As per usual with the summer months, my mind seems to drift. Perhaps it is because of the strange pseudo-spring weather or maybe it is due to something else, but recently I have found it difficult to focus on just one issue for my weekly column. So I will warn you right now, this article does suffer from ADD.
OK, I’ll admit it. I’m a fan of “Jersey Shore.” The guidos and guidettes who continuously beat up the beat week after week keep me entertained. Whether I’m listening to The Situation and Snooki engage in a deep conversation about world politics or just staring at JWoww’s breasts, the denizens of the show keep me hooked week after week.
With the kickoff of the new season comes cheap imitations, one of which being a Jesus-themed alternative. Unfortunately, I was unable to make it out to New Jersey last Sunday, where the Abundant Grace Church and Move The Earth held “Jesus Shore,” a festival celebrating everyone’s favorite religious fairytale.
From the Jesus-themed tattoo contest to several Christian rock bands, the festival had it all. Who needs drama between Angelina and JWoww when you can discuss Bible verses with fellow believers? Who cares about Ronnie punching a guy out after tempers flare at a bar when you can rejoice in the glory of Christ? And really, who would need to see Snooki dancing around drunk when you can dance around to 7eventh Time Down as they rock such hits as “Alive In You” and “Do You Believe”?
I’m not trying to downgrade the importance of this event or religion in general — well, OK, I am. All I’m saying is that events like this one frustrate me because the premise is so flawed. “Jersey Shore”, with its debauchery and out-of-control cast, who often try to hook up with random girls and guys and get drunk to the point of belligerence, is just fun entertainment.
All it takes is one minister of a youth group to say, “Let’s hold our own ‘Jesus Shore’ and indoctrinate more sheep while celebrating religious dogma,” and the idea is set into motion. It just annoys me.
Another thing that annoys me is something closer to home, right here on Cal State Long Beach’s campus. The last time I checked the state was practically broke, fees for tuition were rising, and Gov. Schwarzenegger was cutting state workers’ wages. Where, then, does the school get the money for the sidewalk replacement that is going on in the Central Quad?
During the school year and summer I walk that stretch of road a lot and I can tell you that the sidewalk seemed just fine before they went and tore it all up. It’s not that the school could use improvements, it could. The timing just seems odd.
It does make more sense to replace the sidewalk in the summer when fewer students are walking around campus, but was the sidewalk really that bad before? And what about the fact that six buildings on campus were recently deemed unfit to occupy in the event of a major earthquake?
Four of these buildings, as the Daily 49er reported earlier this year, have been on a hazard list since 1994. Maybe I’m crazy, but a student tripping on the sidewalk as he walks to class pales in comparison to the thought of a building collapsing and crushing students as they learn.
The priority seems clear to me, and probably seems clear to most of you as well, but the powers that be felt it was necessary to fix the sidewalk instead. I’m not worried, though. These desks and doorways seem pretty solid when I knock on them with my knuckles.
Gerry Wachovsky is a graduate student and columnist for the Summer 49er.
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