Apparently it was a National Day of Disservice

This morning I rode the bus in to the university as usual,arriving on campus at about 9:30.  As I walked up the path from Van Vleck Hall to Bascom Hall,I noticed the flag was flying over the building at full-mast.  Of course,given today is what it is,this was completely inappropriate.

I was on my way to class,but since I make a habit of getting to campus twenty minutes early,I had enough time to pop into an office to alert Maintenance so they could fix the mistake.  Since Bascom Hall is the home of the Chancellor,Provost,Dean of Students,and numerous other officials,it wouldn’t look good to let the error go uncorrected,even if though it wasn’t meant to be purposely disrespectful.  I stopped in to the Undergraduate Dean’s office and asked the student at the reception desk if he could call Maintenance so they could lower the flag to the appropriate height. He fumbled for a few minutes with phone rosters before telling me he couldn’t help me,and then suggested I head upstairs to the Chancellor’s office,where they could help me for sure.

With my cushion time draining away,I went upstairs,rang the doorbell they make you ring to enter the reception room of the Chancellor’s office,and asked the receptionist if she could call Maintenance,giving her the same explanation as I gave the kid downstairs.  She scowled,asked me to repeat myself,and then gave me a look like I was wasting her time. “I can’t help you,”she said. “Go to the Building Manager’s office,they might be able to.”  From the tone of her voice,the second sentence should have been preceded by “If it means that much to you…”  The Chancellor,in her office with her door open,kept reading her email like it was no big deal.

So,I went and found the Building Manager’s office,because,yeah,it really does mean that much to me. I wanted to suggest to the receptionist that it should mean something to her,too,since it was folks like her,and not military personnel,that were murdered eight years ago. But I guess her cushy desk chair and Internet access were of greater importance than showing some fucking respect to those who died while peacefully going about their daily business.

How soon we forget (or cease to care).