Zoo-like behavior unacceptableRemember in elementary school when you were late for the bus and had to run after it? Remember when you pulled the exact same move Friday night after the John Legend concert? Maybe you don’t because you were too hyped from the awesome performance, maybe you pregamed a little too hard or maybe the full meaning of “quarter system” has come crashing down around you this week. But guess what? I remember and I am still irked.
I know standing in the cold is horrible (to the non-Chicago natives wailing loudly Friday: it gets much, much worse. Buy a North Face and suck it up), and I know you probably had some wonderful post-Legend activity you wanted to get to. However, the sight of 50 or 60 NU students sprinting into the street every time another bus pulled up, thereby causing the bus driver to either lay on the horn and roll right by or screech to a stop with a few choice words leaves something to be desired. If I wanted to watch throngs of students behaving like buffoons outside of Welsh-Ryan, I would have waited another 12 hours and gone to the football game.
Don’t get me wrong: I was just as irritated by the lack of ready return transportation as the rest of my concert-going comrades. I just don’t think attempting to pull a scene from “Mean Girls” is the way to express my frustration.
So, next time the buses aren’t readily available, act like the smart NU student I know you can be and stand patiently on the sidewalk. You left the uniforms, playgrounds and chalkboard back in elementary school. Leave the childhood antics, too. – Sarah EBERSPACHERDeputy copy chiefPros, cons of Wildcat services
This weekend, I committed one of NU’s cardinal sins. Walking up to the gate at the beginning of Saturday’s football game against the RedHawks, I realized I had forgotten my WILDCard. Of course, after making my way up to Central Street I didn’t want to walk all the way back downtown. By the time I made it to the gate, I had worked out in my head the excuse I would use to finagle my way into Ryan Field. No such luck, and I was directed to a nearby office.
The good: They let you buy a ticket for $25 at a nearby ticket kiosk, and say they will then refund the amount later that week. The trick: You have to go up to Ryan Field during its regular office hours to get your refund by Wednesday of that week. Oh, and bring “proof that you’re a full-time student.” The bad: After I still hadn’t found my WILDCard, I printed out my schedule from CAESAR and headed up to Ryan Field to snag my $25. No dice.
They wouldn’t take this proof that I’m a full time student because it wasn’t “proof that I’m a full time student.” Frustrating.
Health Services and its staff, however, get an A-plus. Visiting the office to get a flu shot, I was surprised not only by how quickly they took an appointment, but how pleasantly the staffers, nurses and doctors treated students who were there. They’ve prepared well both for the flu season and swine flu. The Health Department will be there soon to dole out the H1N1 vaccine – and those vaccines will be free.
Plus, they’re doing a great job keeping the office H1N1-free, singlehandedly filling the coffers of the Purell company and the country’s surgical mask manufacturers. – MATT SPECTORManaging editor, paper
