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October 22nd, 2007

G R A F F I T I

Fact or

Ficon:Are the RAs outto get you?

PAGE 7

This Issue:

The Niy-Griy of Living

in the ResHalls

PHONE SEX!

PAGE 8

Paper plates are justtoo expensive...

PAGE 5

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DISCLAIMER:

The content presented in this publicaon does

not necessarily represent the views and opinions

of the RHA. Due to the sensive nature of these

opinion arcles, the Graffi staff extends an open

invitaon for rebual from any reader, staff

member, or student.

In this issue:T H E R E G U L A R S

Long distance relaonships are no prob-lem for this diverng duo.

Derek and Daphne, Doctors of the Heart:8

How to Submit:We need arcles, pictures, stories,poems, cartoons, and bullens, and weneed them now!

6

Residents have rights: take the iniaveto make these the best years of your life.

CONTENTS

In this issue:

S P E C I A L C O N T E N T

One resident describes her experiences

RESHALL LIFE: THE OTHER SIDE

USING FLEX WISELY

BOBS VERSUS RAMEN NOODLES:

Which do you opt for when the munchieshit?

4

4

5

TIRED OF TIRED FURNITURE:Why do the couches cost $900? Nobodyknows.

RESLIFE: FACT AND FICTIONCori Planagan, Asst. Director of ResLifegives you the real scoop on RAs.

6

7

SAVING MONEY ON PLATES:

Too cheap to buy plates? This student is.

5

9 IS YOUR JOB POINTLESS? TALK TO ME:One resident gives a telemarketer an extraspecial conversaon.

Leer from the Editor:3

Above: (le) students enjoy the LAN party during GDI week, (center) Neely Hall President Chris Waybright wears a dress to RHACouncil because of a lost hall challenge, (Right) one of the cabins that students stayed at during Leadershop in Ross Point.

Advice from an old pro on how to NOT endup with too many leover FlexDollars.

10 GRAFFITI LITERARY CORNER:

Are you a poet and dont know it?

10 EVENTS:

Flip to the end to find out whats going onaround the ResHalls.

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N o w

that weve all

been seled in

for a while weve

had a chance

to really get to

know our neigh-

bors -- the good

and the bad. You know whos had to buckle

down so hard that theyve become a hermit

and whos found the drive to become one of

the shining stars of your hall. You know who

is a noisy neighbor and who is the best per-son to talk to when you have someng you just

have to get out.

Youve goen to know your hall president

(and a few unlucky halls have goen to know a

couple) and also your RA. Both of them should

be there to make sure your stay in

the ResHalls is fun AND safe.

But if you feel that ANYONE is ruining your

dorm experience because they are on a pow-

er trip, whether its your roommate, your hall

treasurer, or your RA, you should never feel

powerless. Make sure to check out the arcle

on page 7 from Cori Planagan. It has good in-

formaon that every resident should know.

You determine what your hall is like. If

you set the example of standing up for your-

self when it looks like youre low man on the

totem pole, others will see that they can too.

These can be the best years of your life or the

worst.

Its up to you to take the iniave. Think

about it.

Leer From the EditorDawn Cooper - Editor-in-Chief

OCTOBER 22, 2007 GRAFFITI 3

The Mission Statement ofGraffi

The mission of the RHA Graffiis to provide an open forum for news stories, opinion pieces, andcreave wring for all University of Idaho students living in the Residence Halls. Graffisupports

First Amendment freedom of speech and strongly encourages resident parcipaon to further this goalThe RHA Vice President of Markeng and Communicaon has primary responsibility for ensuring thatthese standards are met in an appropriate manner.

Dawn Cooper and Brandie Lyday

Editor-in-Chief and former Editor-in-Chief! !

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So hopefully weve all managed to scrape

through midterms with our brains intact. Its hard

to believe theres only a month to Fall Recess,

then a mere few weeks unl the semester is over!

Now that weve all been here for two months, life

has seled into a steady rhythm and for some of us, no

doubt, our perspecve has changed a lile. Ive learned

a lot; the glamour of the residence halls has faded. Now

that the school year is in full swing, my hall has become

a lot less social. Doors are closed more oen than not,

the groups eang together at Bobs are smaller, and

hall social events are no longer the big deal they once

were. People have made friends outside of their liv-

ing situaon. An element of our community has been

lost, though by no means to enrely negave forces.Not that I miss home, there are just parts of resi-

dence hall life that dont quite sasfy. Last week I wan-

dered campus alone in search of a couch. For some rea-

son, I desperately longed for a living room I seled

for the Cedar Grove, but got kicked out when it closed

at 8pm. Somehow, the couches in the basement of the

Tower werent as welcoming. Maybe it was because

of the guys looking at porn on the other side of the

room. In the residence halls, there is no place to hide,

no private corner where you can sit undisturbed with

your thoughts. While I love the people I live with, the

monthly drama of 20 girls who have PMS at the same

mewell, thats an experience that doesnt need any

elaboraon. Its just not as resul here as Id like it to be

How is this high-energy, high-stress environment

affecng you? Can you feel the wear and tear? Yet while

community living may exhaust me, it fuels me too. I cope

by enjoying friendships with my hall-mates. Somemeswe commiserate together, other mes we energize each

other. Life is real. When we witness the niy-griy in

each other, we get the chance to form real friendships

Karen Resch - McCoy Hall

4 GRAFFITI OCTOBER 22, 2007

RESHALL LIFE -- THE OTHER SIDE

Flex dollars are possibly the most irritang things

about living on campus. They can only be used at

Campus Dining places and dont rollover betweensemesters.

While returning students have most likely

mastered the art of spending this non-refundable

tender wisely, first-year students may find themselves

with a plethora of flex dollars as the semester ends.

There are two surefire ways to deal with this potenal

problem.

Break away from Bobs

Bobs (or Wallace Food Court for all you per-

feconists out there) is NOT the only place on campus

to get a meal. The places in the Commons arent thatbad, try them out. Cliff s Rock Boom isnt Jamba

Juice, but its the best Moscows got smoothie-wise.

Stovers has good enough pitas if you absolutely cant

wait unl the Pita Pit reopens. Java Nook in the Ad-

ministraon Building has, hands-down, the best hot

chocolate on campus. Law School Express has bagel

sandwiches and a quiet environment to enjoy your

meals in. Bogeys Grill is a tad pricey and a significant

hike, but the burgers are worth the money. And hon-estly, you cant beat the views of the golf course and

bues.

Stockpile like the ant

Of course, you could ignore good advice and

keep all those flex dollars unl youre about to go

home for Christmas break. This is when 6th Street

Marketplace and The Market in the Commons be-

comes a blessing. Relieve yourself of those pesky flex

dollars by raiding the shelves for all the items you can

carry back to your room. You wont eat it all in a day

(hopefully) but you will have a nice stockpile of snacks

to store in your room

over break, enjoy on

your drive home, or giveas Christmas presents.Nothing says loving likean overpriced box ofWheat Thins. Right?

USING FLEX WISELYJeremy Casllo - McConnell Hall

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BOBS VS. RAMEN NODLESFaith Snyder - Stevenson Hall

OCTOBER 22, 2007 GRAFFITI 5

Let me tell you a lileabout Top Ramen.Noodles and powder,together with water

makes a simple dish thathas become a staple ofmany college diets. You

can choose from beef, pork, chicken, oriental ormany other flavors and it only takes about fiveminutes to prepare. Butits sll just noodles andaside from whatever the frozen foods secon ofWal-Mart offers, its about the only thing you canmake in your room with a microwave.

Bobs, a.k.a. the Wallace Food Court, is wheremost of us have weekly meal plans. Every day

you have choices. You dont have to prepare thefood, only select and consume. Sure, its notmade with love like moms home-made pie, butits food, its required, and theres variety. Many

people dont appreciate the fact that this is justlike any other restaurant. Bobs is also a place tosocialize. Since its a dining hall for the wholecampus youre bound to see someone you know.

If not, theres the opportunity to meet newpeople. Id like to say a special thank-you to allthe staff who work to keep things stocked. Evenwhen were out of something, you sll have moreopons than our mini-fridges.In summary: You cant make much in the dorms,were obligated to have meal plans. Bobs hasopons, the food isnt half bad and you can eatas much as you want of whatever you want for afixed price. Unl you have a beer suggeson,maybe one where you have to spend half an hour

every meal preparing food like the ham, rice andbeans dish that certainly wasnt out of a box,PLEASE STOP COMPLAINING ABOUT CAMPUSDINING!!!

SAVING MONEY ON PLATESLogan Evans - Scholars Hall

Plates cost money. As a

college student, I do what I can

to save quarters. I sll need tobuy food for my midnight study

sessions because aer all, I get

hungry. So what happens when I

want to eat something that needs

a plate?

Ive found a substute for

paper plates: notebook paper.

Notebook paper is made out of the same material

as paper plates; it just isnt as rigid. However, clean

notebook paper is useful for notes and homework.

But used notebook paper...One evening I microwaved a burrito on an old

homework assignment. Aer half a minute I flipped it

over. On the boom side of the burrito was imprinted

a backwards math problem. Apparently I had goen

the answer wrong; a red X marked one corner of the

torlla.

Was the burrito sll edible? When I was in kin-

dergarten my sister slipped pieces

of paper into my peanut-buer and

jelly sandwiches that said I was apoopyhead. I usually only saw half

of those notes. In any case, eat-

ing half of a note didnt kill me, so

graphite must not be highly toxic.

The math problem imprinted onto

my burrito, incorrect though it may

be, wouldnt be fatal.

But was the ink of the red X toxic? Being a math

major, I decided to use a proof by contradicon to

find out. I would assume that the burrito was ined-

ible. I would then try to contradict my assumpon byeang it. I put the burrito back into the microwave for

another thirty seconds before taking it out and re-

turning to my desk.

Some professors say that you should learn from

your mistakes. Some people try to learn by osmosis.

As for myself, I try to save quarters whenever I can.

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Rachel Kenney - Stevenson Hall

TIRED OF TIRED FURNITURE

YOU HAVE AN OPINION, USE IT

HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR ARTICLE

L IVE ITWe accept all kinds of ar-

cles including human inter-

est, polical commentary,

leers of opinion, poems,

stories, photos, com-

ics, and feedback to

Graffistaff.

WRITE ITHere at Graffi, wed like you to

keep your arcles to 300 words,

but we want you to write exactly

what you have to say, so dont

be afriad to go over the

limit. Dont forget to in-

clude your name and hall!21

SUBMIT ITPlease submit your stuff to

vpmc@reshalls.org. Send

photos as a separate at-

tachment in your e-mail.

Start sending to get

easy hall points.3

6 GRAFFITI OCTOBER 22, 2007

Ive realized since living in Stevenson that our lounges are lacking. Not only is the carpet from the

seventies or before, but the furniture looks as if someone has deflated all the life and comfort from it with a gi-

ant steamroller. Heck, you could say Godzilla sat on our furniture. There is no comfort left in those sofas.

When the question was raised to spend hall money to replace the furniture, it was shot down. Firstwe needed university approved furniture, which costs lots of money by itself. Then it must be covered in fire

retardant which costs a whole lot of money. Therefore, to replace ONE couch, it would cost $900. Dare I ask

why they need to charge so much? Cant we

just buy a set of furniture from a local busi-

ness and use that? Honestly, we dont need fire

retardant furniture. The buildings are brick. The

odds of Stevenson burning down because of a

few couches without retardant on them is slim to

none.

The University is costing itself more

money by not letting us buy furniture. I canunderstand about guidelines for carpeting. That

is something that would benefit us by being fire

resistant considering it stretches throughout the

halls. In my opinion, the carpet is more likely to

cause damage then the lounge sofas. Even then,

most of the couches are placed far away from

any appliances, TVs, or game machines. There

is nothing visible that I can see that could start a

fire. They already dont allow anyone to have

any nice appliances. No toasters, crock pots,

electric skillets, or anything really useful. There

are no candles to set any curtains on fire, etc. Nothing that can do any damage to them unless lightening sud-

denly struck through an open window directly on the couch without any fire resistance. Please, this is silly. Let

us buy new furniture!

Pay ing $900 for one sofa is enough to make any hall go broke!

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OCTOBER 22, 2007 GRAFFITI 7

RESLIFE: FACT AND FICTIONCori Planagan - Asst. Dir. of ResLife & Res. Hall Assoc. Director

Ficon: RAs are robots, accountable to no one, out to get residents.

Fact: RAs are students,just like you, who go to class, stress out about tests, and want a fun, peaceful, and safe

living environment. When an RA is hired, he or she commits to creang a safe and academic-minded environ-

ment, this includes enforcing policy when necessary. RAs enforce policy not to bust heads and take names,

but to create an environment where everyone can feel safe and comfortable. Enforcing policy is stressful andoen unpleasant for the RA.

You are not powerless if you feel you have been treated unfairly by an RA. The Area Coordinators and

Resident Directors who supervise the RAs want to know how they are doing. We want to hear about ways they

are contribung to your community. Also, if an RA goes out of bounds and does something unethical or unfair,

we want to know. Please contact the appropriate area supervisors with kudos or concerns :

Ballard, Willey & McConnell Jamie Ben, jlben@uidaho.edu, 885-4653

Stevenson & Gooding Steven Wong, swong@uidaho.edu, 885-8265

Theophilus Tower Grant DeYong, grantd@uidaho.edu, 885-7968

Living Learning Community Larry Gulledge, larryg@uidaho.edu, 885-8970

Ficon: Quiet Hours exist to make your life miserable.

Fact: Quiet Hours create me for students to sleep and

study. Residence halls have close shared living quarters

and it is important to have clear mes when stereos,

XBoxs, TVs, computers, and the like are turned down.

Self monitoring is crucial. If you have a hard me re-

membering to turn down Halo at 11 pm on weeknights,

try seng an alarm on your cell phone at 10:55 pm.

Ficon: The University Residences staff in the Residence

Life and the Housing Office stay up late at night plong

against students.

Fact: Actually we oen stay up late serving studentsbehind the scenes as well as in more obvious ways (like

aending hall meengs every Monday night at 9 pm). We are in this profession to make a difference; to use

our talents to make this a great place to live and work. It is not uncommon for our staff to work many more

hours than a typical 40 hour week. Somemes it approaches 60 and more. We put in this me because we

care about the residents experiences and take pride in our jobs. Some of us are paid hourly, but many of us

(including all the of the Residence Life staff) are paid a salary. We are not in it for the big bucks. This is not an

aempt for sympathy; my colleagues and I enjoy our jobs, and we enjoy working with you and helping you and

the energy and excitement and fun involved in working with students. We do this work because we want to

bring posive, meaningful experiences to the lives of the students in the residence halls.

Ficon: RAs have the psychic ability to know what is bothering you i.e. that noisy party next door at 3 a.m. or

that disagreement with your roommate that you need help resolving.Fact: RAs want to help you, they just need to be asked. There may be a problem that may seem obvious to

you, but it may not be obvious to your RA. Even if it is the middle of the night, there are RAs on duty to help

you. Duty Calendars are on or near every RAs door. If you have an urgent problem in the middle of the night,

check the calendar and contact the RAs on duty. That is what they are there for, so please do not hesitate to

contact them if you have a problem late at night.

Creang an environment of open dialogue where you can ask quesons and express concerns is really

important to me and the enre University Residences staff. If you would like to talk about these and other is-

sues, please email me at planagan@uidaho.edu or call 885-8134.

The RAs from the Tower know how to do the robot, but being

an RA is all about having heart and looking out for students.

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Dear Long-distance,

Funny story: I got this issues queson in my

in-box, and I replied with the phrase, Phone sex.

Wouldnt that have been funny? You write out this

serious queson about your relaonship, and I blow

it off for a cheap joke. Unfortunately, my editor was

born without a sense of humor.

Well, Im geng paid 3 packs of smokes and a

bole of Old Crow for this column, so lets get going.Relaonships shouldnt be work, so stop trying

to work at it. If youre lonely, plan a trip to see him.

Find some crappy town halfway between you and

him, meet up at a nice resort or a Bed and Breakfast,

and ravage him so fiercely that his ancestors cry out

for mercy. If none of the aforemenoned is possible,

you could go the phone sex route, but for the love of

god, make sure your suite is empty.

Good luck,

Derek

Dear Derek and Daphne,My boyfriend doesnt go to U of I. In fact, hes not even in the same state. Its really tough

somemes keeping our relaonship strong. Whats the best way to keep the long distance thing go-ing?

Sincerely,Long-distance in Lindley

DEREK AND DAPHNEDOCTORS OF THE HEART

LOVIN THOSE STEVENSON RAS

Dear Long-distance,

Dump him yesterday. It aint worth it, darlin.

Its a long me before you could spend a decent

amount of quality me with him. Meanwhile, all

youre doing is making yourself miserable by sur-

rounding yourself with all the able bodied hoes in

your classes and on campus. Hello, open your eyes!

There are hundreds of good looking men HERE that

can fulfill all your needs (whatever they may be).

If you wont take advantage of being gorgeous

and in college, do ma favor and hook a sister up! I

really dont mind if you give an interested party my

phone number (208-867-5309) instead of yours. Id

prefer the tall, dark, and handsome type but hey,

I dont judge. Save the long distance relaonships

for your 30s . . . or when you cant get any anymore.

Unl that comes, let a playa play.

Always,

Daphne

8 GRAFFITI OCTOBER 22, 2007

Daniel Mazo - Stevenson Hall

In Stevenson Wing, the

RAs are amazing!

Sam, Eric and Linda

are the coolest RAs in the

world. They are energetic andfriendly toward everyone they

talk to. They always have things

to talk about, and their knowl-

edge is unsurpassed.

They might be a little

pushy at times but they do

have a job to do. They have

helped our new government strive

and succeed. Since we are 3 halls

unified under one government, we

valued the RAs help throughoutthe whole process.

I love these RAs because

the just simply rock!

How are your

ras doing?

let us know!

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Today as I was preparing to open a can of tuna with just my front

teeth, the telephone rang. Being as I never receive telephone calls my-

self, I became very excited and quickly picked up the receiver. However,

the awkward two-second pause that immediately followed my overly

effervescent salutation temporarily deflated my hopes like a collapsedbreast implant: it had to be a telemarketer. But, being desperate for so-

cial contact, I decided to strike up a conversation with this telemarketer.

It went something like this:

Telemarketer (in a monotonous drawl): My name is (insert female

name of your choice because it doesnt matter) with (insert company

name of your choice because no one cares) from Norfolk, Nebraska, and

you have been randomly selected to take our survey.

Me: Well, Id like to believe you, but this sounds really sketchy because I know that Norfolk is in Virginia.

Telemarketer: Theres also a Norfolk in Nebraska.Me: Oh, well its just probably not as well-known or important as the one in Virginia. Im sorry.

Telemarketer (slightly agitated): You have been randomly selected to take our survey.

Me: You already said that. Are you sure theres a Norfolk, Nebraska?

Telemarketer (systolic blood pressure steadily rising): I need to talk to the youngest female in the house who is

18.

Me (knowing that she meant 18 or older): Oh that would be me, but I am definitely NOT 18.

Telemarketer: Well is there a male in the house I can speak to?

Me: Just my dad, and being as were a Hispanic household, do you know what time it is?

Telemarketer (apparently in need of a cultural diversity class): No.

Me: Its siesta time! So hes obviously in no condition to speak in any language with you.

Telemarketer: Well would there be a better time to call back?Me: Probably not, but Im curious as to what your survey is about.

Telemarketer (sounding very fatigued): Its about attorneys.

Me: Oh lawyers, huh? Dont try to fool me with those big words. So what do you do once youve collected your

data?

Telemarketer (blankly): I dont know.

Me: Oh, you probably dont do anything with it. So why do you even bother collecting data?

Telemarketer (by this time questioning the purpose of her existence): Is there a better time to call back?

Me: No this was probably your one and only chance. But please avoid being repetitive.

Telemarketer (too well trained not to thank me for my time): Thank you for your time.

Me: Thank you! Have a great day in Virginia!

So in talking to this haplessly overmatched phone solicitor, I was able to confirm what I have suspected

for quite some time. The only reason telemarketers have jobs is to lower the unemployment rate, wasting time

collecting trivial data while the people in charge of companies go golfing. I hope I was able to help the lady I

talked to reach this same conclusion, and maybe she went in to her boss, turned in her telephone, and found a

job where she actually means something. Maybe she will become one of those people who welcomes people at

Wal-Mart.

IS YOUR JOB POINTLESS? TALK TO ME.Stephanie Hale - Stevenson Hall

OCTOBER 22, 2007 GRAFFITI 9

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UPCOMING EVENTS* Watch www.reshalls.org this week for RHAs new website!

* Canned food drive: drop off canned food in the boxes in your halls lounge until Nov. 6th.

* Tower Trick or Treat! October 27th, 5-8 pm. Come help out!

* Relay for Life teams need to be finalized by December 31. The Relay itself is on April 4th.

* Blood Drive! November, 6th outside of Wallace. Come give life!

GRAFFITI

STAFF

Editor-in-Chief: Dawn Cooper (vpmc@reshalls.org)

Associate Editors: Kelsey Laroche, Chrisna Tewes

Photo Credits: Engineering Hall, McConnell Hall

Special Thanks to: Tyler Mayfield

Join the GRAFFITI: Freedom of Speech Facebook group

This edion of GRAFFITI is brought to you by Residence Hall students like you.

Thank you for your support.

Graffi Literary Corner

OCTOBER 22 2007 GRAFFITI 10

Rachel Simmons - Stevenson Hall

All I breathe is the oasis,

Though lovers live in winter furyWith eyes for spring in a mindful orb,

Time wont move for them.

But Truth is held in frosty thoughts,

When shadows light the abyss of dreamers pain.

When you kissed me,

Flight was never far from here.

Yet, I still cant escape

The world of If and Why:

He gave me you,But never you me.

And then I could see.

Even though I will forever want

To wander for summer,

With evening waves and morning passion.

I will drown in this ocean I cried for you

And love you still.

WANT