When I go to a public place, I will immediately be aware of everything that is going on around me. As a result, I will overhear nearby conversations without even trying.
I was using the campus recreation hall today. While I was setting down about to play a game of Tetris, I began to overhear a conversation begin to take place next to me. It was a group of two young guys playing a skateboarder game.
First Guy: Hey, look at that guy on the screen. Huh, that's pretty funny.
The guy was pointing to a character on the tv screen. When you don't use the videogame controls for a while, the character just stands there swaying back and forth like it's stoned.
First Guy: Look at him! It looks like he's stoned!
Second Guy: Yeah, so?
First Guy: Well, what do you think they are trying to say about skateboarders?
Second Guy: Hey, f-you! 'Yer a stoner too and I don't see you swaying when you stand.
First Guy: Yeah, well, that's because I'm sitting down.
Indeed, they were both sitting down.
So, I guess my questions are:
(1) Based on the above conversation, should I be concerned about where our society is headed?
(2) As a faculty member, is there anything wrong with using the campus recreation center? Would this be considered "too close" to the students?
Crazyprof
Big Thirsty: Thursday
ReplyDeleteEarly Thirsty: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.
Friday Thirsty: Friday
Weekend Thirsty: Saturday or Sunday
Summer Thirsty: Summer
Am I the only one anal enough to know this? And there are graphics for all of these to accompany text. You can find an old one, download it, and then upload when ever you submit a question.
Just sayin'. Okay, maybe I am too anal.
As far as the stoners go, Chef had s a good line in some South Park episode: "There's a time and a place for everything, and it's called college." I figure things are no better or worse than they've been for years. The stoners and heavy drinkers I knew in college have mostly sobered up by now, and the good ol' days when one could get a contact high just from walking into a rock concert are long gone.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the campus rec center goes, meh. When I was a grad student and teaching classes, I used to swim laps at the campus pool. Yes, I saw students there all the time, and yes, I wore my Speedo anyway. That being said, I'm not eager to rub shoulders with some sweaty behemoth in the weight room as I struggle to bench what he can do in a bicep curl, so I've joined an off-campus gym now that I'm a TT-sort. I guess it depends what you use the rec center for.
In our first year composition course a line like, "what do you think they are trying to say about skateboarders?" is something we'd call critical thinking. He's analyzing societal depictions of skateboarders. I think that's pretty awesome! Too bad it goes downhill from there...
ReplyDelete(1) You should be concerned about where our society is headed for a number of reasons, not just this.
ReplyDelete(2) I may stop eating in the campus dining area. Too many students see me and come up, expecting homework help, when I'm in the middle of eating. Didn't anyone ever tell these children never to disturb a dog when it's eating? It might bite you!
Be concerned about our society because of what happened in Wisconsin and the fact that no one seems to think it matters.
ReplyDeletePeople get high all the time. No one should care. Getting drunk is more dangerous. And it's nothing new.
Hey, just 'cause they're a stoner doesn't mean they're dumb. There was a loud guy on the bus this week that transitioned seamlessly from "Fuck you bitch I was smoking before you got here, I'll be smoking after you're gone" to a pretty well informed analysis of the futility of the death penalty as a deterrent since the punishment was so long delayed, including references to the French revolution with correct dates.
ReplyDelete(Bonus French revolution socio-economic analysis:"Saw this movie with a peasant all screaming at them bitches, but it weren't no peasant that overthrew them bitches, it were the rich folk.")
I like the fact that Stoner One admitted to swaying, just not while sitting down. Should you be concerned that college kids are stoners who don't understand video games? No, it's actually a good sign. There are college students who aren't relentlessly wired to their glowing screens or gadgets. Maybe they are skateboarders, who are generally fit and get a lot of exercise, often out shredding or whatever they call it instead of staring at the glowing screens. The 'he looks stoned,' remark is something I'd say, since I also don't understand video games except Tetris and Space Invaders.
ReplyDeleteI also feel that people overreact to college kids getting stoned. The heavy drinking should be a concern; students occassionally die from it. Bong hits might make you stupid, tank your grades, and burn through your allowance, but it's pretty unusual for anyone to die from them. There is also the fact that an entire generation who behaved in this fashion is now teaching the next. And doing other reasonable grown-up pursuits that don't involve bong hits. This generation will survive the bong hit years just like all the others before them. Maybe one day they will even understand video games.
As far as the facilities, a few professors use the gym at my school; no one cares. It's mostly students and staff but pretty much everyone is serious about working out, and if you really are serious about exercise, you just do not care who is changing at the locker next to you.