![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Jan. 29th, 2005 01:24 amAh, one of the many reasons I love Reed, from the page Am I an alumni?:
No, you are not an alumni. We think that this business about the proper way to refer to college graduates is confusing, so we are providing this primer to help you navigate the corridors of archaic terminology.
A list of "alum" words and their meanings . . .
Alumnus: (singular) Male or unisex college graduate or former student.
"See the alumnus standing there, with his long, shaggy hair."
Alumna: (singular) Female college graduate or former student.
"See the alumna standing there, with her short, cropped hair."
Alumni: (plural) Group of male or mixed-sex graduates/former students.
"See the alumni standing there, with their long, shaggy hair."
Alumnae: (plural) Group of female graduates/former students.
"See the alumnae standing there, with their short, cropped hair."
Alum: (unknown) An astringent, crystalline double sulfate of aluminum and potassium widely used in medicine, manufacturing, and the arts. (Special thanks to the Whitman College alumni office for pointing this out to us.)
"See the alum sitting there, with its opaque, metallic glare."
And speaking of Reed, I saw a Reedie today, whom I recognized but couldn't remember a name. She recognized me too, though, in part because I was wearing my Reed t-shirt.
Also today I was nearly run into by a sheriff because apparently being a sheriff exempts you from USING TURN SIGNALS or LOOKING before you change lanes. It was not any fun at all to look out the side window to see the front end of an SUV coming dangerously close to my car. And no, I wasn't speeding past him; I was stopping at a light, so he totally should have been looking for oncoming traffic. Grr.
Went out to the theatre again. This show was "Sonnets for an Old Century," which a few of my friends were involved in. I'll probably go see it again, so I can enjoy the show without Bratty McBrat in the audience. Some guy came in with his seven-or-so-year-old daughter who just. Could. Not. Behave. First of all, they came in late, paying no heed to the sign on the door that said you can't come in, the performance has started. And she stomped around and giggled at the most inappropriate times. And, she kept talking loud enough for everyone to hear. "Her face is all red." "What's redemption?" "What's rehabilitation?" For the love of god, someone give her a dictionary that doesn't have the R section ripped out and then explain to her that this is a play, which is not like movies or TV and THE ACTORS CAN HEAR YOU. Also, it is not okay to dance and wander around the stage during intermission. And really, it should be the parent's job to tell her not to do that. The director should not have to come out and tell her to knock it off. Of course, if her parents taught her anything about how to behave in public, she might not be such a brat in the first place. Seriously, my three-year-old niece would be better behaved.
Okay, that's enough ranting for one day.
No, you are not an alumni. We think that this business about the proper way to refer to college graduates is confusing, so we are providing this primer to help you navigate the corridors of archaic terminology.
A list of "alum" words and their meanings . . .
Alumnus: (singular) Male or unisex college graduate or former student.
"See the alumnus standing there, with his long, shaggy hair."
Alumna: (singular) Female college graduate or former student.
"See the alumna standing there, with her short, cropped hair."
Alumni: (plural) Group of male or mixed-sex graduates/former students.
"See the alumni standing there, with their long, shaggy hair."
Alumnae: (plural) Group of female graduates/former students.
"See the alumnae standing there, with their short, cropped hair."
Alum: (unknown) An astringent, crystalline double sulfate of aluminum and potassium widely used in medicine, manufacturing, and the arts. (Special thanks to the Whitman College alumni office for pointing this out to us.)
"See the alum sitting there, with its opaque, metallic glare."
And speaking of Reed, I saw a Reedie today, whom I recognized but couldn't remember a name. She recognized me too, though, in part because I was wearing my Reed t-shirt.
Also today I was nearly run into by a sheriff because apparently being a sheriff exempts you from USING TURN SIGNALS or LOOKING before you change lanes. It was not any fun at all to look out the side window to see the front end of an SUV coming dangerously close to my car. And no, I wasn't speeding past him; I was stopping at a light, so he totally should have been looking for oncoming traffic. Grr.
Went out to the theatre again. This show was "Sonnets for an Old Century," which a few of my friends were involved in. I'll probably go see it again, so I can enjoy the show without Bratty McBrat in the audience. Some guy came in with his seven-or-so-year-old daughter who just. Could. Not. Behave. First of all, they came in late, paying no heed to the sign on the door that said you can't come in, the performance has started. And she stomped around and giggled at the most inappropriate times. And, she kept talking loud enough for everyone to hear. "Her face is all red." "What's redemption?" "What's rehabilitation?" For the love of god, someone give her a dictionary that doesn't have the R section ripped out and then explain to her that this is a play, which is not like movies or TV and THE ACTORS CAN HEAR YOU. Also, it is not okay to dance and wander around the stage during intermission. And really, it should be the parent's job to tell her not to do that. The director should not have to come out and tell her to knock it off. Of course, if her parents taught her anything about how to behave in public, she might not be such a brat in the first place. Seriously, my three-year-old niece would be better behaved.
Okay, that's enough ranting for one day.
