The evil side of Wal-Mart

DAVID WHITESOCK — The story about Debbie Shank and her lost legal battle with Wal-Mart is disturbing on so many levels. Mostly, it is disturbing because of what it says about humanity in our society. Here’s the backstory:

Shank was stocking shelves for the retail giant and signed up for Wal-Mart’s health and benefits plan.

Shank suffered severe brain damage after a traffic accident nearly eight years ago that robbed her of much of her short-term memory and left her in a wheelchair and living in a nursing home.

It was the beginning of a series of battles — both personal and legal — that loomed for Shank and her family. One of their biggest was with Wal-Mart’s health plan.

Two years after the accident, Shank and her husband, Jim, were awarded about $1 million in a lawsuit against the trucking company involved in the crash. After legal fees were paid, $417,000 was placed in a trust to pay for Debbie Shank’s long-term care.

Wal-Mart had paid out about $470,000 for Shank’s medical expenses and later sued for the same amount. However, the court ruled it can only recoup what is left in the family’s trust.

First, for Wal-Mart, a company who had a net income of $11.2 billion dollars in 2006, fighting for $470,000 is utterly absurd. It’s almost like you or I taking a 5-year-old to small claims court for stealing your pocket change. Second, this is the reason the law and corporate America has a terrible reputation. Wal-Mart likes to promote the fact that it donates millions of dollars to the communities it has stores in and to other charitable efforts across the country ($44 million dollars in 2006), but when it comes to one of their own employees, they seem to loose their charitable side.

Why are lawyers and judges hated, especially those working on the civil trial side of things? This is why! It’s funny, when I tell people I want to go to law school, the reactions are priceless. Mostly there is a physical repulsion. The individual physically backs away from you, but then at the same time, verbally they respond with a “really?” Or a sarcastic, “why?” This is why. There is so much bad law being practiced, and it is predicated with a massive loss in common sense. The law has completely detached itself from the community and society has a whole. There is no feeling left for the people the law is meant to impact, or better yet, protect.

In the end, there is a moral question here. When corporations act in deplorable ways, should we collectively boycott them? I know, that’s a rhetorical question with an obvious answer considering the capitalist system which we have. However, how many people will actually consider that a moral imperative exists? I definitely think it does, and because of their actions I will no longer shop at Wal-Mart, at least not until they rightly remedy this situation.

It will be very difficult avoiding Wal-Mart. In Vermillion, there really isn’t anything else. There is a Pamida, and when I am in a pinch that is where I will go, but from here on out, I will have to consciously plan out my purchases that I would normally make at Wal-Mart (school supplies, food, household goods, etc.) Being the store is open 24 hours, the convenience is ripe for a college student, however, I will be strategically making a monthly trip to Sioux Falls in order to avoid Wal-Mart. The 45 minute drive is definitely an inconvenience, but more so is the cost of the drive with gas prices the way they are.

As you can see, there are so many excuses for overlooking the moral imperative behind boycotting Wal-Mart. However, making the right moral choices is never easy.

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For more, here was Keith Olbermann’s take last night on Countdown:

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Cross-posted at Fuglyville

Bliss.

KELSEY COLLIER-WISE – This may be more appropriate for Verve, but let’s just say that I am of the OPINION that Henry Rollins is an American treasure. His show last night in Sioux Falls was hilarious and awesome. Highlights included a scathing indictment of abstinence-only sex ed and a spot-on Jello Biafra impression. The man is a powerhouse. Woe unto you who missed out.

Not so cool? The idiots who kept getting up from their seats to go get more beer. It was theater-style seating, so everyone in their row would have to get up to let them out. Ridiculous and rude. You want to go to a bar? Go to a bar and quit ruining the show for everyone else, lame ass.

Depressing News…

KELSEY COLLIER WISE – Crossposted at DakotaWomen

Here’s some depressing new: Study: 1 in 4 Teen Girls Has an STD

I think we can all agree that this isn’t cool. Since HPV makes up the majority of the infections, I think there’s a good chance these numbers will go down with use of the HPV vaccine, but it’s still a worrisome statistic.

Interesting notes: Only about half of the girls acknowledged having sex. What do we make of that? Doesn’t it seem like a lack of education about what sex IS, combine with a whole lot of shame are probably keeping girls from getting the services they need? Combine that with the fact that

“…screening tests are underused in part because many teens don’t think they’re at risk, but also, some doctors mistakenly think, ‘Sexually transmitted diseases don’t happen to the kinds of patients I see.’”

and you’ve got trouble.

I didn’t have real sex ed in high school, but I had very honest parents, a good doctor, and access to my mom’s copy of Our Bodies, Ourselves. I feel very lucky that I had some guidance. It seems like we’re just leaving the vast majority of teen girls to wonder around blindly, trying to find their way. And what do they find instead? CHLAMYDIA.

P.S. I think it’s worth noting that STIs spread like influenza A in this town. If you haven’t, GET TESTED ALREADY!

Who embodies the spirit of the U?

DAVID WHITESOCK — Over the last day or so, I have been thinking long and hard about two things: Student Government Association at USD and the murder of University of North Carolina Student Body President Eve Carson.

The murder of the 22-year-old college student at UNC is incredibly tragic and also eye-opening for a number of reasons. After reading the stories and watching the video and slideshows, learning about this person’s thirst for life, it makes you contemplate what you are doing with your own life. Are you making the best out of what you have at your disposal? Are you living your life not just to satiate your own needs, but to help make the lives of others around you better? Hopefully these are questions we all contemplate daily, not just when tragedy strikes, but we all know that is far from true.

However, what really has me thinking are the stories I’ve read about Eve Carson’s enthusiasm for UNC and how she carried the love for that university into all of her activities, especially in her role as Student Body President. All the stories talk about the “Carolina Way,” and how Carson always asked with each decision, “Is this the Carolina Way?” Never did it seem (from what I have read) that she had a personal agenda as SBP or made decisions based on a strictly political agenda. Not only is this unique in the political arena, it’s highly unique in a college political setting.

And so, considering the current state of our embattled Student Government Association in the context of the passion which Eve Carson had for her student government, I ask the question: Who here has that passion and embodies the spirit of the U?

There is no doubt that Jay Chicoine, Terry Liggens and Alyssa Floyd have passion and love this university, however, their stewardship of the organization, with the exception of Ms. Floyd, leaves much to be desired. Both Liggens and Chicoine were impeached. Regardless of the motives of the Student Senate or the alleged or proved violations, the fact that two impeachments in a row took place is abhorrant. We, as a student body, should not tolerate this.

Now, we have an election for a new Student Body President and it isn’t even a contest … with just one candidate. The phrase uttered repeatedly regarding this debacle has been: “What a joke!” SGA has become a punchline; unfortunately, the jokes just keep coming.

There are suggestions to scrap SGA. Some say we do not need the organization. Considering the disconnect which already exists between the administration and the student body, not having an organization to represent our interests would be foolhardy. Students need SGA. We need to reclaim this organization as ours and accept the fact that it is a professional organization with major responsibilities and influence on both the student body and the administration.

There are many at USD who love their experience here. They are making the most of it and when it is all said and done, will be remarkable ambassadors for the U. Maren Colon was one of these individuals involved in SGA, but we all know what happened there. However, what this campus is missing from it’s most visible leadership position is someone with an exuberance and enthusiasm for this university which is second to none (except President Abbott). This does not mean that what we need is a mere cheerleader. Unfortunately, that criticism is beset upon the overly fervent student government hopefuls.

We do not need someone who has a political agenda either. Terry Liggens went into his administration with one thing in mind — U.Bounce. Sorry, but the next president better not mention that phrase — ever.

What we need is a student whose sole mission is to embody the spirit of USD and take that spirit into everything they do — including SGA. They need to return SGA into the professional organization it once was — that means dressing professionally. We need a representative who will ask the question: “Will what we do be the best for all students AND for the university as a whole?”

Who has this spirit and who wants to take it to the students? As much as I’ve refrained to this point from making the connection, what we need is a Barak Obama — someone with that type of charisma and unfettered hope who will visit with as many students as possible — even those that “don’t care,” and get them involved in the process. If no major projects are accomplished over the course of this person’s administration, but the organization is returned to one of civility, professionalism and respect, then maybe SGA will no longer be a punchline, but a place for solutions and inspiration.

The disconnect

DAVID WHITESOCK — Today, the Editorial Board issued a video editorial about the comments which are appearing on VolanteOnline.com. As was said in the video, these comments have been irresponsible and out-right rude. More and more over the last few weeks, the comments have taken a strong trend downwards. The majority of comments are made by a minority of USD students, but unfortunately, these individuals are painting a picture of the student body as one who is apparently not learning anything because the grammar is atrocious; a student body who thrives on pettiness; and a student body who does not know how to engage in civil debate.

There are many students on this campus who do not involve themselves in the debate on this campus because of the level of discourse is so childish. Again, unfortunate, because the problems of this campus continue to be problems due to the fact that individuals who may have valuable input do not offer it.

We wonder why there is such a disconnect between the administration and the student body. Think about it… if the perception to the world is that our student body only engages in petty, childish debate, then why as an administrator would I take the student body as a whole seriously? Many think that just because we are the students, the ones paying the tuition, that we deserve unconditional respect from the administration. Sorry, it does not work this way. We have to earn the administration’s respect and trust. But when SGA has two straight presidents impeached and cannot even put up two candidates for this current election, should the administration really take us seriously if we cannot elect a mandated representative?

There are so many problems on this campus that effect the student body, but when the student body is in utter disarray, who can anything get done?

Re: Recycling

DAVID WHITESOCK — Lauren makes some great points about our carbon footprint and how it should not be a political issue regarding the idea of leaving the world in better shape then how we found it. This should be a mentality of all humans. A large portion of what is produced on this planet is plastics, and due to convenience, most take for granted this technological advancement. However, the increased use of plastics IS having an impact on our environment.

What should be more forcefully stressed is the notion that Aramark is using a non-recyclable plastic. This is a monster corporation who has a monopoly on food service at USD. It would not think it would be too much of the U. administration to urge Aramark to make a quick change in this area. USD could find another food service provider in a heartbeat; someone willing to be more environmentally friendly; and maybe someone willing to offer better food choices.

We as a student body should demand this of the administration. Aramark, much like the administration, has ’selective hearing syndrome.’ If more than a handful of students took a stand, the suits would be forced to turn up their hearing aides.