Dear Queenie,
When an election took place at University of St. Martin the ballot box was left outside unmonitored for students to drop in their forms. The ballots were handed out randomly in various classes. No one documented how many ballots an individual received. A “special” night was held to announce the winners of this contest.
I found it to be unfair and strictly a popularity contest to feed individual egos. Do you think schools should allow such unregulated voting? I think people would have appreciated it more had it been a serious competition. Why would a student want to be rewarded for being “the student missing the most classes” or “the student who has the most money on their phone card”?
I find this childish for an institution of higher learning.
Queenie, what do you think?—Let justice rule student
Dear Let justice,
As I understand it, this “election” was intended all in fun, a spoof of serious elections and award ceremonies.
And I assure you, it was no more childish than the ways in which university students have been “letting off steam” and entertaining themselves for hundreds of years. You are probably too young to remember fads like swallowing live goldfish or cramming as many people as possible into a telephone booth. For that matter, are you old enough to even know what a telephone booth looked like?
After all, “all work and no play makes Jack (and Jill) a dull boy (girl)!”
Dear Queenie,
My friend and I were out and this guy I don’t know came up and started talking to my friend. They were laughing and smiling, so I figured maybe they were “an item” and she never told me about him. Seeing they were talking I just left and went on talking to another guy.
I later found out the first guy was interested in me. Now let me tell you, he is a cute guy and I’m interested in him, but he thinks I like the other guy, which I don’t. I think I blew a good thing! Every day I kick myself for not being quicker at realizing he could have been a good catch.
Queenie, help! I really want your advice, guide me, please. Can you suggest ways of mending this situation? How do I get the message to the cutie that I want to know him?—QT2
Dear QT2,
Do you know anyone who also knows this guy? If so, maybe they can drop him a hint that you are interested.
Do you know where he works, lives or hangs out? Do you know his phone number? Maybe you could make an excuse to drop by or call him and have a casual chat.
But don’t push too hard. Once you have casually let him know that you are available and interested, the next move is up to him.
Dear Queenie,
I was going out with a 17-year-old boy. He is nice, but he is going around with a next girl and she is in love with him.
She calls me on my cell and calls me names and I am a girl that I’ll tell you like it is, I don’t play baby games. When she does that I go down the road and curse her and my mother stops me because I could find myself in jail because of her.
I had sex with him 3 times and he is the one who broke my virginity and I can’t let him go because I love him a lot, but he dumped me for her and now he wants me back, but now I am going out with another boy. He loves me too and I love him.
I talk to my mother and my father and they tell me I have to choose.
Queenie, please help me.—Confused teenager
Dear Confused teenager,
Why would you want to stay with a boy who leaves you for another girl who plays such “baby games”? I do not understand why girls “love” boys who take advantage of them this way.
Your parents are right in telling you that you have to choose, but I would like to suggest a third choice: forget about boys for a while and concentrate on your schoolwork. Your letter had so many mistakes in it that I could not be certain I had understood you correctly!
Dear Queenie,
I’m just writing to express my concerns towards one of your columns.
I am an 18-year-old student in my last year attending school. I go on that particular bus at least twice a week and the bus driver that little boy is referring to isn’t a bad person. The only thing she asks for is a little respect. That means simply saying “Good morning” or “Good afternoon.”
And this comes from a young person, another student: the majority of the youth are rather rude and disrespectful. Maybe if that little boy would have the common courtesy or proper home training he would not have been thrown off the bus.
I mean come on, is it so hard to tell someone who is taking you to and from home and school, “Good morning” or “Good afternoon”? I would give her the right to throw him off the bus.
And as far as going to reporting her, I find that is total BS! You don’t have any manners and I am going to allow you enter my bus? You got another think coming, boy. Next time, think to see if you are the one who did anything wrong.
Queenie, tell him: when you are wrong admit you are wrong!—Undercover joker
Dear Undercover joker,
I agree that too many young people today do not have the good manners to say “Good morning” or Good afternoon” and that is a pity.
However, as I understand it, the school bus drivers work for government, either directly or indirectly, and are dealing with children whose parents depend on them to transport their children safely to and from school. Throwing a child off the bus or not allowing him to board the bus simply because he is not as polite as he should be is going too far.
Meanwhile, I hope you, as an older student, are setting a good example for the younger ones.
Dear Queenie,
My boyfriend and I went to a casino one night and he played craps. He would put down a bet and then hand me the dice to throw for him for luck.
He ended up winning about $500 and he kept it all. He said it was his own money he was gambling with and after all, I had a nice dinner at the free buffet.
Queenie, shouldn’t he have split his winnings with me? After all, I threw the dice, so it was my luck as much as his that won him all that money!—Stiffed
Dear Stiffed,
I agree that your boyfriend should have shared his winnings with you, just as you “shared your luck” with him.
At the very least he should have given you something for the work you did on his behalf, just as he would have tipped a waitress in a restaurant. He does tip waitresses, doesn’t he? Or is he too much of a cheapskate even for that?
If so, be warned. You now have a good idea how he will treat you where money is concerned, so if you decide to continue the relationship, make sure the financial arrangements are spelled out clearly in advance.
