Higher institutions.
In my head, my brain tells me not to be surprised. I know that people can be mean, and that they are nasty, self-serving, entitled, and more often than not lazy, who could care less about more than retaining their job and whether or not people affected by their job and actions get thrown under a bus. The running headline in their brains is, “Sucks to be you, but I’m still good.” I see it all the time – people on their cell phones, people cutting in lines, people who refuse to do their jobs even when they know that it will affect hundreds of other people (but because they will somehow concoct some bull caca at the last minute, they are somehow able to mask their seemingly competent behaviors OR their higher-ups are equally self-serving and could also give two hoots about who is affected as long as their own jobs are maintained by those below).
wrung hands – fluwiki.wikispaces.com
It is disappointing to find out that after committing to the #1 school for a masters in public health, that their financial aid department has not only been not behind in submitting awards compared to the other top ten schools in the country, but they could care less about their prospective students. I say this because upon calling them about having to apply for a second graduate loan (the PLUS loan), apparently only the school can apply for the student. In addition, the student has to fill out only one particular school form. However, the form will not be published until about a month or two before the academic year starts in the summer. In fact, there is no timeline offered whatsoever (which probably means that the staff hasn’t even begin working on the form even though they said it would be out within the next month — coincidentally the next month begins in a week). Upon describing the situation of not having access to internet, much less print/fax options, and getting the specific form in to an overseas trip planned last year, the staff response was:
“Well you’ll just have to look when you can. If you can’t print it then you’ll have to email us but we might not be able to do anything.“
What?
So let me first really begin with a disclaimer that I honestly and sincerely try to not allow what is definitely a first-world problem to vex me. However, I find it exceedingly difficult to be forgiving because all I see are epic fails on pretty much people failing to be people. This post falls on a (first) series of epic failures, targeting first the epic failures of higher institutions.
Hiring on stupidity. Stupidity vexes me. I’m sure it vexes everyone to a certain degree, but stupidity combined with laziness and then getting paid for it vexes me intensely, especially at a top university. Note above how I had mentioned that there would possibly be no internet access or print/fax access. How would it be possible to even know if the form came out much less email you about not being able to fax it? How is it possible that you were even hired with that level of brain function? People in a coma have more registered brain activity than you just exhibited with that one statement. Even more scary is how is the institution letting YOU handle vast sums of money on hundreds of students’ credit with that kind of mental processing?
Lack of concern and doing the job. Or is it lack of concern to do the job? Whichever it is, I don’t understand how someone can get paid to not do their job. I wish they would tell me how to get a job like that because it would be much easier than winning the lottery.
Obligatory rudeness. If you’re going to say “Have a nice day” at the end of a conversation knowing that you essentially were the cause of the reason why I will now no longer have a nice day, don’t say it at all. On top of it all, don’t say it right as you hang up the phone, clipping off your last word.
Yes, we all know that people like this exist every single day. It is depressing, and it is frustrating to the core of my very being, but what is worse is that I see it increasing every single day. It’s not just in traffic anymore but in the parking lots, the grocery stores, the post office, in your neighborhood. Gone are the days where people were willing to help each other, to give a little more than to take. And while it is so much easier to just fit in and do as the Romans do, that’s just not what I was called to and raised to be. But it doesn’t mean that I am not affected, and it makes me less wanting to get married and bring children into this world.
A lot of the time I see animals who, simply put, are out to survive, even if it means throwing their peers under a bus. Humans however, are the worst. Because they have set their own guidelines on what is “right” and what is “wrong”, they have corralled themselves with certain “lines of morality” but at the same time, because they simply could not give two butt cheeks about you, they will more often than not, cross these lines time and time again when nobody is looking to reprimand or punish them for doing so. I expect this from third world countries, or even immigrants. I do not expect this from long-standing higher institutions of education, especially a school that is promoting community and serving people as their main proposition. It is not only frustrating, but it makes me regret my decision to commit to this school, and begs me to wonder, “Just what is this world coming to?”
Rammiegirl 2.0 