OPINIONS
Drama... Ain’t Nobody Got Time Fo’ Dat Kibbs Fortilus Contributing Writer “Great people talk about ideas. Average people talk about things. Small people talk about other people...” -Anonymous “This one is for all the [“people”] from my city trying to diss / Without a response from me you really fail to exist” - Drake “He who seeks revenge should remember to dig two graves” - Chinese Proverb “When angry you’ll make the greatest speech you’ll ever regret” - William Ury This is the realest thing I have ever written… Conflict resolution? I will do this in three easy steps… Thank me later. Nobel peace prize, here I come. First, how much does the conflict mean to you? How much do you value this person, what are the spoils if you enter the war? So often, we enter unnecessary conflicts. We hear something negative comments and want to confront the person. What’s the point? Throughout my life, I have accrued twenty-two years of wisdom; I have discovered that by forfeiting small battles, I conserve my energy to address much bigger issues. Here is how I address rumors about me: I spread them myself. It sounds counterintuitive doesn’t it? But it actually makes a lot of sense. I’ve discovered how rumors function. Rumors are meant to attack a person’s character, and what better way to dismiss a rumor than to show that it does not bother you? You rise about the assault by making it satirical. You are able to show your persecutor that you have risen above their childish banter, and you get laughs in the process. Once you can comfortably hyperbolize your personality, both the good and bad, what can someone possibly use against you? Second, if this is a conflict you have with someone who you value, do not wait to solve it. This is a lesson I learned from my best friend, Jeanie Johnson ’13. She introduced me to the “48 Hour Rule.” This rule states that if a conflict
arises, you have 48 hours to reach out to the person to address it, or you have to let it go. Anyone who knows me personally knows I hate passive aggressiveness. I find it to be wasted emotion. The effort one uses to suppress the issue could more productively be used to solve the situation. Jeanie uses the analogy of a wound. She says you should address the wound immediately so as to not be distracted by other things. And in addressing the wound, she warns me to never throw salt on it… Let me explain. The third and final step to conflict resolution is actually addressing the problem. This is properly done through the CAR Method: Calm, Address, and Reconnect. I learned this at a summer camp while working with children and found that it also works with adults. Being calm is the first step. This is where the salt and wound analogy I referred to above comes into play. Do not enter the discussion with malice, seeking revenge, and trying to force your point down someone else’s throat. One of my favorite quotes is, “Choose being kind over being right and you’ll be right every time.” Be calm, and you’ll be amazed at how smoothly the problem is addressed. Finally, and most importantly, don’t forget to reconnect. Make sure that there has been reconciliation and compromise. There should not be any bitter feelings; no one should leave the room feeling cheated, guilty, angry, or frustrated. True friendship will always be tested. I can’t possibly tell you how often Jeanie has confronted me with a problem – usually addressing the fact that I am a horrible texter who responds to her messages a day late… Or sometimes not at all. But conflicts in friendships are what cause them to be stronger. I enjoy the conflict I have with my closest friends because I appreciate their willingness to be honest and vulnerable with me. However, when it comes to drama outside of my close-knit friends… Ain’t nobody got time fo’ dat.
The Roving Reporter “Dinand Cubicle... Not even kidding” –Caroline O’Donnell ‘15
“Dinand, bottom floor way in the corner where no one passes by or talks!” -Dee Ragon ‘13
The Crusader
March 1, 2013
7
Common Cents: Where Can I Pahhhk My Cahhh? Tyler Scionti Sports Co-Editor Last week, we examined the market for clothing here at Holy Cross, and how the prestige of wearing brand name clothing created a situation where as the price goes up people buy more. Well I’ve been in the “market mood,” so let’s take a quick look at another intriguing market: the market for parking passes at HC. The market for parking spaces is an interesting one because much like the market in a Giffen good scenario this is rather different than a traditional supply and demand equilibrium. Too much economic jargon you say? Don’t worry, I’ll explain everything shortly. The law of demand states that as the price of a good goes up, you buy less. The law of supply (quite predictably) is the opposite: as the price of a good suppliers are willing to supply Makes more. sense right? Okay, but that is assuming that both sides have control of the quantity supplied or demanded. For some goods there is a fixed demand that doesn’t change no matter what price is charged (think broad necessities like food or water). There is a similar scenario to supply, the supply curve can be fixed when there is a limit to how many goods can be sold. This plays out in neighborhoods with a fixed number of houses, ballparks with a fixed number of seats, and parking lots/garages where there are a fixed number of spaces. That is the exact scenario that plays out here at Holy Cross, there is a set demand that follows the predictable law of demand, although if we wanted to make things really interesting we could look at the market for in-state students versus out of state students (don’t worry, we won’t). One other level of interest in this situation is the price. The price for a parking pass for resident students $150.00, while 24 hour parking privileges for students living off campus is $350. Why the huge discrepancy? Good question, the supply is fixed so the demand curve intersects it at one point. The demand can shift in one direction or the other, but the supply cannot shift unless new
parking lots are built. The importance of this is that there is one price depending on the demand for parking spaces. Let’s hope that the transportation office used economic principles to determine the equilibrium price of $150. At $150, let’s say “Q1” parking spaces are demanded, and luckily enough “Q1” parking spaces are supplied. If the price goes up to $350 per spot then “Q1” spaces are still supplied but “Q2” spaces are demanded. Basically the transportation office is charging a higher price to create a disincentive for students living off campus to have 24-hour privileges which would otherwise go to resident students. Well that certainly was fun, but wait there is still one other item of interest! Parking tickets are $50, which would cause any economics worth his salt to think about how many times $50 goes into $150, or $350. Well you can get three tickets and then break even with buying a parking pass as a resident student. That’s not really worth it because after you get one ticket you already paid a third of what parking for the year would cost. In other words you got a day of parking for a third of a year of parking privileges. What if you live off campus though? You don’t really need to 24 hour parking privileges and that price is pretty steep. That ticket suddenly seems more attractive considering it may be a one or two time violation, which is all you would pay for. Well the transportation office thought of that too and set a limit at six violations before you get towed, which probably has an additional cost. So before you break even by racking up tickets remember you won’t just get a slap on the wrist, you’ll have to get your car out of an impound lot. There you have it, another look at an interesting market here on campus. I bet you never thought much of that while you struggled to find a parking space near your dorm did you? Got an issue you are passionate about and want to learn more? Email me and I’ll do my best to address it in my next column!
Favorite place to study on campus? “Hart Lawn at Sunset” *Spit* –Staff Llama ‘22
“O’Kane Computer Lab” –Ginny Do ‘13
“Periodicals Room in Dinand” –Natasha Giftos ‘14
“In the fall I prefer the basement of my dorm as Dinand is toasty in early Sept. As the mercury starts to simmer down I love Rehm mostly because you don't hear those pesky heaters clicking. When finals roll around I love to work on the tables in stein because I can flag down a passerby when I'm need of some last minute help.” –John Daly ‘15