Department-specific ad forms: WTF?

Is there any reason for each department to have their own ad forms? The Communications and History Department forms ask for the exact same information, why not have one standard form online that works for the entire school?

I asked the clerks at both department-offices, neither knew why the rule existed but would still only accept their own department's forms.

Your ASI at work

The State Hornet is reporting on ASI president Angela Arriola's sudden resignation:

Arriola said she resigned in order to focus on her academics, adding that she has been recruited to study public policy at Carnegie-Mellon and Harvard University as a graduate student in fall 2007.

Arriola also admitted that she would have been forced to resign otherwise because her fall semester 1.9 GPA was short of ASI's GPA requirements. ASI representatives must maintain a 2.0 GPA each semester. In addition, ASI executive officers must have a 2.5 cumulative GPA, according to the organization's website.

Scheduling meetings that overlap with classes can't be a good idea. A 1.9 GPA is right between a C and D -- I'm surprised that Harvard is into that sort of thing.

By the way, were the pages in anyone else's copy of The Hornet in the wrong order? How does that happen?

Stupid Class

I may have discovered the most draconian attendance policy at Sac State.

Not only do we have to wait in line to sign in at the beginning of each 75-minute class period, but we must also sign out at the end after class is dismissed. The class is in a small room, without any breaks or opportunities for a sneaky getaway. I simply can't comprehend why we have to waste our time with this vestigial remnant of high-school.

This teacher has also spouted gems like "irregardless" in a sentence describing how she is a major stickler for proper English and grammar.

Then when two students offer answers that are direct contradictions, they are both praised for being right, as she refuses to even subtly imply that a student is wrong, leading the class to wonder about what part of the lecture to remember or dismiss. Anything a student does or suggests is "right," even when it clearly isn't.

Direct quotes like "You're never going to really know who's right or who's wrong until you get into it" in response to objective truths really don't make any sense at all.

Cripples, Golf-Carts and Parking Spaces

Thanks to excessive alcohol consumption, platform shoes, and Prince, I tore some ligaments in my ankle at a New Years Eve party, getting sidelined for Winter Break.

The Sacramento State Student Health Center has simply amazing service. They didn't keep me waiting, took their time to get it right, and didn't even charge. I am a total chump for going to the "ER" and "Urgent Care" centers for prior injuries. The Sac State pharmacy has all sorts of medicine for super-cheap too!

When school started on the 29th, I traded crutches for a gigantic black Goth-velcro boot-cast thing, and spent 35 agonizing minutes limping from my car to my first class across campus.

Students With Disability Services said they exist specifically to give people like me rides around campus in their snazzy golf-carts, but could only help if I got their official paper-work filled out by a doctor and then registered in their system, a complex and time-consuming procedure that simply is not realistic for assistance related to non-permanent impairments.

There is a way around the red-tape.

While limping to class Tuesday I stumbled upon Nancy Fox, Director of University Transportation and Parking Services. Fox started telling me about how the Disability Services crew would be happy to drive me around campus, but after hearing about my experience with the organization, was kind enough to glance at my cast and sign me up for a two-week disabled parking permit! If you're on crutches, limp over to her office in Foley Hall, with 15-minute parking spots right out front.

Old Blogger. New Blog.

This is only day two for me at Sacramento State University, and already I am back to my old muckraking ways.

Like today. I had classes for the first time in the Tahoe, Amador, and Mendocino buildings, and observed that the inspection certificates in the elevators had all expired in 2004. This probably isn't a big deal, the elevators clearly still work, but it doesn't sound quite right and is probably illegal. I also wonder about the insurance issues -- god forbid there be some sort of accident, but I would suspect that the school's insurance would cover such a thing so long as the inspections were up to date, I bet the school would be directly held liable for a ton of money if they were to be found negligent in their elevator inspection duties... If I were a real journalist instead of a lame wanna-be, I would have looked into this before posting. But I'm a full time student, who has time to be responsible?

I took pictures of the certificates but they came out blurry due to the moving elevators, I'll try again tomorrow when I have some time to kill between classes, if I can get one to hold still long-enough.

UPDATE: This is old-news, the State Hornet reported back in 2002 that this has been going on for a while, and apparently isn't considered a serious problem.

A few people told me, off the record, that the school is self-insured, so the expired certificates wouldn't be an issue if someone were to get injured.