FORE! Someone yells at me, and I crouch down on the ground. A golf ball thunks against the window, right above my head. That was a close call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve experienced quite a few close calls while working here. I think about them often as I\u2019m driving around in this golf cart, listening to the bottles banging around in the back. Boss man always tells us not to drive so fast because we\u2019ll hit a bump and shatter those bottles of liquor. But we don\u2019t care. I\u2019ve broken my fair share of bottles he doesn\u2019t need to know about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A couple summers ago, some drunk man slammed the beer cart door so hard it almost snapped my finger off. A shattered bone later, and all I did was slap a band-aid on it and continue making my rounds on the course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I wouldn\u2019t say I\u2019m normally a reckless driver, but when I\u2019m on the clock, you can bet I\u2019m going to make my rounds as fast as I possibly can. Because the faster you are, the more money you make. That money is the only thing that keeps me sticking around this place, because there are many reasons to quit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our entire staff is made up of college-aged girls, while most of our customers are 30-60 year-old men. Not a day at work goes by that we are not begged to take a shot with them. Once you take one with them, they never stop asking, and arguing when you turn them down. One day I told a man: \u201cNo thanks, I\u2019ve had enough today.\u201d and the response I got was not shocking to me but would probably concern many others. He said: \u201cNo you haven\u2019t, you\u2019re not naked yet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then there are league nights. League nights are usually fun, as you make a lot of money and take a lot of shots. However, one league night I found myself bringing out another round to some men, and chatting with them, when I felt a tug on the back of my shirt. A man had come up behind me and untied the knot in the back of my shirt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These are the kinds of things that many women have to deal with in our society. Many people have said: \u201cstop flirting with them\u201d or \u201cwear a less revealing shirt\u201d or \u201cit\u2019s your own fault, just work somewhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After doing some research, I found many different stories about women online who have experienced cat-calling and sexual harassment. A woman named Molly said: \u201cWhenever I run outside, I put my phone and my driver\u2019s license in my pocket. My phone so that if something happens, I could call someone. My license, so that if something bad happens, they could identify my body and let my family know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another woman, Coren, stated: \u201cA man grabbed my arm. I screamed because I was scared about what he might do. Luckily, it was outside a busy station at rush hour, so another man intervened and told the offender to back off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though these are stories from people I do not personally know, they are still concerning, as these things are happening all over the world, even at our own University. Not too long ago Campus Safety and Security sent out an email about an assault on campus. The email read: \u201cThe male approached a female student and grabbed her wrist. The student was able to break the hold and run back into the building\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though all of the stories mentioned here were just close calls, that is not always the case. My job has given me more awareness. Not everyone on the course acts this way, most don\u2019t. Just as most people in the world are not out to hurt you. Though you can never be too safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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