2008 Woodie Awards
Furst and Foremost: Remove those Signs!
Raanan Lefkowitz
Issue date: 12/6/04 Section: Opinion
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Let me be the first to applaud the renovations in the Furst Hall lobby. Not only do I no longer have to wade across the street to the library for a relaxing spot while cutting out of class, but I can make an appearance at the start to get my attendance taken, descend to the lobby and read the paper for 45 minutes, then amble back upstairs for the last quarter of the period, completing the undetectable "bookend" maneuver.
Something tells me though, that this was not the intended purpose of the Furst Hall upgrade. As Head of Facilities Management Jeffrey Rosengarten told me in an interview not too long ago, the renovations were to enhance the warm and friendly atmosphere here at Yeshiva. "First impressions are very important," Rosengarten told me.
I suppose then, all subsequent impressions are about as meaningless as the signs in the library telling you to keep quiet. (Seriously though, if you can't have a loud and obnoxious conversation in the friendly confines of the library, where can you have one?)
Consider a prospective student who enters Furst for the -- are you ready for this -- first time, and encounters the newly renovated lobby. Let's just say that the lobby induces a welcoming and warm sensation. He then steps into the Office of the Registrar, only to be confronted by a few signs, flaunted meticulously by employees on the backs of a computer, and a desk, pouting for somebody to notice them. One sign reads, "This job is a test, it is only a test. Had this been a real job, we would have received raises, promotions and other signs of appreciation." Another says, "Beware of the person who is more concerned with asserting her authority than fulfilling her responsibilities."
No longer is this student getting such a cozy vibe.
Step one in creating a more inviting atmosphere here on the Wilf Campus? Remove all public displays of employee resentment. The time has come to abolish such petty exhibits of discontent. The new chairs and carpeting in Furst Hall are pleasant and the express yourself boxes are considerate, but is it necessary for students to know that workers are not getting raises and are developing complexes?
In fairness to the decorators in the Office of the Registrar, perhaps I am overreacting. For me, these signs immediately trigger an image from two and a half years back, when all Yeshiva University union employees went on strike, and a jamboree of purple clad secretaries led a cowbell ringing protest outside of Furst Hall chanting "No contract, No peace!" for 48 hours. But those sentiments of dissatisfaction have probably abated.
I questioned one of these ladies as to the purpose of the miniature billboards. "They are jokes," a secretary retorted. "They are meant to laugh at. They mean nothing."
Sweet relief! For a second there I was afraid that these employees were actually unappreciated and never received promotions. Not that their salary is any of my business of course, until I read the sign and realized then that I guess it was indeed my business. So if more signs pop up in offices that employ wit to simultaneously promote and evade the difficult feelings of being undervalued, I won't take notice.
I know these posters of wisdom are not meant to be taken seriously. They are sarcastic fluff, mere representations of the cynical mindset that is the hallmark of all "Office Space" type jobs. But perhaps at a university that is working hard to enhance its receptive image, they reveal some sentiments that ought to be concealed. Everybody is free to interpret these signs in any which way. But display ambiguous signs, and you may generate ambiguous perceptions.
Raanan Lefkowitz is a senior at Yeshiva College
Something tells me though, that this was not the intended purpose of the Furst Hall upgrade. As Head of Facilities Management Jeffrey Rosengarten told me in an interview not too long ago, the renovations were to enhance the warm and friendly atmosphere here at Yeshiva. "First impressions are very important," Rosengarten told me.
I suppose then, all subsequent impressions are about as meaningless as the signs in the library telling you to keep quiet. (Seriously though, if you can't have a loud and obnoxious conversation in the friendly confines of the library, where can you have one?)
Consider a prospective student who enters Furst for the -- are you ready for this -- first time, and encounters the newly renovated lobby. Let's just say that the lobby induces a welcoming and warm sensation. He then steps into the Office of the Registrar, only to be confronted by a few signs, flaunted meticulously by employees on the backs of a computer, and a desk, pouting for somebody to notice them. One sign reads, "This job is a test, it is only a test. Had this been a real job, we would have received raises, promotions and other signs of appreciation." Another says, "Beware of the person who is more concerned with asserting her authority than fulfilling her responsibilities."
No longer is this student getting such a cozy vibe.
Step one in creating a more inviting atmosphere here on the Wilf Campus? Remove all public displays of employee resentment. The time has come to abolish such petty exhibits of discontent. The new chairs and carpeting in Furst Hall are pleasant and the express yourself boxes are considerate, but is it necessary for students to know that workers are not getting raises and are developing complexes?
In fairness to the decorators in the Office of the Registrar, perhaps I am overreacting. For me, these signs immediately trigger an image from two and a half years back, when all Yeshiva University union employees went on strike, and a jamboree of purple clad secretaries led a cowbell ringing protest outside of Furst Hall chanting "No contract, No peace!" for 48 hours. But those sentiments of dissatisfaction have probably abated.
I questioned one of these ladies as to the purpose of the miniature billboards. "They are jokes," a secretary retorted. "They are meant to laugh at. They mean nothing."
Sweet relief! For a second there I was afraid that these employees were actually unappreciated and never received promotions. Not that their salary is any of my business of course, until I read the sign and realized then that I guess it was indeed my business. So if more signs pop up in offices that employ wit to simultaneously promote and evade the difficult feelings of being undervalued, I won't take notice.
I know these posters of wisdom are not meant to be taken seriously. They are sarcastic fluff, mere representations of the cynical mindset that is the hallmark of all "Office Space" type jobs. But perhaps at a university that is working hard to enhance its receptive image, they reveal some sentiments that ought to be concealed. Everybody is free to interpret these signs in any which way. But display ambiguous signs, and you may generate ambiguous perceptions.
Raanan Lefkowitz is a senior at Yeshiva College