Comps: Necessary Evil or Just Plain Evil?

“So Dave, what did you think of Comprehensive Exams?” I asked.

He pauses for a minute, takes a deep breath and rants, “there’s no incentive to study. If everyone eventually passes what is the point? At what other point in your life will you do something for three months, do it well, and four years later be tested on it again? That’s not much different than asking, what did you eat in the cafeteria on January 16, 2004? You care when you are taking classes, but if it’s not related to what you are going to do in life, what’s the point? I could have spent all the time I spent studying for Comps,” pause: laugh, “studying for my Series 7 exam, instead. Really, what’s the point of me studying the ISLM curve? No one is going to come into my office next year asking about the long run equilibrium of money supply and money demand in the economy. It seems like another thing that K throws at you to seem like not everyone can make it here.”

Dave Kelly, a senior economics major, who has a job working for Edward Jones Investments in Chicago starting in July, took comprehensive exams three times before finally passing. For him, it added stress to an already busy Senior Spring for, seemingly, no reason.

Most departments allow their students to retake comps as many times necessary to pass. As the number of do-overs increases, the amount of information students must know decreases. This practice of “dumbing” down the content begs the question: if everyone eventually passes, why have them in the first place, it only wastes, both students’ and faculty members’ time?

Thomas Evans, Music Professor, and member of the Committee for Kalamazoo College Future’s (CKFC) Distinctive Task Force Initiative sees Comps as another graduation requirement. He said, “If you can take them [Comps] as many times as you need, it dilutes the purpose. They have no teeth.” He recalled his experience at the University of Michigan for his doctorate and remarked, “there if you didn’t pass you didn’t graduate, you better believe people prepared for them.” He agrees with Kelly, in that, students have no real incentive to study and it just ends up another hurdle, through which, to jump to obtain a diploma.

Paul Sotherland, Biology Professor, and also member of the CKFC’s Distinctive Task Force Initiative, argues that comps are also a good way to measure professor aptitude in terms of preparing students on a national scale, while comparing current students with past results. It provides a standardized scale and performance can be judged against other schools, instead of comparing students within one department.

The Biology Department, for example, uses a standardized test similar to subject exams on the GRE in conjunction with an oral examination to help students hone their ability to verbally express themselves.

Sotherland comments, “oral exams scare a lot of students. Others rise to the occasion and surprise themselves. For those who go on to grad school they help them to pull stuff together and make connections that the SIP does not always do.” For him, SIPs are specialized and generally cover one area of research. Comprehensive Exams, on the contrary, force students to consider four years of acquired material.

Students tend to have a different and elevated opinion of their SIPs because of the tremendous amount of work required. Jennifer Thomson, Chemistry major, who plans to attend the University of Michigan in the fall, says, “I loved my SIP. You need math and English on the GREs. Comps in the sciences do nothing, except waste time” she laments. She sees her SIP as an integral part of her K-Plan, whereas many other students cannot see the same value of Comprehensive Exams.

In comparison, the SIP, for many, represents hundreds of hours of work experience and/or research connected to knowledge attained during their individual K- Plan. Contrary, comprehensive exams are nothing more than a superficial regurgitation of information. Religion majors, for instance, answered prompts written by professors, on a Moodle site. Since students submitted their responses over the internet, they could prepare essays or outlines ahead of time, from the privacy and comfort of any computer. Without a uniform structure it places into question how useful Comps can be to determine either professor’s or student’s abilities.

However, regardless of the structure or department, students have the opportunity to earn Honors for an outstanding performance on the exam. Doing well on the exam shows a particular student’s aptitude for their field, while giving the school another opportunity to venerate the hard work of an undergraduate.

“So Dave, what about students who achieve Honors for Comps?” I asked.
Kelly jokes, “I have problems with those people in general. We’re just not on the same wavelength. If they can’t sleep at night until they have honors on Comps for grad school, all the power to them. I know I got honors on the third try. I got at least 44 of 50 multiple choice questions correct.” The question arises in the legitimacy of achievement: are we testing an individual’s grasp complex material or just a particular student’s willingness to take the extra time study? Does the drive towards Honors, indicate a greater tendency of stress on campus due to high the expectations and aspirations of students on campus?

The future of comprehensive exams hangs in the balance. CKCF will continue to review what aspects makes this college distinctive from other schools. Currently, each department is expected to provide assessment plans to the committee for evaluation. Hopefully, members will reach a conclusion about the value and necessity of Comps; answering an age old question do Comprehensive Exams enhance the experience of students or do they only add to “the pressure cooker” high stress culture that defines K College?

For years, rumors have raced around campus saying, that with each graduating class, comprehensive exams will be abolished. Depending on the decisions of administration students may or may not have to waste their time preparing or not preparing in the future. However, one thing remains certain, each graduating member of the Class of 2007 will, indefinitely, have passed Comps by Sunday, June 11: Graduation Day.

Comps: Necessary Evil or Just Plain Evil?

“So Dave, what did you think of Comprehensive Exams?” I asked.

He pauses for a minute, takes a deep breath and rants, “there’s no incentive to study. If everyone eventually passes what is the point? At what other point in your life will you do something for three months, do it well, and four years later be tested on it again? That’s not much different than asking, what did you eat in the cafeteria on January 16, 2004? You care when you are taking classes, but if it’s not related to what you are going to do in life, what’s the point? I could have spent all the time I spent studying for Comps,” pause: laugh, “studying for my Series 7 exam, instead. Really, what’s the point of me studying the ISLM curve? No one is going to come into my office next year asking about the long run equilibrium of money supply and money demand in the economy. It seems like another thing that K throws at you to seem like not everyone can make it here.”

Dave Kelly, a senior economics major, who has a job working for Edward Jones Investments in Chicago starting in July, took comprehensive exams three times before finally passing. For him, it added stress to an already busy Senior Spring for, seemingly, no reason.

Most departments allow their students to retake comps as many times necessary to pass. As the number of do-overs increases, the amount of information students must know decreases. This practice of “dumbing” down the content begs the question: if everyone eventually passes, why have them in the first place, it only wastes, both students’ and faculty members’ time?

Thomas Evans, Music Professor, and member of the Committee for Kalamazoo College Future’s (CKFC) Distinctive Task Force Initiative sees Comps as another graduation requirement. He said, “If you can take them [Comps] as many times as you need, it dilutes the purpose. They have no teeth.” He recalled his experience at the University of Michigan for his doctorate and remarked, “there if you didn’t pass you didn’t graduate, you better believe people prepared for them.” He agrees with Kelly, in that, students have no real incentive to study and it just ends up another hurdle, through which, to jump to obtain a diploma.

Paul Sotherland, Biology Professor, and also member of the CKFC’s Distinctive Task Force Initiative, argues that comps are also a good way to measure professor aptitude in terms of preparing students on a national scale, while comparing current students with past results. It provides a standardized scale and performance can be judged against other schools, instead of comparing students within one department. The Biology Department at Kalamazoo uses a standardized test similar to subject exams on the GRE in conjunction with an oral examination to help students hone their ability to verbally express themselves.

Sotherland comments, “oral exams scare a lot of students. Others rise to the occasion and surprise themselves. For those who go on to grad school they help them to pull stuff together and make connections that the SIP does not always do.” For him, SIPs are specialized and generally cover one area of research. Comprehensive Exams, on the contrary, force students to consider four years of acquired material.

Students tend to have a different and elevated opinion of their SIPs because of the tremendous amount of work required. Jennifer Thomson, Chemistry major, who plans to attend the University of Michigan in the fall, says, “I loved my SIP. You need math and English on the GREs. Comps in the sciences do nothing, except waste time” she laments. She sees her SIP as an integral part of her K-Plan, whereas many other students cannot see the same value of Comprehensive Exams.

In comparison, the SIP, for many, represents hundreds of hours of work experience and/or research connected to knowledge attained during their individual K- Plan. Contrary, comprehensive exams are nothing more than a superficial regurgitation of information. Religion majors, for instance, answered prompts written by professors, on a Moodle site. Since students submitted their responses over the internet, they could prepare essays or outlines ahead of time, from the privacy and comfort of any computer. Without a uniform structure it places into question how useful Comps can be to determine either professor’s or student’s abilities.

However, regardless of the structure or department, students have the opportunity to earn Honors for an outstanding performance on the exam. Doing well on the exam shows a particular student’s aptitude for their field, while giving the school another opportunity to venerate the hard work of an undergraduate.

“So Dave, what about students who achieve Honors for Comps?” I asked.
Kelly jokes, “I have problems with those people in general. We’re just not on the same wavelength. If they can’t sleep at night until they have honors on Comps for grad school, all the power to them. I know I got honors on the third try. I got at least 44 of 50 multiple choice questions correct.” The question arises in the legitimacy of achievement: are we testing an individual’s grasp complex material or just a particular student’s willingness to take the extra time study? Does the drive towards Honors, indicate a greater tendency of stress on campus due to high the expectations and aspirations of students on campus?

The future of comprehensive exams hangs in the balance. CKCF will continue to review what aspects makes this college distinctive from other schools. Currently, each department is expected to provide assessment plans to the committee for evaluation. Hopefully, members will reach a conclusion about the value and necessity of Comps; answering an age old question do Comprehensive Exams enhance the experience of students or do they only add to “the pressure cooker” high stress culture that defines K College?

For years, rumors have raced around campus saying, that with each graduating class, comprehensive exams will be abolished. Depending on the decisions of administration students may or may not have to waste their time preparing or not preparing in the future. However, one thing remains certain, each member of the Class of 2007 will, indefinitely, have passed Comps by Sunday, June 11: Graduation Day.

Comps Suck, but so does my title

Graduating from Kalamazoo College is like a circus, in which any senior or alumni can attest to the series of fiery hoops to jump through or the dangerous trapeze acts. The culminating year of a college student allows little room for the deadly disease, commonly referred to as senioritous, with SIPs, finishing requirements, coursework, extra-curricular activities, job and/or graduate school searches, and the infamous comprehensive exams. With so many activities on a typical fourth year’s plate- students, faculty, and administration has started wondering… what benefit exists for students when taking “comps?”

[Insert reportage about initial purpose]

“Everyone thinks comps are stupid,” boasts Thomas Greer, economics major. Having already obtained a job in Chicago next year, passing the exam on the first try did not finish high on his list of priorities. Recently, he took it for the third time. However, Greer shares good company with a number of students who chose not to take the test seriously. He, along with many of his classmates, subscribe to the “no one has ever not graduated because of failing comps” philosophy.

[Insert Dave Kelly]

Most departments allow their students to retake comps as many times necessary to pass. As the number of do-overs increases, the amount of information students must know decreases. For example, comps in the economics department first consist of the administration of the ______________, a national standardized test focused on the information covered during the first two classes plus an essay section comprised of six prompts based on the concepts of the three required upper level courses. The second round consists of five essays of a similar nature to those in the first. The next exam has only fifty multiple choice questions. This practice of “dumbing” down the content begs the question: if everyone eventually passes, why have them in the first place, it only wastes, both students’ and faculty members’ time?

One answer to that question exists in the awarding of honors to students for exemplary performance on their comprehensive exam. Doing well on the exam shows a particular student’s aptitude for their field, while giving the school another opportunity to venerate the hard work of an undergraduate. [Insert reportage based on honors received from comprehensive exams]

Some also argue that comps are a good way to measure professor aptitude in terms of preparing students on a national scale. It provides a standardized scale and performance can be judged against other schools, instead of comparing students within one department. Additionally, if Kalamazoo College students are outperforming others attending schools of the same caliber, it is an excellent marketing tool for the continued recruitment of the best and the brightest students.

Finally, in some areas, with specialized grad school entrance exams, studying for comps can essentially kill two birds with one stone. The Psychology department uses the Psychology specific GRE to help to better prepare students who plan on attending graduate programs after graduation. In some instances, this required students to learn new information that would help them in the long run, if their path followed the common psychology trajectory. However, not every department bases its examination off a national model.

Seemingly beneficial for science students, with graduate school in mind, comps would seem like a good refresher. Jennifer Thomson, Chemistry major, who will attend the University of Michigan in the fall, disagrees. “I loved my SIP- you need math and English on the GREs. Comps in the sciences do nothing, except waste time” she laments. She sees her SIP as an integral part of her K-Plan, as many other students and cannot see the value of comprehensive exams.

Holly Muir, Religion and Psychology dual major, who will attend law school at the University of Detroit Mercy agrees, “if you do a SIP in your department you shouldn’t have to take comps to prove that you’ve learned something.” In comparison, the SIP, for many, represents hundreds of hours of work experience and/or research connected to knowledge attained during their individual K- Plan. Contrary, comprehensive exams are nothing more than a superficial regurgitation of information. Religion majors, for instance, answered prompts written by professors, on a moodle site. Since the responses were submitted over the internet students could prepare essays or outlines ahead of time, from the privacy and comfort of any computer.

The future of comprehensive exams hangs in the balance. The Committee for Kalamazoo College’s Future, has this graduation requirement under review. Thomas Evans, music professor and committee member, asked his students for their opinions. Most of the seniors in the class, either “boo-ed,” laughed, or provided strong arguments for why they seem useless. A few talked of how they prepared them for other examinations. However, a consensus remained that each department should choose whether or not to force their students to take them. Evans, an advocate for students, promised to share their thoughts with his colleagues.

[Insert reportage from the CKCF]

For years, rumors have raced around campus, saying that with each graduating class, the abolishment of comprehensive exams. Depending on the decisions of administration students may or may not have to waste their time preparing. However, one thing remains certain, each member of the Class of 2007 will, indefinitely, have passed comps by Sunday, June 11: graduation day.

Munchie Mart: More than a Liquor Store?

The Munchie Mart convenience store stands at the corner of Stadium and Lovell, with its walls plastered with advertisements for liquor, beer, wine, and kegs. Situated between the student ghetto and Kalamazoo College’s campus, in close proximity to Western Michigan University, a number of students elect to purchase their night’s entertainment. During the daylight hours, empty parking spots await occupation, creating a cracked asphalt desert with a few wanderers. At night traffic increases dramatically, as cars filled with students, line the perimeter of the building. The hustle and bustle does not only consist of customers, but also a contingency of homeless soliciting sympathetic passers by for spare change.

Inside the store, handwritten daily specials decorate the wall above the refrigerator that houses 40 oz malt liquors, and smaller packages of beer. At the back, behind a glass door littered with cardboard Milwaukee’s Best cut-outs, sit the dirty thirty packs anticipating purchase by some barely legal co-ed. Walking up to the counter, a wall of fifths line the shelves, shouting their worth to anyone willing and able to spend some extra money on alcohol. Organized by type, the bottom-shelves have an extensive collection of Burnetts, Popov, Five O’clock, and any other inexpensive poison. Despite advertising wine on the outside of the building, the limited selection does not inspire the wine aficionado. Snack foods occupy one row of the store, collecting dust.

The types of people coming to Munchie, seem like night and day, as different as the times they frequent the store. Nick Curwen, 22, cashier says, “alcoholics buy booze during the day with change from collecting bottles from the night before, everyone else buys at night with credit cards.” He works on Fridays from 6 p.m. until 2 a.m. and on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and experiences both spectrums within 48 hours. Fridays are filled with a barrage of drunken college antics, contrasting greatly with the crowd on Sundays. Curwen jokes, “There are the church-goers, followed by the bums at noon with their bottle returns and change for buying pints, and the college kids returning empty kegs.”

At 2 a.m. on almost any night, there is a rush of students as the bars shut down coming in to buy more alcohol, similar to the bum rush at noon on Sundays when Michigan law allows stores to sell hooch. On this particular Friday, a tall fratastic guy with an athletic build stumbles into the store, donning an Armani Exchange tee-shirt. His glazed and half cocked eyes scan the bottles on the back wall debating what type of booze he wants to taste before passing out. A fifth of Southern Comfort, a fine choice for a late night cocktail, is purchased with a 20 dollar bill, put in a brown paper bag and the drunkard exits the store.

Outside he walks past a man in a Detroit Pistons hat and jacket, who questions, “Hey man, do you have like 2 dollars I could have to put gas in my car. My mom is sick and I just need to get to the hospital.” The kid lies, stammering that he has no cash and continues to a car and leaves the store. Interactions like this happen on a nightly basis on the parking lot of the store. Sometimes money changes hands, most times, people walk past quickly with their heads down. Soliciting in the parking lot is in close proximity to the goal, the purchase of a liquid blanket.

The contents of the backroom symbolizes why people come to Munchie. Empty returned kegs line the periphery. An old wooden bookcase holds its back-stock, which consists of their most popular liquors; several flavors of Burnetts and Smirnoff, Five O’Clock in gin and vodka, and any other cheap booze that cost under 20 dollars. Boxes filled with cans and bottles, mostly of beer cans. Store policy allows the return of containers with a limit of 5 dollars per customer to keep store attendants from filing away hundreds of dollars of returns, likely coming from a college kegger. Rather, it’s the homeless who bring in bottles diligently collected around various parts of Kalamazoo, in order to obtain a meager 10 cents per can.

Bottle returns at Munchie Mart annoy Curwen. Each type of beer belongs in a box earmarked by brand, then filed away by hand, highly more arduous than the electronic variety found in grocery stores. A cleanly dressed man, with black pants and a shirt tucked in, with a sweater draped around his shoulders in the fashion of a golfer at a country club, came into the store carrying a plastic bag of bottles. Since store policy dictates that bottles kept in garbage bags will not be accepted, the man left the store and climbed into the dumpster, and returned several minutes later with a cardboard container.

He complained for a few minutes about the policy, and upon finding it fruitless proceeded to pool his money together in order to make his purchase. He eyed the liquor on the back wall, but decided that a pint of Arrow Peppermint Schnapps fit his price range. The man smiled as he left revealing a massive gap in his teeth. “Have a nice day, and remember about the boxes,” Curwen said, then after the man left he remarked, “I’ve started brushing my teeth so much more now that I work here.”

Spending a little time at Munchie Mart shows the spectrum of people living in Kalamazoo, brought together by one store and one common purpose, drinking. However, society condones the habits of the binge drinking students, as a right of passage, while judging the purchases of the impoverished. Interactions occurring around one party store symbolizes greater issues of social stratification within the community. Curwen comments, “When I don’t have money, I don’t buy cigarettes. Sure it’s sad that people are homeless, but I almost feel bad selling them booze and cigarettes when it only makes their situation worse.” Frankly, most people don’t go into Munchie to purchase Taquitos or soft drinks, but rather highly taxed items to help people escape from their lives for a couple of hours.

Sex Drugs and Updating your Blog

This article was extremely interesting. However, it felt like it dragged on a little bit too much. Around the third page I started to get bored and slightly disinterested. This could be because I am slightly averse to the heavy reliance on technology. I am freaked out by myspace and I am not a huge fan of blogging. I listen to music on the radio and not underground music.

The article was well reported, but I thought the pace dragged on. I think part of it was the length of the paragraphs that had so much information that I had to sift through. The dialogue didn’t really enhance the story. For me the most poignant quotation is the where he writes [“People always think that when you’re a musician you’re sitting around strumming your guitar, and that’s your job,” he said. “But this” — he clicked his keyboard theatrically — “this is my job” ] That explains the dedication that it takes to make it to internet stardom. The author finally connected the bigger picture when he talks about how forums on the internet can be a place for the more introverted to find their place in the world.

Overall the article was well written, but I just think that there was too much crammed into one article. Not enough time was spent on the big picture. The message for me was almost clouded by too much useless information and discussion. If I were reading that in a newspaper most likely I wouldn't have finished it at all.

Writing through a Cinematic Lens

The most interesting aspect of the readings for this week was the reoccurring theme of writing for an audience, specifically referencing the process of screenwriting. Writing in order to allow the reader to “see” the scenes, actions, and story allows her to connect with the characters and find deeper meaning within a greater context. Complex stories are a combination of narrative, reporting, personal profiles, and news all rolled into one. It is important to relate all of these separate aspects into a greater social context to derive its meaning.

Like in a movie about a historical event, the characters written, costume chosen, location, setting, and scenes must show the audience the author’s reporting without directly stating “this is important because…” In the same way, when describing aspects of character or a scene, certain elements are introduced, while others are left out. A wealth of information is collected in order to sort through it and determine the significance of certain interactions, objects, and/or places.


An explanatory narrative piece should cause the reader to think, through telling a story in intricate details and sentences that are intertwined and connected to pull the reader from the beginning to the end. While reading, I kept thinking about when Marin mentioned in class that the biggest insult to a writer occurs when someone stops reading their piece. If you can’t get the reader engrossed to want to grab onto what you are writing, they will put your piece away. It’s just like movies without plots on commercial television, if the viewer has no interest they will change the channel, much to the dismay of the network.


Coming around to the last assignment, I’m finding it difficult to find a topic. There is a wealth of writing and stories on probably any given topic, but how do I pick one that will allow me to explore uncharted territory. I recognize that no two pieces will be exactly the same, because writing is an art form, but can I make a statement that has not already been made?

Munchie Mart Profile (title needs work)

The Munchie Mart convenience store stands at the corner of Stadium and Lovell, with its walls plastered with advertisements for liquor, beer, wine, and kegs. Situated between the student ghetto and Kalamazoo College’s campus, in close proximity to Western Michigan University, a number of students elect to purchase their night’s entertainment. During the daylight hours, empty parking spots await occupation, creating a cracked asphalt desert with a few wanderers. At night traffic increases dramatically, as cars filled with students, line the perimeter of the building. The hustle and bustle does not only consist of proprietors of the store, but also a contingency of homeless soliciting sympathetic passers by for spare change, who oftentimes take their panhandling to the windows of parked vehicles.

Inside the store, handwritten daily specials decorate the wall above the refrigerator that houses 40 oz malt liquors, and smaller packages of beer. At the back, behind a glass door littered with cardboard Milwaukee’s Best cut-outs, sit the dirty thirty packs anticipating purchase by some barely legal co-ed. Walking up to the counter, a wall of fifths line the shelves, shouting their worth to anyone willing and able to spend some extra money on alcohol. Organized by type, the bottom-shelves have an extensive collection of Burnetts, Popov, Five O’clock, and any other inexpensive poison. The bottles, both composed of glass and plastic, leave gaps between the edge of the shelf and the container’s edge, leaving the wall with a sloppy and disorganized appearance. Despite advertising wine on the outside of the building, the limited selection does not inspire the wine aficionado.

Confiscated identifications garnish the side of the door frame, sternly cautioning an underage person attempting to use a fake for a purchase. Cashiers are encouraged by the State of Michigan to question and take suspicious ID, by an incentive program that pays the store $10 for every one acquired. Under the front counter sits a guidebook for determining the legitimacy for driver’s licenses issued in the United States. The contents of some employees drink discolored and wrinkled the pages. The manager of the store had come in to pick up a keg for delivery and he told the story of his latest capture, in which the kid with the fake chose not to memorize any of the information. When questioned about his supposed address and birth date, none of which he could recall, he offered nothing except excuses and pleading.

Similarly to the store, the backroom does not suggest an aura of organization. Empty returned kegs line the periphery. Boxes filled with cans and bottles, mostly of the beer variety. Store policy allows the return of containers with a limit of $5 per customer. This keeps the store attendant from filing away hundreds of dollars of bottle returns that likely come from a college kegger. Rather, it’s the homeless who bring with them bottles diligently collected around various parts of Kalamazoo, in order to obtain a meager sum of $0.10 per can.

The types of people coming to Munchie, seem like night and day, as different as the times they frequent the store. Nick Curwen, 22, cashier says, “alcoholics buy booze during the day with change from collecting bottles from the night before, everyone else buys at night with credit cards.” He works on Fridays from 6 p.m. until 2.am and on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and experiences both spectrums within 48 hours. Fridays are filled with a barrage of drunken college antics, contrasting greatly with the crowd on Sundays. Curwen jokes, “There are the church-goers, followed by the bums at noon with their bottle returns and change for buying pints, and the college kids returning empty kegs.”

Bottle returns at Munchie Mart annoy Curwen. Each type of beer belongs in a box earmarked by brand, then filed away by hand, highly more arduous than the electronic variety found in grocery stores. A cleanly dressed man, with black pants and a shirt tucked in, with a sweater draped around his shoulders in the fashion of a golfer at a country club, came into the store carrying a plastic bag of bottles. Since store policy dictates that bottles kept in garbage bags will not be accepted, the man left the store and climbed into the dumpster, and returned several minutes later with a cardboard container.

He complained for a few minutes about the policy, and upon finding it fruitless proceeded to pool his money together in order to make his purchase. He eyed the liquor on the back wall, but decided that a pint of Arrow Peppermint Schnapps fit his price range. The man smiled as he left revealing a massive gap in his teeth. “Have a nice day, and remember about the boxes,” Curwen said, then after the man left he remarked, “I’ve started brushing my teeth so much more now that I work here.”

A few moments later, the next customer entered the store. Donning shorts with the words St. Martin tattooed on the fabric across her butt with a matching Under Armor tee-shirt and her eye make-up lining her under lid as if her face had rubbed into her pillow for several hours, she brought with her a half barrel keg from a previous party. Like the man before her, she needed money her deposit back. Her demeanor appeared shy, but irritated that someone elected her to take care of the errand. Curwen punched the proper keys on the register, the drawer opens, and he hands the girl a $10. She gave the typical goodbye, in a polite manner, and exited the store immediately, buying nothing.

Spending a little time at Munchie Mart, shows the spectrum of people living in Kalamazoo, brought together by one store. Within it, one sees the social stratification that exists in the community, even in the size of the deposit of returns from two customers on a Sunday. Curwen commented, “When I don’t have money, I don’t buy cigarettes. Sure it’s sad that people are homeless, but I almost feel bad selling them booze and cigarettes when it only makes their situation worse.” He describes regulars that come into the store, with the same shift, week to week he notices the people that shop and despite appearances they share more in common than meets the eye. Most people don’t go into Munchie to purchase Taquitos or soft drinks, but rather highly taxed items to help people escape from their lives for a couple of hours.