I’m not really sure what the SA does.

I am easily annoyed by many of the frivolous occurrences in our Union. I despise the flea market in the middle of winter, the poster sale going on right now (even though I did buy a poster for above my desk) and the continuous barrage of people trying to get me to join their sororities and agree with their religious beliefs.

The first few weeks of school are especially difficult for me, as I am constantly busy and there is always someone doing something that causes a traffic jam in the Union.

I have very little time and even less patience, and then my mind goes on strike. I go out of my way to offend innocent people, and am easily distracted.

This is why I was very irritated on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. when my poetry class started in Bolton Hall. The class is on the second floor, overlooking Spaights Plaza. This may seem like an excessive amount of information for an opinion column, but stick with me, there is a point.

My quiet, calm poetry class promoting love and peace of mind was serenaded for the first half hour by an extremely loud rock band playing right below our windows. Why didn’t we shut our windows, you say?

Well, inquisitor, they were shut. The band was so loud, I found it impossible to concentrate.

I want to know what in heaven’s name the Student Association was thinking of by sponsoring a rock concert during class periods. They were giving out corn and making a ridiculous amount of noise in the middle of the school day. Greasy butter and interrupting classes every chance they get, isn’t that what the SA is all about?

Oh wait, not so much. This is the Student Association, the government of our school (or mock government, because let’s be honest, the administration really makes the final decisions on the important stuff.).

Now, besides doling out money to student organizations, promoting themselves, and then patting themselves on the back, I’m not really sure what the SA does.

I have always gotten the impression that the SA is basically the same as the student government in high school: making the decision about the theme for homecoming (oh, wait), organizing school spirit functions (hmmm) and trying to get more vending machines (we have enough).

Perhaps SA’s purpose is to give kids corn and force them to listen to a rock band. Maybe, just maybe, this is under their guidelines or it boosts morale.

Personally, I found the entire gathering to be a waste of money that I pay into the school (or I will, when the government insists I start paying back my numerous loans), and a distraction from the one reason I come to college. I am not here to attend frat parties, meet my future husband, or pretend I am making a difference. I am enrolled in college … (Drum roll please) … to learn!

I really am here to learn, so when a concert held by a self-important student government interrupts by ability to do so, I become a little perturbed. Okay, not a little, a lot. Fundraisers I understand, night concerts in the Gasthaus I believe in, but making noise when others are trying to learn, just because you don’t worry about things like grades, knowledge retention or improving your status in life is disrespectful.

I will stop myself from thinking in your presence if you stop making a ruckus in mine.

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