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opinion:
Chef Ben's
Stew
First week blues
almost finished
With summer officially
over and classes now in session, it is time to take the toughest
test that Cal State Long Beach has to offer ? the first week
of the semester.
It is a grueling
test of endurance, standing in line inside and outside of
the bookstore, and a test of patience, fighting an internal
struggle to keep from yelling or making profane gestures while
the eternal search for a parking spot takes its toll.
I finally heard
the melancholy notes of the first-week blues as I was driving
to an early morning class Monday.
There I sat, in
my car, driving behind a streamline of automobiles with parking
decals stuck to the bottom right portion of the windshields.
As the train of cars inched closer toward the campus, a neon
road sign appeared.
"CSULB parking
ahead, Lot 11," the sign flashed.
The sign was only
telling half of the truth.
When I got to the
lot, there was parking, but I took a long time trying to find
it.
The number of cars
that were stationed daily at the CSULB parking lots were estimated
to exceed over 12,500, according to Thomas Bass, senior director
of Parking and Transportation Services.
Any commuter would
have been able to confirm that the count of frustrated drivers
combing the lots for openings would also be around that same
number.
"I got to
school at 9:15 [a.m.], and I didn't even bother looking for
a good spot," said junior Roger Casem, who commutes from
Gardena. "I knew there wasn't going to be any anyway.
So I just parked in Lot 11, but near the edge of campus, near
Atherton already. It was pretty far."
"About it
being packed," Casem continued, "I just thought
to myself, 'another first week of school.'"
At this point,
if anyone has yet to fail the first week's test of patience,
an even more arduous part awaits after getting out of the
car.
Everyone has to
maneuver around a maze of chain-linked fences to get through
the archeological digs, or construction work, taking place
at Brotman Hall.
But don't be too
discouraged by the all the problems of yet another first week,
because there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
The first week
is practically over, which means things will simmer down to
normal soon. The endless lines at the bookstore will disappear
and the parking will be bountifully abundant. Hopefully, the
campus construction work will be over too.
In closing, I felt
it fitting that I begin my very first column by offering my
deepest congratulations to all students across campus. The
worst is over.
Congratulations
everyone, you have survived week one. Only 14 more to go.
Ben Dimapindan
is a journalism major at Cal State Long Beach.
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