Dartmouth Dining Services has a pricing system that surely shocks us all. Although we have become rather apathetic about the exorbitant costs involved with eating at Dartmouth, the concept that our Declining Balance Accounts are not filled with real money cannot completely desensitize us to the costs of eating here. I understand that DDS is a ‘self-sufficient’ business, meaning that all of its costs must be covered by its revenues. Some of its prices, however, demand scrutiny. One of these is the cost of fountain soda (my Minnesota heritage cringes at the use of the word “soda” for “pop”).
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Besides the obvious tragedy of Myanmar’s current state, the most unfortunate part of the situation is what it reveals to us about the nature of human beings. It was both disturbing and humorous to read articles outing the Myanmar regime as corrupt — as if this were something that should surprise us. Forget the decades in which military soldiers would raid villages and repeatedly rape women and children. Forget the thousands killed during the 1988 student uprisings. Forget the millions left broke after Burmese dictator Ne Win decided small notes were not legitimate money. Forget all of that. Myanmar needed a massive natural disaster for the world to truly acknowledge the extremity of the junta’s repressive regime. The absurdity of this revealed a truth that most are unwilling to admit: At the foundation of our decisions generally lie selfish intentions.
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