about certain classes and attendance policies and such, but that is one of the reasons I went to Witt. We are PRIVILEGED to have small classes where we can actually have class discussions and raise our hands without being ignored by our professors. Our opinions are respected and challenged, as they will be when we all have jobs. I think that the atmosphere is perfect with that transition, working with small groups of people, giving presentations, speaking our minds. Yes, at times it absolutely sucks. Take it from me, I don't like presentations that much, but they have really improved my public speaking skills and are preparing me for the future. You can't deny that these little things will help you later in life.
I love that everyone still gets as drunk as I did in high school. I know that sounds ridiculous but I don't think I could ever top some of those nights I had my freshman/sophomore year in high school. But at Witt, everyone likes to have a good time and will go to extreme lengths to make sure they do. I rarely have to pay for my own drinks because the party supplies, or the bar goers are generous. At other schools, you have to pay to get into parties...seriously? I think the worst I've had to do is get my own alcohol to pregame with or chip in $5 when we have parties with other sports teams or organizations. Honestly, that's lucky, and not to mention, it saves me from spending all of my money on alcohol. What could be better than that?
If nothing else, I'm proud so say I go to Witt. At the end of the day, despite all of the little things that piss me and everyone else off about this campus, I think that the positives overwhelmingly outweigh the negatives. No, it's not all perfect or glorious, but think about it. I know that you wouldn't trade your Witt community for anything, despite our imperfections. We are all here for a reason, and I think everyone truly loves this place, they just have to consider what they would miss if they never went here.
And I know that everyone complains about certain classes and attendance policies and such, but that is one of the reasons I went to Witt. We are PRIVILEGED to have small classes where we can actually have class discussions and raise our hands without being ignored by our professors. Our opinions are respected and challenged, as they will be when we all have jobs. I think that the atmosphere is perfect with that transition, working with small groups of people, giving presentations, speaking our minds. Yes, at times it absolutely sucks. Take it from me, I don't like presentations that much, but they have really improved my public speaking skills and are preparing me for the future. You can't deny that these little things will help you later in life.
I love that everyone still gets as drunk as I did in high school. I know that sounds ridiculous but I don't think I could ever top some of those nights I had my freshman/sophomore year in high school. But at Witt, everyone likes to have a good time and will go to extreme lengths to make sure they do. I rarely have to pay for my own drinks because the party supplies, or the bar goers are generous. At other schools, you have to pay to get into parties...seriously? I think the worst I've had to do is get my own alcohol to pregame with or chip in $5 when we have parties with other sports teams or organizations. Honestly, that's lucky, and not to mention, it saves me from spending all of my money on alcohol. What could be better than that?
If nothing else, I'm proud so say I go to Witt. At the end of the day, despite all of the little things that piss me and everyone else off about this campus, I think that the positives overwhelmingly outweigh the negatives. No, it's not all perfect or glorious, but think about it. I know that you wouldn't trade your Witt community for anything, despite our imperfections. We are all here for a reason, and I think everyone truly loves this place, they just have to consider what they would miss if they never went here.
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