In which SnoopyFan asks a somewhat embarassing question and asks for advice

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Okay, first off let’s get this out of the way. I’m fat. Yep. Bigtime.

(I am doing something about it, really, but that part is irrelevant to my story.)

So summer school started on Monday, right? I have 2 classes this session; both are in the same room in the same building.

Geography is up first. I go in the first day and find that there is ONE desk that I can fit comfortably into — and it has already been claimed. So I squeeze myself into a desk so small that nobody over, say, 200 pounds could be comfortable in. My left leg’s circulation gets cut off and after class I have to go walk around the building to wake it up. (For my second class, since I’m automatically the first one in the room, I can get the big desk so it’s not a problem.)

Same thing happened on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Wednesday I was in so much pain that I almost left class early. I couldn’t get comfortable, kept shifting in my seat and afterwards my waist was sore to the touch for a full 24 hours.

So on Wednesday night I wrote a very nice email to my University’s maintenance guys explaining the situation and asking if they could please put some more of the bigger desks in the room. I also pointed out that there were other students in the class with the same problem (which is true, there’s about 5 or 6 of us).

I know they read the email because I got a “Read” reply. Have I gotten anything else from them? No. Have they done anything? No. How hard would it be to replace a few of the small desks? Would it kill them to write me back and say “tough luck fatass, you’re on your own?” if they don’t intend to do anything about it?

Tonight while getting ready for bed I found a HUGE nasty looking bruise on my stomach where the desk dug into me Wednesday (I wasn’t at school on Thursday). I also found one on my right hip in another location I get dug into. They don’t hurt, but it’s the principle, ya know?

Should I lodge a complaint with the University? Today I got to my class early enough to nab the big desk, which is what I guess I’m going to have to do every day from now on.

I don’t want to get anyone in trouble but I am not the only fat person that goes to this school. Was I unreasonable to ask this and would I be unreasonable to forward a copy of my email to the University President pointing out that I never got a response? If I should give maintenance a few days, how long should I wait before I say something?

All opinions welcome.

2

I can imagine the frustration you’re feeling at their lack of response, but perhaps you need to give them a few more days before you jump down their throats. However, given the discomfort and potential problems it could be causing you, I’d suggest escalating it on Wednesday afternoon next week if you haven’t heard anything (being able to say, “And they haven’t responded for a week” sounds less like impatience on your part, and more like sloth on theirs).

Good luck!

3

I agree that’s not a long wait. They will probably try to get to your request next week. If not, can you go in early one day, track down one of the maintenance workers and volunteer to take the desk up to your class?

4

"If not, can you go in early one day, track down one of the maintenance workers and volunteer to take the desk up to your class?"

Nope, and here’s why.

DH has class at 8, so I load up the Squirt in the van and take him. We come home. My mother, who watches the Squirt while we’re both in class, gets here at 9:25. If I hit the door the minute she gets there, I have just enough time to get to class and have a good shot at nabbing the big desk. If I go try to track down a maintenance guy, I’ll be late for class, guaranteeing loss of the big desk because the classroom is at near capacity.

5

I think you should wait for a little while to, but after that time if something is still not done i think you should make a formal complaint, why should you suffer just because your bigger then other people? its not right and its definatly not fair.
Good Luck

6

SnoopyFan, sounds to me that if you wait, and they do nothing, you’ll have waited an unnecessary amount of time to achieve the same outcome.

Go TALK to the maintenace guys. Talk to your lecturer. Explain it in simple, non-confrontational terms. Perhaps a followup email asking if they are doing anything would be in order?

Max.

7

My experience with people tells me that your chances are about 0 without involving someone like a faculty member or even higher. Certainly not email is likely to get things rolling, IMO. I routinely call people who specifically requested information from my company, and they still won’t return messages. These maintenance workers have no incentive to help you without forcing them to possibly be embarrassed. They have no way to profit from helping you, so the probably don’t care unless you drag them into the situation.

8

Same problem, here, Snoop. I ended up sitting off to one side, and using 2 desks. The one I was in had the writing surface turned up and out of my way, and the 2nd was turned to face me so I could use the desktop.

Can’t do this if the class is full.

Maintenance is the wrong place to go for this, anyway. Assuming your school is in the US, they will have disabled student’s advocate, and it’s their job to handle stuff like this. The actual name of the DSA will vary.

9

One other thing.

When you find a maintenance guy, be friendly and good-natured about it. If you get an extremely negative response, THEN get surly.

Maintenance guys at colleges get the crap handed down from every instructor, lecturer and associate that wants to be a full professor. They’re generally so harrassed by staff that the students don’t even register on their radar. It’s a function of “shit rolls downhill”. (My late spouse was a college associate professor. We had one car, and I spent hours, centuries, even eons waiting for him to get through office hours and advising. I got to know the maintenance staff quite well. Well enough to get a wing chair from the Chancellor’s office reassigned to my husband’s outer office for me…And maintenance guys are not as put-off by large women, for the most part. Fewer snobs, I think.)