OPINIONS
BREAD VERSUS BED
THE SCHOOLYEAR SMACKDOWN BETWEEN WORK AND SLEEP JOVANNA MADRIGAL CONTRIBUTOR
I’m having a love affair with bread and I’m cheating on my bed. The worst is yet to come and later in the semester, this affair will ensue with more sleepless nights, my bed rejecting me in totality. Getting hired at Panera Bread and working these past few days has been a new experience for me. Finally working part time and going to school full time, I see the toll it will take over the course of the school year, and, well, my life in general. I had no idea I was signing my soul over, all in good intentions of course. Being new to the job, I had no idea how the dynamics behind the counter worked. I was always oblivious to the fact that behind the counter is a whole different world. Things seem to run so smoothly in the customer’s eyes; little do they know that behind the counter, the employees are scrambling all
over the facility and yelling incoherent phrases to one another to try to serve the customer as best as possible. Never did I think I’d find myself working in customer service but here I am, taking people’s orders, people who never know what they want for lunch, let alone in life. Anything can go wrong behind the cash register. You can give the customer the wrong change, the customer’s credit card may be declined, or you can simply have an emotional breakdown from the line that only seems to be getting bigger as you look for the cheddar broccoli soup on the menu. From taking the customer’s order, to running to grab them a pastry item, to forgetting to give them their cup for their drink, only to have them come back and ask for it, I’m surprised I manage to keep myself stress free with a
UP IN SMOKE
little help from my coworkers. I have only been working at Panera Bread for a few days and have fallen in love with the staff. They are a diverse bunch with a personality all their own and they surpass any expectations that I had about the people I would work with. Did I mention that many of them love me in return? At least I’d like to think so. This past Wednesday was my first time closing my part of the restaurant on my own. Let me tell you, I have never been so exhausted and eager to go home in my life. Closing at 9:00 P.M. to have to leave at twenty ‘til 11:00 P.M. is beyond me. It was just my luck to close with the manager who, according to some of my coworkers, is known for keeping you until every single little thing is where it is supposed to be and every nook and cranny is cleaned
and accounted for. I thought I was “done” at various times of the night, only to have him come out of the manager’s office and find something that needed to be arranged and/or cleaned a certain way or another. I would consider myself unlucky after that experience, but I can honestly say that so far, I love my job. I am proud to make this statement because not many people can: welcome to corporate America. While I have found myself taking frequent naps and having less of a social life than I did before, I find myself enjoying every sleepless night and every hour I spend surrounded by quality people. I may be having an affair with Panera Bread and cheating on my bed, but unlike all affairs, this one only makes my everyday more interesting.
CAMPUS HEALTH OVER DIRTY HABIT
DAVID CASARRUBIAS CONTRIBUTOR
There are a lot of things that grind my gears but smoking is just one of the many. I’m not bagging on smokers altogether, as I have many close friends who enjoy a cigarette every now and then; my issue is walking to class, or just around campus in general, and getting a big whiff of smoke exhaled into my face. Not only do I not enjoy smelling like an old chimney pipe, but also I just find it ridiculous that our university still allows and accommodates smoking. With the amount of resources, energy, time, and effort that the state spends on countless tobacco-free ads, one would guess that a creature of the state, like CSULB, would decide to ban smoking on campus altogether. I have contemplated what reasons our school administrators and ASI government officials would have to continue to allow smoking. One possible reason is that smoking serves as a way for students to relieve stress. This seems like a feasible proposition since smoking has been shown to be an outlet for people dealing with stress. However, there are many outlets and specific resources on campus to help students to deal with stress. Even more specifically, there are entire workshops created for students who need an outlet to deal with stress. Another possible reason for our current smoking policy could be that the school wants to accommodate the diverse lifestyles of the over 35,000 students who are currently enrolled, some of whom smoke. This proposition, although extremely optimistic, is hard to swallow. In reality, a state institution’s interests regarding its students should be their health, and not that of accommodating an unhealthy habit. It is hard to believe that our school’s
“no skateboarding policy,” for example, explicitly prohibits any skateboarding and describes all forms of skateboards down to the last axle. When I looked up the smoking policy, it was succinctly written in five bullet points. In sum, it stated that smoking was not permitted inside or within twenty feet of any building. The irony is that this policy is seldom enforced and the university even accommodates smokers by placing ashtrays directly outside the doors of many buildings. I asked some university officials why it was that ash trays on campus were placed right by building entrances; those officials responded by saying that the ashtrays are placed by building entrances so that people who smoke may dispose their cigarettes as they enter the building. As an adverse result, these “strategically placed” ashtrays have become watering holes for smokers to circle around and enjoy. Our university is more concerned with completely banning skateboarding, which can result in the unforgivable result of scraped knees and scuffed hands. However, they have yet to consider the banning of smoking on campus altogether which can result in lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and death. I believe it is the duty of our school to look out for the best interests of each and every one of us, smokers or secondhand victims, and ban smoking altogether. It is true that smokers never get old, and the reason for that is that they die young. Personally, I would rather see fifty skateboarders ollie their way across Brotman Hall than attend one hundred funerals resulting from cigarette use, but that’s just me because smoking on campus grinds my gears. UNION WEEKLY
24 SEPTEMBER 2012
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