— STAFF EDITORIALS —
While we were waiting
We at the Newswire are indescribably ecstatic that SAC has booked an artist for a long-overdue concert. It’s been a long road for SAC as they struggled through vast amounts of criticism and failed atttempts.
To put things into perspective, here’s a list of important (and not-so-imporant) events that have happened since the last time there’s been a SAC-sponsored concert at Xavier:
- The world went into recession.
- Oil prices skyrocketed and subsequently plummeted.
- Facebook changed many, many times.
- Soulja Boy traumatized the nation.
- The solar system lost one planet.
- Sarah Palin said the word “maverick” 8,712 times.*
- Fr. B canonized approximately 1,458 saints.*
- 214,986,135 babies were born.*
- The caf served 12 quality meals and was taken over by a company that promises 13 quality meals per year.
- Sean Miller sweated through seven pairs of pants as the Muskies went to the Elite Eight.
- The area around Xavier’s campus looks like its been through the Apocalypse.
- Books went the wayside as the Learning Commons prototype usurped the first floor of the McDonald library.
After 609 days of thinking that SAC was completely inept, the news of a concert is refreshing. If they had waited any longer, God knows what could’ve made the list.
*rough estimates
It’s beginning to get to us
Finals are only days away, and under the imminent pressure our exams present, the Newswire has a number of recommendations to solve the inefficiencies every student faces at the end of the year.
In most classes, professors assign end-of-the-year projects or papers that are due during the week before exams, earning it the nickname “Hellweek.” As the projects due for several classes accumulate at the end of the semester, it leaves many students with an unreasonable amount of work, considering this work could have been spread throughout the previous months. Furthermore, it leaves students with little time to spend the week before exams actually studying for exams.
To help take some of the pressure off students, the administration has added a “dead day” to the schedule, pushing the four-day exam period back one day so that we have the Monday before to study. While it is nice to have the weekend plus one day to prepare for finals, it is still less than the “dead week” students get at most schools.
This system seems to leave Xavier students with a tougher end of the term than we would have at many other schools. While we appreciate that Xavier is an academic cupcake, we would be grateful if the same amount of work could be spread throughout the semester, rather than saved for the end.
For those of us with several projects and a handful of tough exams on the horizon, do not stress out too much, for there is light at the end of the tunnel. Xavier plays Duke on the first day of break, and a nationally-televised win over the Blue Devils could lift the dark cloud of finals week right off our shoulders.
Either way, if (when) you find yourself busy and stressed next week, let the anticipation of relaxing with the family during the holiday season inspire you to finish strong.
K-mo’s adventures in procrastination
Katherine Monastero
Editorial Columnist
So I’m procrastinating.
It’s in full swing this time of year. Not only do exams loom in our near future, but there are positively bajillions and bajillions of other things to do in the weeks before. It’s our professors’ last chances to pelt us with as many grading opportunities as they can, and they do. How can we possibly tackle those bajillion things and still retain our sanity? Well, we can’t. By the end we’ll be so burnt out we won’t remember anything we had crammed into our brains mere hours before.
But I can at least try to help those, like me, afflicted with the procrastination problem.
When I’m confronted with so much stuff I can barely think what to do first, my first instinct is, of course, to not do anything. I flip the pages of my assignment book. I make pretty schedules of all the things I should be doing. I browse the internet and catch up on the lives of everybody I know. In the course of writing this article, I’ve already stopped to check and re-check MyXU and Yahoo! twice. In a few minutes, I will probably get up and wander to the kitchen to see if anything looks appetizing. God help me if I visit The Onion’s news site. I’ll never leave.
Clearly, I am not on the right path to success.
Here’s what you and I, procrastinating experts, need to do:
1. Prioritize. This may seem like an obvious one, but you’d be surprised how much work you can get done without worrying about what to do first. Make a quick list—what’s due first? What’s going to take the most work? Is there anything you can do and just get out of the way once and for all? Jot down everything you have to do, and then arrange them in the order you’re going to work on them. Then—here’s the important part!—adhere to your schedule and revel in being able to scribble something off. Aaah, scribbling.
2. Get everything together before you start working. Think you’re going to want coffee soon? Get some now. Take it with you if you need to. Gather all the books you need and all your notes. Need to use your laptop? Bring up all of the websites you need with all of their pages, then turn off your internet. This will cut down on the temptation to float to Facebook or other sites that sneakily eat up huge blocks of your time.
3. Don’t work for eight straight hours. Take breaks, but time yourself carefully. Work for one hour (or two, what have you), and then pause for 10 minutes. Take a walk. Stretch. Get something to snack on. You’ve just done an hour’s worth of work! That’s cause to celebrate. Just make sure you’re back at it working hard at the end of those 10 minutes, otherwise you’ll never finish.
4. Give yourself deadlines. Have to write a paper? Tell yourself you’ll be on page four by 9:30. Studying for exams? Set a goal—get through three chapters by 10:00. Then actually do it! Diligence is key. Give yourself a reward to entice yourself into making your deadlines. An extra few minutes of break, or emerging from your study bubble to be social are always good perks.
5. START NOW! What are you waiting for? Why are you still reading this article? You have uncountable things to do! Deadlines to meet! “A”s to earn! Put down this paper RIGHT THIS INSTANT and follow steps 1-4!
So good luck, fellow students. Here’s hoping we don’t fall asleep in our Blue Books. Or driving the car on the way home. Woo!
— LETTERS TO THE EDITOR—
Shame on us
Last week’s edition of the Newswire featured “The Gallagher Buzz” question of “For what item would you trample another human being?” Although the “Public Service Announcement” that followed expressed the shame of the deaths that occurred on Black Friday, it does not excuse the light-hearted treatment of the issue by those who came up with the question and those who answered it. The shame of consumerism costing lives is not an appropriate topic to deal with through humor. The events of this Black Friday should nudge us all to a reflection of our values as a society.
Unfortunately, the Newswire just brushed off this tragedy with a humor piece.
Life isn’t a sarcastic issue.
Emily TeKolste | ‘11
Slack not OK
The men and women currently employed by Chartwells at Xavier for the dining service on campus are appalled and horrified at the dining experience depicted in the letter written by the student, and published in the Newswire editorials Dec. 3 (“Caf Needs Help”).
As dedicated employees, some of which having tenure spanning over 20-plus years, we despise the folly actions of a few employees as described in the letter.
Such actions would certainly indicate that the “caf needs help.” Although the employees have no control over all of the depictions of “bad service,” Chartwells’ mission statement is to “provide a healthy and enjoyable experience, coupled by top-quality customer service.” The employees have to adhere to their management methods, whether agreeable or disagreeable, subsequently resulting in a negative or positive transparency in the service rendered.
Lack of motivation is apparent as the student indicated, and employees can only voice their complaints through the contract greivance procedure that Xavier assured us would continue upon Chartwells’ acquisition of its dining service contract. Therefore, we are compelled to voice our concerns to Chartwells about problems encountered by the workforce. A major problem has ben a reduction in the cafeteria staff below “quality service level,” which has created an excessive workload on the limited staff left.
On behalf of the employees, who are appalled upon reading the students dining experience, we want to ensure that all employees are dedicated to servicing the students. Each year we return to work from August to May because we enjoy the campus community. Over the years we consider students as family, after preparing meals for so many during their college carreers at Xavier.
Hopefully, student dining will be void of bad service or food in the future. As employees, we are a viable part of Chartwell’s contract with the university. Therefore, we encourage all students to make us aware of any dissatisfaction with service.
Don Spell, Cook
Chief Union Steward
The only viable solution
As a senior Communication Arts public relations major, I, like several other Communication Arts students, have felt first-hand the problems of the lawsuit. It has caused a very noticeable rift, not only in the department but also among students. It has caused students to take sides and has torn the department apart.
These actions are causing students who have enrolled in classes taught by the involved parties to worry about whether the classes will be taught with the passion that we as students deserve, and whether the classes will be cancelled. It has caused me to schedule certain classes based on the professor who is teaching it, knowing that the professor has nothing to do with the lawsuit at hand.
I believe that the best course of action that both Finch and Michels should have taken was to resign immediately. I believe that their action of staying in the department was very catastrophic, not only for the department, but also for the students. They know very well that, no matter if they were to win or lose the lawsuit, it would be the worst thing to happen for the department and the ones who would be the most affected by their actions would be the students.
To know that the involved professors have already been terminated and are teaching classes is mind-blowing. How is a student expected to believe that these professors truly care? The professors have nothing to lose. They already lost the respect of a lot of students.
I have a great suggestion for both Finch and Michels. Leave. Resign. I wish people would realize that this lawsuit was simply just about money. Dr. DeSilva is an amazing man and I will stand by that. To say that he is a sexist is stupefying.
I also understand that after printing something like this that I will upset a lot of people. Yet, as a student, I believe that I have a right to complain about this. I just wish that these two professors would leave the university.
Dr. Finch and Dr. Michels, just resign. If it comes to light that you win your lawsuit, then I will be the first to congratulate you and I will be the first one to issue an apology. However, for the time being, leave and do not reappear until this lawsuit is over. It would be the best thing for everyone.
Patrick Foley is a senior and is the president of the Xavier Chapter Public Relations Student Society of America.
Patrick Foley
Guest Columnist
Katherine Monasterio
Op-Ed Editor
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