Broken Pt. 2

Every story needs an end:

On the phone is the department chair. His gruff, distant voice gives the impression that he would rather be doing anything but this right now. In retrospect, he probably resented me for forcing him to the level of "assistant manager" at a retail store, but I don't really care. He asks me what he can do for me. In the most polite way possible, I relay my story. The mistreatment and disrespect. The goods that I need which have been made unavailable. My frustration at it all.

I could go into detail on the conversation, but I don't really think that's necessary. Basically, he handled the situation pretty well. He treated me with some concern, though there were moments where he could be pretty condesending. He told me that he couldn't loan me the material, but never really gave a good reason why. He only convinced me further that the Art Dept. is the most insular, uncaring department on campus, but at least he let me talk.

At the end of the talk, I felt better. Not great but better. I handed the phone back to the secretary, telling her "thank you," to which she replied: "You know we don't have the authority to make any changes to what you need right?" Flabbergasted, I looked straight into her eyes and replied, "Don't undo everything your department chair just did." She began to repeat herself, and I just turned around and walked away. I was furious for the rest of the day.

So what does all this mean? At its surface, it is a tale of Ball State University's woefully inadequate customer service skills. None of this would have ever happened if someone would have just told me exactly why I, a student at this University, was unable to get access to supplies owned by the institution. If I had been handled with dignity and respect, instead of some second rate student, I would have walked away and pursued other avenues. But it didn't happen. And we as a team have decided to file a complaint with HR. It probably won't do anything, but so it goes.

At it's core though...what's really happening here? This is a story about a school that can't get along with itself. A school that has no way for departments to interact with other departments for the betterment of its students. Why is that? It's insane to think that a student would be unable to utilize the resources other students have access to. I understand the need to secure supplies from the man off the street, but from other customers of the University? How does this help me along the path of immersive education? It doesn't. All it does is expose the rotten core of our education system. Maybe this situation is unique to Ball State, but I doubt it. And even if it is, BSU is where I am. It's where my money is going. I'm paying for a broken system.