for stupid eyes only:

let's completely set aside the high tuition rates. forget the $200 for a parking permit. let's not even go into the we'll sell you a text book you might open for an obscene amount of money that you don't have, give you next to nothing for it 6 months later if it is in perfect condition, knock $20 off the retail price and resell it for the next 2 years to some sad sap who thought they are getting a deal buying used while a bunch of corporate nothings change a few statistics so a new edition can be published every 4 years, if you are lucky. yea, no let's set all of that aside. and let's just focus on the quality of the student body. what kind of standards do they set for attending webster university?

so the admission standards for freshman don't sound all that terrible.

"Applicants most likely to be accepted will be in the top 50 percent of their high school class, will have a cumulative grade point average of at least a B, and will have an ACT composite score of 21 or above and/or a combined SAT of 1500 or above. Freshman applicants are expected to complete a college preparatory secondary school program with at least 19 units of academic credit. "

and they give a decent amount of money to freshman students who start out at webster.

"Approximately 95% of freshmen who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents at the home campus in St. Louis receive financial assistance." and "The average financial aid package including gifts, loans, and work-study is $15,000."

but check out the admission requirements for transfer students:

"While a minimum cumulative college G.P.A. of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale is preferred, every application is given thorough review and careful consideration. Note: ACT or SAT scores are not required for transfer students if you have been out of high school for more than one year."

"Academic scholarships are offered to qualified full-time transfer students who have achieved a cumulative G.P.A. of at least 3.0 or higher (on a 4.0 scale) on all college work attempted."

but fuck that. you don't care about all those stupid facts that involve a school you don't attend.

here's the point: the student body of webster is comprised of the most inane individuals i have every had the misfortune of meeting. and although i have met a few professors that have been worth my time, energy and maybe even my money, they are rare. problem #1: stupid kids take a semester or two at a community college and get a's. doesn't matter what the classes were. and get ridiculous amounts of money, they get paid to go to webster. problem #2: professors are not challenged by this lacking student body and therefore are unable to maintain high expectations of their students. which results in an uninformed, unintelligent, downright stupid student body.

so i'm taking a summer school class for my certificate of entrepreneurship. intro to entrepreneurial management. and i had such high hopes. the class was said to be fairly decent and i was recommended to take it by the head of the department.

4 hours every thursday night for 8 weeks. it's a tough sell for any professor. but for this one, damn. this one just "couldn't figure out how to get the internet to work" or to remember to bring a syllabus, i'm worried about the next 7 weeks.

during the first 10 minutes there were 4 people that found out they weren't cut out to run their own businesses after they took a 10 question personality assessment (a copy of which i think can be found in the 2003 September edition of Cosmo). the genius behind the marketing strategy of Apple's new, "wait what was the name of that new expensive phone called? no it went for like $600 when it first came out, then they dropped down to like $400, what was up with that?" was beyond the intelligence of not only every other student but also the professor. (i'm sorry what?)

i feel like quitting. so close to graduating and it makes we want to cry. but more for humanity than anything else. and for me. yes i cry for myself. cause let's face it. i'm the stupid one for continuing my education at this sad establishment.




and now to further my point, to beat it to a pulp, and to demonstrate exactly what i'm talking about if for no other reason than for your entertainment. this essay was written in my media writing class. the assignment was to interview someone in your field of interest on the point in their life where they knew what they wanted to do as their career. author will remain anonymous so no one can punish him/her.

Through the Eyes of Cliff Allen

In the small town of Festus Missouri thirty miles south of St. Louis, you will find a fellow by the name of Clifton H. Allen. Cliff, as he is prefers to be called, was born October 18, 1915 on a small farm at Alto Pass in southern Illinois. He is a man with a courageous heart but at the same time he is given with a very soft modest tone and peaceful character for a small town country boy that would give the shirt off of his back of any one he knew. His gray hair and shimmering blue eyes show a mark of many years of experiences and wisdom. With his ever comforting smile he shows a storytelling style sense of humor and wit that is stored in his memory at the unusually bold age of 92, He still shows a very strong love of life. It's amazing that this peaceful and quite man was ever near the Second World War with its ambitious naval battles.
Cliff was a radar man during the Second World War upon an escort carrier by the name of USS Sergeant Bay. On this ship he would experience one of the most fearful and dangerous times of his life. Like now we are at a time of war. It is not as epic or grand as the war Cliff experienced but it's an issue that is still there. The Issue of what service men experience when they go to war. By taking a look at Cliff we get a glimpse into a man who went to war and experienced it first hand the unity training and how they dealt with their fear.
Cliff was drafted into the navy reserves in the year of 1943. If you recall our history, 1943 was a little over a year from the time that they United States joined in the war. Cliff was working at that time was for a small arms plant in the states making 50 to 30 caliber bullets for machine guns. When it came to joining the service Cliff says
"It was kind of a mixture, I was 26, 27, my friends were going. I need to go, I thought to do my duty but my job was submitting to the war effort."
Cliff had a choice of staying or going but he was going to be drafted so he decided to join the navy "since my (his) brother was in the navy" he said. As was cited earlier Cliff was a radar man on an escort carrier which was a special job that required its own special training.
"Radar was a secret. The first thing they did when I went to radar school was to swear us to secrecy. None of knew about radar. They had to teach you from scratch like in kindergarten, but the longer we went to schools the more we knew. They taught us coordinates and how to write backwards on the plexi board." (Plexi board is a clear see-through board that you would write bearing and time of ships in the radar scope.)
During their time at training until the time on the ship Cliff was assigned to a radar crew that he stayed with during the whole time of his service. Being with this group he grew attached to it.
"Everybody was friendly; everybody knew things about each other. Everybody was in the same situation that you were in being away from home. If you got in the dumps someone would try and cheer you up by playing cards or just talking."
Due to the tight enclosures of being on a ship at sea they got so attached that they even had nick names for each other.
"Everybody had a nick name because you knew everyone. Every week you'd send your laundry and when it would come back every one would accuse each other of stealing your skibies."
Cliff and his radar crew were in all six battles that his ship was of during the war His ship was to supply the main carriers with supplies that were needed; during battle he faced opposition such as the much feared kamikazes attacks which added the most chaos in battle. Cliff recalls just how much of a threat the kamikaze planes were He recalls the time where there was a close call on his ship.
"One came from starboard (right) side of the ship and was shot down no more than fifty feed in front of the bow of the carrier. It always occurred to you that you were in danger, but there was so much going on you didn't get scared until later."
After the war ended Cliff went home and had to get back into the routine of things, He came home to his wife Fern Allen (who died in 2005) who he was married to before the war and also learning to stop being a sailor.
"I didn't have anything, all I had was a uniform so I had to buy new clothes. I also was getting back home to Fern, which was getting use to beginning with a woman."
While I interviewed this man and all that he had done I had to ask him if he would do it all again? He responded.
"I wouldn't care about doing it again but I couldn't trade what I experience, the people I met and seeing the world."


dear god.