>>March
      2, 2001

      
R-e-s-p-e-c-t, find out what it means
      to the UI staff

      
Yelling is not the answer. Throwing
      books is not the answer. In fact, there actually is no answer
      at all. So, what is the question? 

      


      Well, it could be any number of things. In fact, it may not be
      a question at all; it could range from a dignified and humble
      request to a violent and self-centered demand. 

      


      The only similarity linking all of these questions is the people
      to which they are directed.

      


      Yelling at the library's circulation staff will not help one
      get one's books renewed. Throwing pens at the vandal card services
      staff will not help them add thousands of dollars to your vandal
      card account. The list goes on and on.

      


      Though people often suggest article ideas to me, they are often
      said jokingly and taken as such. 

      
Recently, however, an employee
      at vandal card services pointed this problem out to me. She had
      just dealt with some people requesting the impossible. 

      


      Furthermore, I work in the library and often notice people asking
      library employees for the impossible-just letting them have books,
      or getting Harvard to loan us the only copy of a particular book
      in existence, or whatever the case may be.

      


      Regardless of the request, the point is that the staff at the
      University of Idaho is virtually always treated like crap. It's
      easy to treat staff terribly simply because they are the faces
      that we deal with every day. 

      
They are people who represent
      the bureaucracy of the UI. And though we students come into contact
      with faculty more often, they are simply given respect by nature
      of their positions of authority. 

      


      Staff, meanwhile, perform services for the students. Inevitably,
      students might begin to feel a sense of superiority. This is
      sad and needs to stop.

      


      Students really ought to remember that there are people behind
      the friendly faces all over campus. 

      


      Behind those people who smile regardless of our stupidity are
      people who are simply following the rules and duties of their
      jobs. We, as students, must learn to treat them with respect
      and courtesy, just as they show to us.

      


      The same vandal card employee also pointed out that, from time
      to time, members of the faculty behave even worse than students.
      

      


      This, I think, is even worse. She told me of times when faculty
      had cut in line ahead of students. This, too, is wrong. Just
      as students need to learn to respect staff, so do faculty need
      to respect students.

      


      The story isn't, however, one-sided. Every student knows the
      joys of dealing with staff who are simply condescending. Sometimes,
      the UI staff can be downright despicable. 

      


      Again, there are reasons for this; perhaps the staff is taking
      out frustration in dealing with angry students or faculty. Whatever
      the reason, it too is wrong.

      


      Altogether, staff, students and faculty alike need to learn to
      treat one another with respect. Everyone on this campus is here
      for a reason­-that reason may be learning, working or both.
      

      


      Everyone knows the frustration that can occur sometimes when
      dealing with others on campus. 

      


      Still, getting upset, yelling, throwing things, etc. is not the
      answer. Just learn to treat everyone with respect.
 

      
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