The saga of a lunch break

Dear Chabot cafeteria,

First, I would like to commend you for your incorporation of diverse (however selective) menu of ethnic foods, and your accommodation of varied diets including vegan and vegetarian options. 

However, after my experience in your establishment, I find that your service leaves something to be desired. Allow me to divulge my experience today:

Upon entering your establishment bustling with hungry young minds, I selected what appeared to be the most expedient option to acquire my lunch, which happened to be the pizza/deli station. After carefully reviewing the pizza selections, I noted the absence of a detailed ingredient list, and therefore asked the kind young man operating the station what toppings were on the chicken pizza. He listed off the ingredients, which included onions, peppers, and the obvious protein. I ordered happily, and upon receiving my meal I requested the common condiment of ranch, to which he replied they did not offer. I took my lunch just the same, and made my way to the salad bar, at which ranch was readily supplied. However, upon pouring my favored dressing into a soufflé cup, I was somewhat unpleasantly surprised at the torrential velocity at which the ranch jettisoned itself out of the dispenser.

With my hands gloved in white, I frantically searched for a napkin, or towel, or anything that might assist me in quickly mopping up the embarrassing mess now occupying the bar and floor. A bit flustered, I approached the Mexican food station attendant and requested materials with which I might correct my untimely mishap. She obliged, and I did the best I could, only to find a waste basket absent of the premises. Shamed, I was left no other choice but to return the soiled paper towels to the attendant, who, thankfully apologetic, assured me that it was no problem.

My accident now behind me, I hopped in line to pay the cashier. All the while, I had not paid attention to the physical state of my meal, and upon observing my culinary masterpiece, I found it adorned with sausage in abundance, of which I do not consume. I was thus forced to relinquish my spot in line to correct this mistake. The pizza station attendant, ever-apologetic, remade my pizza without objection. However, that left the perfectly good pizza in the trash.

I reentered the line with a renewed sense of anticipation. Yet, as I approached the tired-looking cashier, I felt my confidence begin to slip.

You see, I have had various negative (and thankfully brief) encounters with this particular lunch lady, anywhere from just a bad attitude, to impatience, or to demanding the purchase of an item before dispensing change to selected students. 

So, naturally, I approached with caution. I noted, as she rang in my purchases of the pizza for $3.95 and an apple juice for $1.25, that she mysteriously included a $.50 cent charge. I had an idea of the purpose, and only after completing the transaction did I vocalize an opinion that while I was prepared to pay the extra charge, it might behoove the staff to place a sign in front of the dressing station stating that there would be an extra $.50 charge for dressing sides. At this, she waved me off and snapped that everyone knows there is an extra charge, to which I patiently explained that I did not, and perhaps they should erect the sign nonetheless. She dismissed me again, which has led to the writing of this rant. Upon exiting, I noticed the napkin dispenser at her side.

To make a few points:

Listing ingredients lessens waste, and saves money in inventory.

Providing utensils and the like inside of your establishment may be more convenient for your patrons.

Charging an extra $.50 for ranch on a pizza for $3.95 doesn't make sense when your salads run for under the price of the pizza. However, if you must, then at least place a courtesy sign up to inform your guests of the up-charge.

Nothing can ruin an experience more than poor customer service. Please communicate this with the bitter lunch lady who refuses to extend any kindness to your guests.

Until the next time I am cashless and thereby forced to enter your cafeteria, I will certainly elect to purchase my meals at the food truck. Although the wait is longer, my 20-minute misadventure today deems it quite worthwhile.

Good day,

A disgruntled customer

Entry 5

"I ask the driver where he's from. He says he's from Afghanistan. Turning in his seat, he gestures at the street and shrugs. 'if you don't, as an American, begin give these kids the kind of education that you give the kids of Donald Trump, you're asking for disaster."

This quote really resonated with me because as Americans, I feel that we are both acutely aware and blissfully unaware of the global community's eyes. A child devises a master plan to get away with a wrong, and their mother sniffs out the mischief in a matter of seconds. American government is much the same. We carry on with a sense of cavalier arrogance and we literally bathe in our decadence, meanwhile the world is observing us with the same skepticism found in the eyes of American inner-city children from coast to coast.

The quote also struck me because the one who spoke it was from a country that exemplifies a truly unequal education system, if not a lot less subtle. A classroom without a single female is much more striking to one’s conscience then perhaps another without much diversity, and certainly without any information regarding social class. Still, this man, a taxi driver from another country, could point out the pedagogic injustice with ease. He even provides a comparison to Donald Trump, or the wealthy, to solidify his argument.

Even after over twenty years since he made that statement, his opinion still holds merit; perhaps even more so after America’s war left his home country in disrepair, never mind the education system.

Entry 4: A peek at my paper

Jacqueline Wells

Professor Monique Williams

English 1A

13 September 2013

Degrees in Debt

With living costs on the rise and a fixed minimum wage, it is no secret that the nation’s middle class is shrinking. This rapidly closing economic fissure is magnified by the swelling debt amassed by students forced to accrue student loans in the name of higher education. Paradoxically, the great achievement of formally recognized intellectual conquest is hindering scholars from proceeding to the subsequent financial life stages post-graduation; these stages, all of which necessitate good or decent credit, include purchasing a car or home, getting married, and supporting their families. With national employment still catching up to the pace of graduating young professionals, these newly-grads continue to struggle under the pressure of securing steady employment so that they may begin to repay their astronomical debt. It is unfeasible to demand an immediate change; what must change is the way that future students and their families prepare for college, in the form of devising a realistic, malleable plan, saving, and budgeting.

Every fledgling couple dreams of sending their children off to college to become doctors, or scientists, or astronauts. The sticker prices for the education necessary to these professions are generally out of said couple’s immediate budget. It is common for many parents to start a “college fund” in the early years of their youngster’s life, with the intent to have enough saved by the time the child is old enough to put the account to use. This tactic is good; however there are variables that could lead to this plan to go awry. This may include unforeseen expenditures that require “dipping” into the fund, which is of course done cautiously and with every intention of being replaced. Companies such as The Gerber College Plan and Upromise are reputable resources that assist young families saving for school.

College is the pathway to success, but to find the path, one must know how to look. Middle class families are still at a far greater advantage than the lower class, insofar as they have a general focus of moving forward and up rather than surviving. This allows for a greater perspective and competence of financial status, and a family may determine how and when their young people will attend college, rather than if. This is most applicable to the nuclear family of the 21^st Century, where both partners work as equal heads of the household, while the stereotypical two children attend school. Whereas before, students would apply to four-year universities straight out of high school, a family could save roughly a third of that bill by instead having their children attend junior colleges to receive their general education. Junior colleges also allow for part-time work for students, who typically live at home and enjoy little responsibility. Part-time work benefits the student in two ways: it can help a student save money to transfer to a four-year school, and it gives the student employment credibility when they search for a job after they have obtained their degree.

As it is not uncommon for college students to switch majors throughout their academic careers, attending a junior college would also assist students in developing their own passions, thereby making good use of the time spent at a university. This is where the budget-plan malleability gains its relevance. If a student decides to become of a doctor instead of a dentist, the cost of education will easily double. If a family has not accounted for this change, they or their child may leave themselves vulnerable to decades of indentured servitude to the student-loan system. However, if parents can anticipate change and manage to over-shoot their budget, this may soften or eliminate the fiscal blow.

Entry 3

College: A single-function device

After watching Sir Ken Robinson’s TED Talk, “Bring on the Revolution,” a thought struck me that had briefly brushed my conscience before, but had never deeply penetrated my thoughts. It’s one of those moments where one feels as if they may get their hand caught in the proverbial cookie jar for even considering a possibility so heinous. My thought was this: could college be outdated? The more I reflect on my life thus far, and the more I look at the world around me, the more I become convinced that it might be so. The breadth of experiences I’ve had, versus many of my peers who went straight to college and emerged almost as naïve as they were going in, provides for me further implication that perhaps college is less than everything we were told it was intended to be. With information at one’s fingertips, it seems far more likely that attending  college and receiving a degree serve more as a statement of class, much less a statement of knowledge.

What really hit this notion home was Robinson’s referral of the theory of “Linear Education." I can remember preparing for college years before actually attending any institution; I recall tests, college tours, extracurricular activities, and even whole classes on how to apply to college and how to succeed once there. It seems as though my entire lower education was for the sole purpose of entering college, rather than for the sole purpose of developing me as a free-thinking human being.

I’m leaving this entry feeling bitter, skeptical, and disenchanted.

Monique, please watch this!!

Entry 2

Jacqueline Wells

Professor Monique Williams

English 1A

2/9/13

Navigating the Doldrums

Before, during, and after their educational careers, students stand in the shadow of the looming question, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” This question evolves from an interesting pastime thought or dream, to a sudden threat necessitating immediate action and a hurried reply. It is after that hurried reply (or lack thereof) that the question then becomes “what are you going to do?” From there, the onslaught of follow-up queries begins, but they all revolve around the central issue of money. The Passion Project aligns a figure in “black shiny armor” as a sort-of mirror image of students currently finding their way through life. This figure may be analogous to a ship, moving steadily in one direction. As young people, we are expected to be just like the ship. That is to say, we are expected to traverse along a set path that has been planned, prepared for, and timed. To paraphrase Glenn Reynolds’ article, “Where Higher Education Went Wrong,” the problem is that tuition costs have been on the rise by roughly 4.7% each year, and students in The United States have collectively accumulated over one trillion dollars in student loans with no foreseeable means of repaying the debt. Therefore, colleges across the nation are seeing a significant decrease of applicants. Essentially, the path chosen or desired is becoming less and less navigable. Students of generation Y, and the future academics of generation Z, while granted limitless information, are facing a very real problem: With ever-increasing tuition and living costs, the prospect of insurmountable debt is sapping the passion from essentially every potential student. Where the student will live, how the student will pay for school, and where the student will work post-graduation have now determined  whether any one young adult will expect to go to college, or whether it would be more practical to get a more utilitarian education at a vocational school for a fraction of the price. It would seem that higher education is becoming less of a tool for success and survival, and more a luxury afforded to the more affluent of our country.

Works Cited

1)      Reynolds, Glenn H. "Where Higher Education Went Wrong." Academic Search Premier. Reason, Apr. 2013. Web. 31 Aug. 2013. <http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy1.clpccd.cc.ca.us/ehost/detail?vid=16&sid=5c6707fb-a0e4-4ea9-9825-18445bd7b449%40sessionmgr115&hid=25&bdata=JnNjb3BlPXNpdGU%3d#db=aph&AN=85801116>.