Thursday, August 08, 2002 :::
I, for one, like that there's a Subway near campus. I wonder if people are really going to be upset that, gasp, there's a corporation near Berkeley! There's a very real possibility that it'll be brought before the zoning council, and for the sole reason that Subway is a large national corporation, it will get shut down on a technicality. Councilmember Worthington said, according to the Cal:
"You get a permit for a certain kind of business and are required to comply with all stipulations of the permit. Some chains decide that it's not worth it for various reasons such as requirements that owners clean up paper mess or restrictions on space. But there's nothing intrinsically evil about a Subway."
Kriss reportedly added, "And with six subs that have less than seven grams of fat, it's a healthy, delicious way to kick-start your day! Subway: Generation Fresh! Mmm-mm!"
::: posted by Andrewski at 6:21 PM
Now that's a lot of tits.
Unfortunately, it seems that these mothers may be "out-suckled". Who knew that public breast-feeding was such a competetive arena? I just hope they don't try to milk it for everything it's worth... that'd suck, you know. Besides, can they really be matched tit-for-tat?
Ah, I crack me up.
::: posted by Andrewski at 5:52 PM
I apologize for the unannounced leave of absence, but thank you to the hundreds of Perch fans who have been writing in, worrying that I've gone on hiatus. Not so- I was in Oxford, Ohio, for something called Leadership College. Many things were discussed on the topics of the Greek system in general, with a special focus on hazing. I have some comments on this.
The college was set up in conference-style meetings, with varied topics like ranging from the Greek reputation (and how it needs to change), to how to make our individual chapters stronger. We were shown slides of kids who had drunk themselves to death, with permanent marker scribbled on their faces proclaiming "Drunk!". The attitude that so many fraternities have, especially here in Berkeley, is "party hearty" and damned be the consequences. And it makes sense, to some degree- UC Berkeley is a tough school to stay afloat in, and it's reassuring to know that there is a vibrant social atmosphere. But it only takes one rape, or one death, to bring the entire system down.
And it's a shame that this is what the public focus of fraternities is: the booze-swilling, belching institutions of date rape and chugging contests. I can't speak for fraternities outside of my own, but I don't think this is what our founders had in mind. They're supposed to be gentleman's clubs, as in sitting up straight, eating with a napkin on your lap, standing up when a woman enters the room. They are moral institutions, which preach that we are in a position where we can help society through philanthropy.
The image of fraternities has degraded so much, mostly because the standards are so often loose and so rarely enforced. It's up to each individual chapter, of course, how much self-regulation occurs. Occasionally the Universities will have to step in, as UC Berkeley did just last semester. You've got concerned residents, who really would have no reason to be concerned if fraternities practiced what they preached: turning boys into gentlemen, with higher standards of conduct than we would expect of just anyone.
Change comes from within, and when the Greek system (especially the ones right here in Berkeley) decide to start changing their image to reflect their original values, we'll have less fear of incidents and greater respect from public.
::: posted by Andrewski at 1:06 PM
