The past semester and so and so and so, I've noticed a particular trend at work. And although it ticks me off, I need to approach this from the outside.
I had to clean tables yesterday. Many people don't know what my job is. My job, when I clean tables, is to stock condiment trays and clean tables. And the *occasional* spill. I had several people tell me to throw their food away from them. One girl even literally slammed an empty water bottle in front of me without even looking at me.
Do I throw their stuff away? Eventually, yes. Many students (yes! fellow students! academic compadres! my own demographic and culture!) leave it on the table (with the occasional lugee) for me to clean up for them. So I'm left wondering: is this people being rude or is this cultural? One of the things we, all of us, tend to forget is that University Park is truly a melting pot of people and cultures. PSU is provides jobs and education to people from all over the world, so even in University Park alone, hundreds and thousands of different cultures and worldviews are present at any one time. And the design of some of these dining halls (Redifer) may lend itself to fostering this sort of barbaric hostility by emulating a sort of metropolitan large-eating area where people can just leave trash around for workers to pick up.
And I've seen this hostility extend to the OPP and Housing. People need to stop and think about what exactly workers do when they're working. It all goes back to the idea of personal responsibility. I ran into one guy yesterday who accidentally spilled a container of syrup on the table. He took the towel out of my hands and cleaned it himself. Usually, people don't even tell me when they have a spill in the commons, and he was gung-ho about taking care of it for me. That's personal responsibility. That's what needs to be exercised here more often, even at places as simple and common as the dining commons.
Or McDonald's or College Pizza. I feel so bad for people working the night shifts on weekends. I've seen many a Taco Bell worker endure the bane of college student behavior, amplified by drunken stupidity and rage. No matter what state I'm in, sick, angry, drunk, or just downright out of it, I make it a point to be as kind to retail, food service, and housing workers as I can. Especially here at Penn State, where we're all pretty much doing the same thing, it's important to carry personal responsibility and appreciation for everyone.
I mentioned this video and song at a party last night. I think it's sort of fitting.
Okay, maybe not. But my argument stands.
I had to clean tables yesterday. Many people don't know what my job is. My job, when I clean tables, is to stock condiment trays and clean tables. And the *occasional* spill. I had several people tell me to throw their food away from them. One girl even literally slammed an empty water bottle in front of me without even looking at me.
Do I throw their stuff away? Eventually, yes. Many students (yes! fellow students! academic compadres! my own demographic and culture!) leave it on the table (with the occasional lugee) for me to clean up for them. So I'm left wondering: is this people being rude or is this cultural? One of the things we, all of us, tend to forget is that University Park is truly a melting pot of people and cultures. PSU is provides jobs and education to people from all over the world, so even in University Park alone, hundreds and thousands of different cultures and worldviews are present at any one time. And the design of some of these dining halls (Redifer) may lend itself to fostering this sort of barbaric hostility by emulating a sort of metropolitan large-eating area where people can just leave trash around for workers to pick up.
And I've seen this hostility extend to the OPP and Housing. People need to stop and think about what exactly workers do when they're working. It all goes back to the idea of personal responsibility. I ran into one guy yesterday who accidentally spilled a container of syrup on the table. He took the towel out of my hands and cleaned it himself. Usually, people don't even tell me when they have a spill in the commons, and he was gung-ho about taking care of it for me. That's personal responsibility. That's what needs to be exercised here more often, even at places as simple and common as the dining commons.
Or McDonald's or College Pizza. I feel so bad for people working the night shifts on weekends. I've seen many a Taco Bell worker endure the bane of college student behavior, amplified by drunken stupidity and rage. No matter what state I'm in, sick, angry, drunk, or just downright out of it, I make it a point to be as kind to retail, food service, and housing workers as I can. Especially here at Penn State, where we're all pretty much doing the same thing, it's important to carry personal responsibility and appreciation for everyone.
I mentioned this video and song at a party last night. I think it's sort of fitting.
Okay, maybe not. But my argument stands.
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