"Win or lose, we go shopping after the election"
-Imelda Marcos
Elections are a funny thing. Elections in a student organization are even more peculiar. Part popularity contest, part informercial, part... British parliament... w/o the wigs. When it comes down to it, you do it for the service, your fellow "man" aka students and... well the power and prestige help a little.
I hadn't been involved in an open election since... well high school. The votes were tallied for each position and... I felt confident about the new set of officers. Three students, who I have come to recognize, were not chosen for a position and it was interesting to see their reactions. One was not fazed at all (and in fact ran again), another completely shut down and the last student was close to tears. I approached one of them and gave them my consolation but it wasn't received very well. It's hard to pinpoint how to approach someone in a time of need but I'm glad that I at least "tried".
The meeting ran later (of course) than expected but I bonded with a few more students (as I do with each visit) and some have dubbed me "Sun, the Intern" as there is already one "Sun" in the group (a male student also of Korean decent).
I took another anonymous survey to determine which campus/ethnic enclave to visit. Looks like my alma mater (UCLA) has won out. Now to figure out logistics (transportation, cost, parking, etc...) and of course a sign up sheet. I have so many plans for this group but only 3 months left. My how time flies! I hope I can reach these learning objectives in time ... and of course understand the students a little more . . .
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
02. 03. 2010: Week 1
First day
First introductions
First problem(s)
Parking seems to be a consistent problem in most higher education institutions. I did a quick Google search and found over 4 million hits. It probably doesn't surprise most Southern California college students that parking, aside from tuition and midterms, ranks as one of the biggest campus-related problems.
My first day at Cerritos College's International Student Center (ISC) was no different. I spent a good hour trying to figure out the parking situation. Broken parking kiosks, poorly labeled maps and a commuter campus added to the stress of trying to park. Add the lovely Southern California sun (a blazing 75 degrees) and students circling the parking lot like sharks surveying their prey... and you get a semblance of what I went through. Added to this, of course, was the stress of the first day and running-late jitters.
Luckily, the ISC staff and the international students hanging out in the center were both friendly and welcoming. They sympathized with my parking woes and empathized with their own stories of parking tickets and fighting over the last parking spot during the chaotic first week of classes.
First introductions
First problem(s)
Parking seems to be a consistent problem in most higher education institutions. I did a quick Google search and found over 4 million hits. It probably doesn't surprise most Southern California college students that parking, aside from tuition and midterms, ranks as one of the biggest campus-related problems.
My first day at Cerritos College's International Student Center (ISC) was no different. I spent a good hour trying to figure out the parking situation. Broken parking kiosks, poorly labeled maps and a commuter campus added to the stress of trying to park. Add the lovely Southern California sun (a blazing 75 degrees) and students circling the parking lot like sharks surveying their prey... and you get a semblance of what I went through. Added to this, of course, was the stress of the first day and running-late jitters.
Luckily, the ISC staff and the international students hanging out in the center were both friendly and welcoming. They sympathized with my parking woes and empathized with their own stories of parking tickets and fighting over the last parking spot during the chaotic first week of classes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
