October 22nd, 2007

October 22nd, 2007

GRAFFITI This Issue: The Niy-Griy of Living in the ResHalls

Paper plates are just too expensive... PAGE 5

PHONE SEX! PAGE 8

Fact or Ficon: Are the RA’s out to get you?

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CONTENTS

Above: (le) students enjoy the LAN party during GDI week, (center) Neely Hall President Chris Waybright wears a dress to RHA Council because of a lost hall challenge, (Right) one of the cabins that students stayed at during Leadershop in Ross Point.

In this issue:

THE REGULARS 3 Leer from the Editor: Residents have rights: take the iniave to make these the best years of your life. How to Submit: We need arcles, pictures, stories, poems, cartoons, and bullens, and we need them now! Derek and Daphne, Doctors of the Heart: Long distance relaonships are no problem for this diverng duo.

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DISCLAIMER: The content presented in this publicaon does not necessarily represent the views and opinions of the RHA. Due to the sensive nature of these opinion arcles, the Graffi staff extends an open invitaon for rebual from any reader, staff member, or student.

In this issue:

SPECIAL CONTENT 4

RESHALL LIFE: THE OTHER SIDE

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Cori Planagan, Asst. Director of ResLife gives you the real scoop on RA’s.

One resident describes her experiences

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USING FLEX WISELY Advice from an old pro on how to NOT end 9 up with too many leover FlexDollars.

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RESLIFE: FACT AND FICTION

BOB’S VERSUS RAMEN NOODLES:

IS YOUR JOB POINTLESS? TALK TO ME: One resident gives a telemarketer an extra special conversaon.

Which do you opt for when the munchies 10 GRAFFITI LITERARY CORNER: hit? Are you a poet and don’t know it?

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SAVING MONEY ON PLATES: Too cheap to buy plates? This student is.

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TIRED OF TIRED FURNITURE: Why do the couches cost $900? Nobody knows.

10 EVENTS: Flip to the end to find out what’s going on around the ResHalls.

Leer From the Editor Dawn Cooper - Editor-in-Chief Now that we’ve all been seled in for a while we’ve had a chance to really get to know our neighbors -- the good and the bad. You know who’s had to buckle down so hard that they’ve become a hermit and who’s found the drive to become one of the shining stars of your hall. You know who is a noisy neighbor and who is the best person to talk to when you have someng you just have to get out. You’ve goen to know your hall president (and a few unlucky halls have goen to know a couple) and also your RA. Both of them should

be there to make sure your stay in the ResHalls is fun AND safe. But if you feel that ANYONE is ruining your dorm experience because they are on a power trip, whether it’s your roommate, your hall treasurer, or your RA, you should never feel powerless. Make sure to check out the arcle on page 7 from Cori Planagan. It has good informaon that every resident should know. You determine what your hall is like. If you set the example of standing up for yourself when it looks like you’re low man on the totem pole, others will see that they can too. These can be the best years of your life or the worst. It’s up to you to take the iniave. Think about it.

The Mission Statement of Graffi

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Dawn Cooper and Brandie Lyday Editor-in-Chief and former Editor-in-Chief

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he mission of the RHA Graffi is to provide an open forum for news stories, opinion pieces, and creave wring for all University of Idaho students living in the Residence Halls. Graffi supports First Amendment freedom of speech and strongly encourages resident parcipaon to further this goal. The RHA Vice President of Markeng and Communicaon has primary responsibility for ensuring that these standards are met in an appropriate manner.

OCTOBER 22, 2007 GRAFFITI

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RESHALL LIFE -- THE OTHER SIDE Karen Resch - McCoy Hall So hopefully we’ve all managed to scrape through midterms with our brains intact. It’s hard to believe there’s only a month to Fall Recess, then a mere few weeks unl the semester is over! Now that we’ve all been here for two months, life has seled into a steady rhythm and for some of us, no doubt, our perspecve has changed a lile. I’ve learned a lot; the glamour of the residence halls has faded. Now that the school year is in full swing, my hall has become a lot less social. Doors are closed more oen than not, the groups eang together at Bob’s are smaller, and hall social events are no longer the big deal they once were. People have made friends outside of their living situaon. An element of our community has been lost, though by no means to enrely negave forces. Not that I miss home, there are just parts of residence hall life that don’t quite sasfy. Last week I wandered campus alone in search of a couch. For some rea-

son, I desperately longed for a living room – I seled for the Cedar Grove, but got kicked out when it closed at 8pm. Somehow, the couches in the basement of the Tower weren’t as welcoming. Maybe it was because of the guys looking at porn on the other side of the room. In the residence halls, there is no place to hide, no private corner where you can sit undisturbed with your thoughts. While I love the people I live with, the monthly drama of 20 girls who have PMS at the same me…well, that’s an experience that doesn’t need any elaboraon. It’s just not as resul here as I’d like it to be. How is this high-energy, high-stress environment affecng you? Can you feel the wear and tear? Yet while community living may exhaust me, it fuels me too. I cope by enjoying friendships with my hall-mates. Somemes we commiserate together, other mes we energize each other. Life is real. When we witness the niy-griy in each other, we get the chance to form real friendships.

USING FLEX WISELY Jeremy Casllo - McConnell Hall Flex dollars are possibly the most irritang things about living on campus. They can only be used at Campus Dining places and don’t rollover between semesters. While returning students have most likely mastered the art of spending this non-refundable tender wisely, first-year students may find themselves with a plethora of flex dollars as the semester ends. There are two surefire ways to deal with this potenal problem. Break away from Bob’s Bob’s (or Wallace Food Court for all you perfeconists out there) is NOT the only place on campus to get a meal. The places in the Commons aren’t that bad, try them out. Cliff’s Rock Boom isn’t Jamba Juice, but it’s the best Moscow’s got smoothie-wise. Stover’s has good enough pitas if you absolutely can’t wait unl the Pita Pit reopens. Java Nook in the Administraon Building has, hands-down, the best hot chocolate on campus. Law School Express has bagel

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sandwiches and a quiet environment to enjoy your meals in. Bogey’s Grill is a tad pricey and a significant hike, but the burgers are worth the money. And honestly, you can’t beat the views of the golf course and bues. Stockpile like the ant Of course, you could ignore good advice and keep all those flex dollars unl you’re about to go home for Christmas break. This is when 6th Street Marketplace and The Market in the Commons becomes a blessing. Relieve yourself of those pesky flex dollars by raiding the shelves for all the items you can carry back to your room. You won’t eat it all in a day (hopefully) but you will have a nice stockpile of snacks to store in your room over break, enjoy on your drive home, or give as Christmas presents. Nothing says loving like an overpriced box of Wheat Thins. Right?

BOB’S VS. RAMEN NODLES Faith Snyder - Stevenson Hall Let me tell you a lile about Top Ramen. Noodles and powder, together with water makes a simple dish that has become a staple of many college diets. You can choose from beef, pork, chicken, oriental or many other flavors and it only takes about five minutes to prepare. But…it’s sll just noodles and aside from whatever the frozen foods secon of Wal-Mart offers, it’s about the only thing you can make in your room with a microwave. Bob’s, a.k.a. the Wallace Food Court, is where most of us have weekly meal plans. Every day you have choices. You don’t have to prepare the food, only select and consume. Sure, it’s not made with love like mom’s home-made pie, but its food, it’s required, and there’s variety. Many

people don’t appreciate the fact that this is just like any other restaurant. Bob’s is also a place to socialize. Since it’s a dining hall for the whole campus you’re bound to see someone you know. If not, there’s the opportunity to meet new people. I’d like to say a special thank-you to all the staff who work to keep things stocked. Even when we’re out of something, you sll have more opons than our mini-fridges. In summary: You can’t make much in the dorms, we’re obligated to have meal plans. Bob’s has opons, the food isn’t half bad and you can eat as much as you want of whatever you want for a fixed price. Unl you have a beer suggeson, maybe one where you have to spend half an hour every meal preparing food like the ham, rice and beans dish that certainly wasn’t out of a box, PLEASE STOP COMPLAINING ABOUT CAMPUS DINING!!!

SAVING MONEY ON PLATES Logan Evans - Scholars Hall Plates cost money. As a college student, I do what I can to save quarters. I sll need to buy food for my midnight study sessions because aer all, I get hungry. So what happens when I want to eat something that needs a plate? I’ve found a substute for paper plates: notebook paper. Notebook paper is made out of the same material as paper plates; it just isn’t as rigid. However, clean notebook paper is useful for notes and homework. But used notebook paper... One evening I microwaved a burrito on an old homework assignment. Aer half a minute I flipped it over. On the boom side of the burrito was imprinted a backwards math problem. Apparently I had goen the answer wrong; a red X marked one corner of the torlla. Was the burrito sll edible? When I was in kin-

dergarten my sister slipped pieces of paper into my peanut-buer and jelly sandwiches that said I was a poopyhead. I usually only saw half of those notes. In any case, eating half of a note didn’t kill me, so graphite must not be highly toxic. The math problem imprinted onto my burrito, incorrect though it may be, wouldn’t be fatal. But was the ink of the red X toxic? Being a math major, I decided to use a proof by contradicon to find out. I would assume that the burrito was inedible. I would then try to contradict my assumpon by eang it. I put the burrito back into the microwave for another thirty seconds before taking it out and returning to my desk. Some professors say that you should learn from your mistakes. Some people try to learn by osmosis. As for myself, I try to save quarters whenever I can.

OCTOBER 22, 2007 GRAFFITI

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TIRED OF TIRED FURNITURE Rachel Kenney - Stevenson Hall I’ve realized since living in Stevenson that our lounges are lacking. Not only is the carpet from the seventies or before, but the furniture looks as if someone has deflated all the life and comfort from it with a giant steamroller. Heck, you could say Godzilla sat on our furniture. There is no comfort left in those sofas. When the question was raised to spend hall money to replace the furniture, it was shot down. First we needed university approved furniture, which costs lots of money by itself. Then it must be covered in fire retardant which costs a whole lot of money. Therefore, to replace ONE couch, it would cost $900. Dare I ask why they need to charge so much? Can’t we just buy a set of furniture from a local business and use that? Honestly, we don’t need fire retardant furniture. The buildings are brick. The odds of Stevenson burning down because of a few couches without retardant on them is slim to none. The University is costing itself more money by not letting us buy furniture. I can understand about guidelines for carpeting. That is something that would benefit us by being fire resistant considering it stretches throughout the halls. In my opinion, the carpet is more likely to cause damage then the lounge sofas. Even then, most of the couches are placed far away from any appliances, TVs, or game machines. There is nothing visible that I can see that could start a fire. They already don’t allow anyone to have Pay ing $900 for one sofa is enough to make any hall go broke! any nice appliances. No toasters, crock pots, electric skillets, or anything really useful. There are no candles to set any curtains on fire, etc. Nothing that can do any damage to them unless lightening suddenly struck through an open window directly on the couch without any fire resistance. Please, this is silly. Let us buy new furniture!

YOU HAVE AN OPINION, USE IT HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR ARTICLE L I VE

We accept all kinds of arcles including human interest, polical commentary, leers of opinion, poems, sstories, photos, comiics, and feedback to Graffi staff. G

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Here at Graffi, we’d like you to keep your arcles to 300 words, but we want you to write exactly what you have to say, so don’t be afriad to go over the b llimit. Don’t forget to incclude your name and hall!

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GRAFFITI OCTOBER 22, 2007

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Please submit your stuff to [email protected]. Send photos as a separate attachment in your e-mail. SStart sending to get eeasy hall points.

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RESLIFE: FACT AND FICTION Cori Planagan - Asst. Dir. of ResLife & Res. Hall Assoc. Director Ficon: RAs are robots, accountable to no one, out to get residents. Fact: RAs are students, just like you, who go to class, stress out about tests, and want a fun, peaceful, and safe living environment. When an RA is hired, he or she commits to creang a safe and academic-minded environment, this includes enforcing policy when necessary. RAs enforce policy not to bust heads and take names, but to create an environment where everyone can feel safe and comfortable. Enforcing policy is stressful and oen unpleasant for the RA. You are not powerless if you feel you have been treated unfairly by an RA. The Area Coordinators and Resident Directors who supervise the RAs want to know how they are doing. We want to hear about ways they are contribung to your community. Also, if an RA goes out of bounds and does something unethical or unfair, we want to know. Please contact the appropriate area supervisors with kudos or concerns : Ballard, Willey & McConnell – Jamie Ben, [email protected], 885-4653 Stevenson & Gooding – Steven Wong, [email protected], 885-8265 Theophilus Tower – Grant DeYong, [email protected], 885-7968 Living Learning Community – Larry Gulledge, [email protected], 885-8970 Ficon: Quiet Hours exist to make your life miserable. Fact: Quiet Hours create me for students to sleep and study. Residence halls have close shared living quarters and it is important to have clear mes when stereos, XBoxs, TVs, computers, and the like are turned down. Self monitoring is crucial. If you have a hard me remembering to turn down Halo at 11 pm on weeknights, try seng an alarm on your cell phone at 10:55 pm. Ficon: The University Residences staff in the Residence Life and the Housing Office stay up late at night plong against students. The RAs from the Tower know how to do the robot, but being Fact: Actually we oen stay up late serving students an RA is all about having heart and looking out for students. behind the scenes as well as in more obvious ways (like aending hall meengs every Monday night at 9 pm). We are in this profession to make a difference; to use our talents to make this a great place to live and work. It is not uncommon for our staff to work many more hours than a typical 40 hour week. Somemes it approaches 60 and more. We put in this me because we care about the residents’ experiences and take pride in our jobs. Some of us are paid hourly, but many of us (including all the of the Residence Life staff) are paid a salary. We are not in it for the big bucks. This is not an aempt for sympathy; my colleagues and I enjoy our jobs, and we enjoy working with you and helping you and the energy and excitement and fun involved in working with students. We do this work because we want to bring posive, meaningful experiences to the lives of the students in the residence halls. Ficon: RAs have the psychic ability to know what is bothering you i.e. that noisy party next door at 3 a.m. or that disagreement with your roommate that you need help resolving. Fact: RAs want to help you, they just need to be asked. There may be a problem that may seem obvious to you, but it may not be obvious to your RA. Even if it is the middle of the night, there are RAs on duty to help you. Duty Calendars are on or near every RAs’ door. If you have an urgent problem in the middle of the night, check the calendar and contact the RAs on duty. That is what they are there for, so please do not hesitate to contact them if you have a problem late at night. Creang an environment of open dialogue where you can ask quesons and express concerns is really important to me and the enre University Residences staff. If you would like to talk about these and other issues, please email me at [email protected] or call 885-8134.

OCTOBER 22, 2007 GRAFFITI

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DEREK AND DAPHNE DOCTORS OF THE HEART Dear Derek and Daphne, My boyfriend doesn’t go to U of I. In fact, he’s not even in the same state. It’s really tough somemes keeping our relaonship strong. What’s the best way to keep the long distance thing going? Sincerely, Long-distance in Lindley Dear Long-distance, Dump him yesterday. It ain’t worth it, darlin’. It’s a long me before you could spend a decent amount of quality me with him. Meanwhile, all you’re doing is making yourself miserable by surrounding yourself with all the able bodied hoes in your classes and on campus. Hello, open your eyes! There are hundreds of good looking men HERE that can fulfill all your needs (whatever they may be). If you won’t take advantage of being gorgeous and in college, do ma favor and hook a sister up! I really don’t mind if you give an interested party my phone number (208-867-5309) instead of yours. I’d prefer the tall, dark, and handsome type but hey, I don’t judge. Save the long distance relaonships for your 30s . . . or when you can’t get any anymore. Unl that comes, let a playa play. Always, Daphne

Dear Long-distance, Funny story: I got this issue’s queson in my in-box, and I replied with the phrase, “Phone sex.” Wouldn’t that have been funny? You write out this serious queson about your relaonship, and I blow it off for a cheap joke. Unfortunately, my editor was born without a sense of humor. Well, I’m geng paid 3 packs of smokes and a bole of Old Crow for this column, so let’s get going. Relaonships shouldn’t be work, so stop trying to work at it. If you’re lonely, plan a trip to see him. Find some crappy town halfway between you and him, meet up at a nice resort or a Bed and Breakfast, and ravage him so fiercely that his ancestors cry out for mercy. If none of the aforemenoned is possible, you could go the phone sex route, but for the love of god, make sure your suite is empty. Good luck, Derek

LOVIN’ THOSE STEVENSON RA’S Daniel Mazo - Stevenson Hall In Stevenson Wing, the RA’s are amazing! Sam, Eric and Linda are the coolest RA’s in the world. They are energetic and friendly toward everyone they talk to. They always have things to talk about, and their knowledge is unsurpassed. They might be a little pushy at times but they do

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have a job to do. They have helped our new government strive and succeed. Since we are 3 halls unified under one government, we valued the RA’s help throughout the whole process. I love these RA’s because the just simply rock!

How are your ra’s doing? let us know!

IS YOUR JOB POINTLESS? TALK TO ME. Stephanie Hale - Stevenson Hall Today as I was preparing to open a can of tuna with just my front teeth, the telephone rang. Being as I never receive telephone calls myself, I became very excited and quickly picked up the receiver. However, the awkward two-second pause that immediately followed my overly effervescent salutation temporarily deflated my hopes like a collapsed breast implant: it had to be a telemarketer. But, being desperate for social contact, I decided to strike up a conversation with this telemarketer. It went something like this: Telemarketer (in a monotonous drawl): My name is (insert female name of your choice because it doesn’t matter) with (insert company name of your choice because no one cares) from Norfolk, Nebraska, and you have been randomly selected to take our survey. Me: Well, I’d like to believe you, but this sounds really sketchy because I know that Norfolk is in Virginia. Telemarketer: There’s also a Norfolk in Nebraska. Me: Oh, well it’s just probably not as well-known or important as the one in Virginia. I’m sorry. Telemarketer (slightly agitated): You have been randomly selected to take our survey. Me: You already said that. Are you sure there’s a Norfolk, Nebraska? Telemarketer (systolic blood pressure steadily rising): I need to talk to the youngest female in the house who is 18. Me (knowing that she meant 18 or older): Oh that would be me, but I am definitely NOT 18. Telemarketer: Well is there a male in the house I can speak to? Me: Just my dad, and being as we’re a Hispanic household, do you know what time it is? Telemarketer (apparently in need of a cultural diversity class): No. Me: It’s siesta time! So he’s obviously in no condition to speak in any language with you. Telemarketer: Well would there be a better time to call back? Me: Probably not, but I’m curious as to what your survey is about. Telemarketer (sounding very fatigued): It’s about attorneys. Me: Oh lawyers, huh? Don’t try to fool me with those big words. So what do you do once you’ve collected your data? Telemarketer (blankly): I don’t know. Me: Oh, you probably don’t do anything with it. So why do you even bother collecting data? Telemarketer (by this time questioning the purpose of her existence): Is there a better time to call back? Me: No this was probably your one and only chance. But please avoid being repetitive. Telemarketer (too well trained not to thank me for my time): Thank you for your time. Me: Thank you! Have a great day in Virginia! So in talking to this haplessly overmatched phone solicitor, I was able to confirm what I have suspected for quite some time. The only reason telemarketers have jobs is to lower the unemployment rate, wasting time collecting trivial data while the people in charge of companies go golfing. I hope I was able to help the lady I talked to reach this same conclusion, and maybe she went in to her boss, turned in her telephone, and found a job where she actually means something. Maybe she will become one of those people who welcomes people at Wal-Mart.

OCTOBER 22, 2007 GRAFFITI

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Graffi Literary Corner Rachel Simmons - Stevenson Hall WANT

All I breathe is the oasis, Though lovers live in winter fury With eyes for spring in a mindful orb, Time won’t move for them. But Truth is held in frosty thoughts, When shadows light the abyss of dreamer’s pain. When you kissed me, Flight was never far from here. Yet, I still can’t escape The world of If and Why: He gave me you, But never you me. And then I could see. Even though I will forever want To wander for summer, With evening waves and morning passion. I will drown in this ocean I cried for you And love you still.

UPCOMING EVENTS * Watch www.reshalls.org this week for RHA’s new website! * Canned food drive: drop off canned food in the boxes in your hall’s lounge until Nov. 6th. * Tower Trick or Treat! October 27th, 5-8 pm. Come help out! * Relay for Life teams need to be finalized by December 31. The Relay itself is on April 4th. * Blood Drive! November, 6th outside of Wallace. Come give life!

GRAFFITI STAFF Editor-in-Chief: Dawn Cooper ([email protected]) Associate Editors: Kelsey Laroche, Chrisna Tewes Photo Credits: Engineering Hall, McConnell Hall Special Thanks to: Tyler Mayfield Join the GRAFFITI: Freedom of Speech Facebook group This edion of GRAFFITI is brought to you by Residence Hall students like you. Thank you for your support.

OCTOBER 22, 2007 GRAFFITI

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