10 | PERSPECTIVES
Y O U SPEAK
Friday, Nov. 12, 2004
www.theloquitur.com
PERSPECTIVES ◄
‘No better time Choosing a major requires to be alive’ SARAH DUFFY STAFF WRITER SED722@CABRINI.EDU
The man to my left is well dressed, down to the out-turned lip on his Lugz boots. His yellow t-shirt and up-turned hat put off the impression he is stylish, but the dirt that has worn its way into his clothes gives quite another impression. I imagine that he did not plan for this to be the last outfit he put on that particular morning, months ago, and now it is caked with the dirt of the street and the exhaust of a world revolving around everything but him. There is a sadness pouring from his face. It is not the kind of sadness that could be appeased with a smile or a hug or even the passage of time. It is a sadness that is soaked into dark circles around his eyes and the uncertainty of where to put his hands. He gets up to leave, then returns a minute later when he realizes he has no where to go. This continues over the course of three hours. His Bassett-hound eyes, and big lips are the features of a face that is torn with pain, as he tries to shake the heroine detox from his aching limbs. My heart gets caught in the back of my throat, as I become ever more aware of my inability to take his pain away. I think it would be easier to be ignorant of this terrible reality, but I am not and what can I do? I muster a sympathetic smile and ask if he is okay. At that
moment there is a part of me that expects him to break down and open up, just so I could be there to say something simple like, it will be okay. But he doesn’t. He just folds his hands and lethargically nods, just once. What can I do? I have come to know that in situations such as this where tragedy is staring you dead in the eyes and pure sadness is seeping into every part of your body, there is no better time to be alive. For happiness is dependent on a variety of factors, but sadness is as pure of an emotion as it gets. It is from situations like that I have learned something about myself. That I can stare life back in the eyes, with no illusions or grand ideas about the way it’s supposed to be, or the way I want it to be, but just accept it for what it is. It is wrong, that this man should live with such pain, and that, at this moment, he feels there is no hope or help for himself. When people continually turn their back on sadness, pretend that it doesn’t exist or cover it over with some grand fantasy about a world of sunshine and roses. I don’t believe you can grow, or learn, or even really appreciate the sunshine and roses for what they really are, until you have experienced emotions that so counteract them. There may be nothing I can do for this man, but to understand him. Appreciate him for all his mistakes and faults because his pain is as real as mine. If all I can do is muster a sympathetic smile, then that is all I can do.
SAVETHEDATE GetConnected ...
TUESDAY,MARCH22, 2005 INTERCOLLEGIATE CAREERFAIR DIXONCENTER NOON TO 3:00 P.M.
careful consideration KRISTIN AGOSTINELLI STAFF WRITER KMA724@CABRINI.EDU
As every college student knows, choosing a major can be critical in finding a job after graduation. However, the demand for certain jobs are on the rise and the demand for particular majors are few and far in between. There is no guarantee to any college student that they will find a job with the newly acquired skills that they have attained in the four to five years of being in school. For example, taken from fortwayne.com, professors at Northeastern University found that a students’ major is more important that the college that he or she attended when establishing a salary after graduation. In my opinion, a student needs to put careful consideration into choosing what major he or she wants to dive into. For instance, the recent decline among technology and comput-
er science majors has spawned a rise in accounting majors. Certain fields of interest have gone down, while others have gone up in demand. There has also been a recent rise in business and entrepreneurship being a major as well. There is no guarantee that a student will find a job, but, in my opinion, as long as the student is happy with their major, then they will try to find a job that is suitable for them. Although I feel choosing a major is important in shaping a students’ career, I do not feel there should be pressure put upon that student to decide a major right away. In my opinion, I feel deciding what to do with the rest of your life in one year is somewhat overwhelming. A student is given an average of four years to become knowledgeable in their area of study, and when finished, they are expected to create a resume and search for a job that pertains to that area. If they do not find a job after graduation, then it is their loss. After graduation you are thrown
Dilemma in Jazzman’s CHRISTINE BLOM STAFF WRITER CBB722@CABRINI.EDU
When you order something in the cafeteria or Jazzman’s, do you ever second guess what you are about to eat? Meal-exchange time in Jazzman’s is absolutely insane and everyone knows that. But imagine trying to scarf down half a sandwich and a bowl of soup before you go to class. After eating a delicious Santa Fe turkey sandwich, which happens to be my favorite, I noticed that there were white chunks in my tomato basil soup. The sign that hangs over the soup center only had tomato basil, cheddar potato and chicken
noodle listed so I figured I would go for the tomato. After one spoonful, I immediately turned to my roommate, Lauren, and said, “Doesn’t this taste a little fishy to you?” “Of course it tastes fishy, it’s Manhattan clam chowder.” “I thought it was tomato basil?” I quickly ran up to the soup center to settle this dilemma. The sign, indeed, had been extremely wrong. For any normal person this probably would not have been such a big deal, but considering that I am allergic to seafood, things could have gotten pretty nasty. From now on, I have learned that when ordering at Jazzman’s you have to double check on what you think you are being served because it may be something completely different.
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into the “real world” and are on your own. No one can help you but yourself. This is why choosing a college major is an extremely important decision that will affect the rest of a person’s life. On the other hand, picking a college major is not like picking a career. Not all majors will dictate a job profession. Areas such as medical studies, accounting, or engineering will guide a student in that direction, but if choosing another major, the courses that a student will be taking will guide them in handling a wide range of careers. It is then up to the student to pursue their area of interest. Most undecided students fall into the category of choosing a major by process of elimination, however, this may not be the best way of choosing an area of interest. Stick to a field that you are interested in learning about, and stay with it. It will greatly help you out in the future.
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Another thing about Jazzman’s is that they do not have substitute meal exchanges. One night I asked for a turkey BLT sandwich instead of a tuna BLT sandwich because I was allergic. I was instantly denied because they only have one option at every meal. Yes, you can just ask to use your meal exchange money but then the value of the chosen meal takes up some flex money. In order to make this fair to all students, especially those with allergies, they should offer two meal exchanges every night because of health purposes. If we can’t eat in the cafeteria because it’s too late, and we can’t eat in the Jazzman’s because its not catering to what we want, where are we supposed to eat?