The exchange that is repeated over and over across campus is disturbing – a UB card thrust at a cashier, a muttered mention of dining dollars and a hasty departure.
In the meantime, if you took a moment to pay attention, the cashier has probably already said good morning, smiled and told you to have a nice day.
This may all be part of their job, but it doesn't preclude them from receiving respect and gratitude.
Why is it so easy for students to act as if cashiers, bus drivers, and janitors are second-class citizens? Why do they believe that such jobs are so inferior that their occupants are not even worthy of a "good morning" or a "thank you"?
There seems to be a sense of misplaced superiority lingering in the minds of many students. We sit in class working toward our degrees, fulfilling our goal of becoming college grads eligible for some sort of white-collar job.
With this in mind, manners are left by the wayside. For some reason, these same students who are trying to better themselves and their communities can't show respect to other hardworking individuals.
Most of us (and many of our parents) have held, or do hold, similar jobs to these. Where do students get off with being so caught up in their own preoccupations that they overlook their own peers?
These workers show up every day, ready to help the university run smoothly. Without the bus drivers committed to their jobs, students would be late for class. Without the kitchen staff and the cashiers, many wouldn't have a lunch to eat. And unless you want the bathrooms to turn into messes of bacteria, you had better hope the janitors are around.
It's so rare for a cashier to be told to have a nice day or treated politely that they notice when the students who say such things are missing for a few days. They wonder where they've been and ask them about it the next time they come in.
On the other hand, the students who complain about the smallest details and walk in with demanding attitudes are not missed, and people are generally glad when they don't come by.
Young adults are constantly complaining that they never get the respect they think they deserve. Generally, you can't get respect without showing some in return.
Next time you're walking through Putnam's, balancing your drink on your takeout container while you search your pocket for that ever-elusive UB card, remember that there's a person behind that register, and they deserve more then just a cursory glance.
E-mail: vanessa.frith@ubspectrum.com
