A Fine A Day...Does NOT Keep The Temper At Bay!

I should have known to expect this. It all started with David. At his college (and Ryan's and now Caitlin's), he was the "King of Fines". Every time I turned around, he was getting a fine. By the end of each semester, I was presented with the total amount required in payment in order for him to receive his grades and register for the next semester. Why, oh why, would I believe that at least one of my children could get through that school without incident?





I had driven Caitlin over to Texas and deposited her (and all of her gazillion boxes of "stuff") there merely a week and a half earlier. I suppose in the beginning, I was lulled into a false sense of security...a "honeymoon period" so to speak. I should have been prepared for this to end...but not quite so soon. I wasn't informed about the first fine until there were three! I feel the need to explain a couple of things regarding this school and her fines, first. The college that my daughter attends, is a Christian university. Now, this is nothing new to her, because she spent ALL of her formative years of education in this type of setting; Pre-K was Baptist, K-6th was Presbyterian and 7th-12th was Catholic. Besides being Christian schools, they all have another thing in common...pretty severe RULES. Now that you are aware of that small, but quite significant fact...you can most likely guess the problem.





Upon leaving Caitlin at school, I noticed that she was sporting a sorority t-shirt. I suggested that she be careful wearing Greek life t-shirts around campus that could be considered offensive...and get her in trouble. She nodded and said, "OK"...I don't think she even heard me. I say this because her first fine involved a "T-shirt violation". Oh, don't worry...it wasn't a Greek life shirt. It was a Margaritaville one!...worn to chapel! GREAT! She tried to argue her case by explaining to me that Margaritaville was technically a "place"; not a drink. True, but what do you do in Margaritaville?...DRINK MARGARITAS! There was no defending the issuance of this fine...but $25? Ugh! A lone $25 may not have been too bad, but remember, I said 3 fines. And "Little Miss Rule Breaker" doesn't have a job, so you guessed it...I get the honor of paying them. Therefore, when I got the call about fine #4, I encouraged Caitlin to go ahead and protest them...but in doing so, NOT to get thrown out of school.





Rule infraction #2 came in the form of a parking violation. Apparently, there are white and blue parking spots on campus, with the white ones being for students and the blue ones reserved for faculty. She parked in a white spot...and got a fine! She was told it was commuter parking. OK...so, let me get this straight...she lives on campus, therefore paying MORE money and she can't park in ANY white parking spot? Oh...and she (I) get to pay ANOTHER $25 fine too? I think NOT! This was one fine that needed to be challenged. However, in the meantime, she was too busy getting another fine! She was racking those fines up quicker than rabbits have babies. This particular fine came about during "room check". Yea, some college kid is given a job of checking some other college kid's room and I don't think this job is about the money; I think it's about the power. Because REALLY...who wants to have a job where you make enemies on a daily basis? Any way, this fine was actually reduced to a "warning". By the time Caitlin received this "warning", she was beginning to get quite irritated. When the RA presented her with her copy of Cosmopolitan that she found in her room...IT WAS ON! Caitlin informed her that she was NOT taking her magazine unless she wanted to give her $6 for it, because she had just bought it that day and hadn't even had time to read it yet. Relenting, the RA agreed to her having it removed from the premises by 8 a.m. the following morning (how kind of her).



After the absurd Cosmopolitan magazine incident, I hoped that things would go more smoothly the following week. This was not to be. The next phone call I received, found Caitlin a little more than irritated...she was IRATE. Her on-campus parking lot is where the band practices in the afternoons. Apparently, band members are allowed to give tickets, or if they choose, physically move vehicles that are left in that parking lot after 4 p.m. (which is when band practice begins). It was barely 3:30 and she had a ticket on her car! AND...there were other cars out there that did NOT have tickets on them. That was the "straw that broke the camel's back". Under my advisement, she headed down to the administration offices to tackle this problem head on. After all...it wasn't even 4:00 yet; there were no band members in the parking lot and she had a ticket in her hand. Upon entering the office, she marched up to the desk and told them in no uncertain terms, that she had HAD ENOUGH. She wanted not only THAT fine removed, but also the commuter parking one taken care of as well (smart girl...go for all or nothing). She informed them that if they chose not to remove the fines, that she would go back to her parking lot, wait for the band to arrive and then choose a random band member and punch them in the face...which would most likely result in a legitimate fine. I agree that this was not done quite as diplomatically as it could have been done...BUT, they did it! After commenting on how they weren't sure if it was possible for a 95 pound little girl to do such a thing. She assured them that they shouldn't underestimate her abilities...they relented.



Did I mention that Caitlin is a pre-law business major? Good practice, huh? Well, I feel certain that this will not be her last fine...something just tells me that. I only hope that they slow down long enough for me to catch my breath...and replenish my pocketbook!