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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (March 10, 1999)
2_______ Opinion Wednesday, March 10, 1999 TI- ie CI ac I< amas P rìnt Ostentatious yuppies make charity benefit a shameful sham Last Thursday evening a women’s volunteer group held a charity benefit at my place of em ployment, a movie theater in Lake Oswego. I had been forewarned about the event only a day in ad vance and as the manager on duty I felt inadequately prepared chairs to sit on while they waited for their movie. Less than two minutes later the event coordi nators took the chairs back, say ing, “We don’thave enough seat ing for our benefit.” Demand. Demand. Expect. Ex pect. I didn’t feel like I was at a charity ben e efit, but rather a gath ering for the upper class to flash their money around. Several times I heard people bragging about the money they donated or about how much they bid on a particular item at the silent auction. It felt like a game. A giant game of “who-has-more-money?” The name of the institu tion receiving the money (which I won’t mention, because I do not want this article to reflect on the institution, but rather those run ning the benefit) was hardly men tioned. I wondered if these people were even aware of who was getting their money. Needless to say, a lot of money was earned. (The final number was broadcast at the end of the night.) And the money will go to a good cause. However, it still bothers me, because I wonder about the motives behind the group’s actions. Does the end justify the means? It’s a question that many people struggle with. To be hon est, I don’t have an answer. But I can tell you that I was sickened by the attitude of these ostenta tious yuppies, who seemed to think that the rules did not apply to them. I can also tell you that I am delighted over the amount of money awarded to this particu lar charity. Unfortunately we can’t run ev eryone through a motive test be fore they allowed to put on a char ity event. We have to make con cessions- we have to make choices. It’s a fact that people who have a higher socioeco nomic status will spend more money at a benefit event. And if they treat you like dirt, don’t clean up after themselves and expect to be treated like royalty, hey, at least it’s in the name of charity. TR e V iew F rom t R SoApbox SHELBI WESCOTT Staff Writer to handle the 200-per- son entourage of ben efit-patrons. Not to mention that we were still open to the public due to our contracts with movie distributors. However, I put on my best smile and arrived as scheduled to as- sist the charity coordinators. Im mediately upon arrival I felt out of place and lost (in my own building no less).These women looked like they had purchased brand new outfits for this very occasion. Every finger was gar nished with diamonds and necks were wrapped in pearls. They exuded superficiality and supe riority to the highest degree. When I introduced myself as the assistant manager I was met with disapproving glares and fake smiles. Standing there in my black stretch pants from Mervyns and black T-Shirt, my hair still drying from a quick shower and my shoes from Payless a size too big, I could just hear them whisper ing, “SHE is working OUR event? Didn’t they know this wasn’t a casual affair?” V Then I began to notice other things. Like the fact that they ex pected us to drop everything and play servant. If they needed something it was demanded, not asked. The women (without ask ing) took over our office space for their coats and purses - mak ing it impossible to do our book keeping and phone calls. How ever, when asked if they could remove their belongings we were confronted with, “Well, where else should we put them?” As if we should have a coat check at a movie theater. The nerve. Another circumstance in which I noticed an attitude of “I- am-better-than-you-because-I- am-running-this-charity-event” was when they saw a few of our paying customers eyeing the food table. You would have guessed that our customers had killed some one. It was made very clear to us that we needed to keep the pay ing customers away from benefit patrons. In compliance we set up a rope between the two parties and gave our customers a few The Clackamas Print aims to report the news in an honest, unbiased, pro fessional manner. The opinions ex pressed in The Clackamas Print do not neccesarily reflect those of the student body, college administration, its faculty, or The Clackamas Print advertisers. Products and services ad vertised in The Clackamas Print are not neccesarily endorsed by anyone associated with The Clackamas Print The advertising rate is $4.75 per col umn inch. All signed letters to the editor should be 300 words or less and will be considered for publica tion if submitted by 1 pm the Friday prior to publication. The Clackamas Print is a weekly publication and is distributed every Wednesday except during Finals week. News Editor: Associate Editors: (x2576) Feature Editor: Jeremy Stallwood John Thorbum Advertising Manager: c c c L N O Y be found at 1 a o c m o k u m 1 1 m a n é i g Joel P. Shempert Photo Editor: Timothy A. Bell Design Editor: Megan Oldenstadt Secretary: Staff Writers: Salena De La Cruz James Khosravi Janos J. Plesko Maria Raymond Shelbi Wescott JoAnne Gale Advisor: Linda Vogt (x2310) There's room here for your name! Sign up for J-215 to join the staff. 19600 S. M o L a LI a A ve . O reqon 1 CiTy, O reqon 97045 (5 05) 657-6958 ext 25 0 9 • cccpRiNT@clAckAMAS.cc.OR.us 7Z/f CI ac /< ama 5 P rìnt The student newspaper of Clackamas Community College Helping fund the The opinions expressed in The Clackamas Print do not necessarily reflect those of the student body, college administration, a s its faculty, or The Clackamas Print t y advertisers. Never mind the fact that e Sarah Welch Toni McMichael Copy Editor: one can at a time. variety of ages and back- grounds that can Staff Photographers: Kristina Brooks (x2578) at a very low cost! Reach a WIDE Cartoonist: Joel "Israel" Gunderson Sports Editor: Pepsi Corporation Advertise in Angie Daschel Karl Katzke Mandi Linstrom Robert Schoenberg every pop machine on campus sells Pepsi.
