Considering the the controversy this campus has experienced so far this semester, I’m probably a fool for bringing this up. But in the wake of the Veishea situation and the September 29th Movement, there is one issue that has been overlooked for too long.

Oh, they try to push it under the table and pretend it doesn’t exist, but it’s there my friends: a sinister, insidious conspiracy against left handers.

The few who are still reading are probably rolling your eyes, but don’t be a part of the party who dismisses it so quickly. As a left hander, I have experienced firsthand the little daily troubles that too many people don’t acknowledge.

Starting with the pencil sharpener that is hanging on the wall — every pencil sharpener I have ever seen like this is right handed. This means left handers either have to cross their hands in order to turn the crank or use their non-dominant hand. Both are awkward and undesirable.

Continuing with the almighty computer, did you know that computer mice are now being made to form to the right hand?

What is that all about? I mean it’s hard enough to work with the mouse being positioned on the right side of the computer. I was going to complain about that until a buddy of mine told me that it was O.K. to move it.

And ending in the classroom, do you know how hard it is to find a left handed desk? Now I haven’t been in every classroom at Iowa State, but the ones I have been in are terrible. In a lecture hall containing 200 to 300 desks, maybe only five are left handed.

And they are always located on an aisle or in the front row. I, for one, do not like to sit in the front row. I belong to that unique group of individuals who proudly call themselves back row learners. So must I change my learning style because this university says I have to?

Being a true Cyclone, I cannot put this school at fault. ISU is just a reflection of society. It may seem hard to believe, but I’ve been experiencing little troubles like this all my life. Meaningless though they may seem, they are often very frustrating.

Starting with the basics, take the wrist watch for example. It took me the longest time to figure out how to put on a watch. Laugh though you may, every time I put one on it would be upside down. The clasps on watches are geared towards right handers, no pun intended.

And let’s talk musical instruments. It seems almost forbidden to play the trumpet left handed. I tried it when I was in fifth grade and they simply told me I couldn’t. Either play right handed or switch instruments. I’ve heard it’s the same way with the trombone.

I live in a town of 25,000 people. Probably at least a quarter of these people golf or own golf clubs. And going from my off-hand statistics, meaning I have none, 15 to 20 per cent of them are left handed. And yet stores in the town are void of a single set of left handed clubs.

I know this because two years ago I searched far and wide finding a lone set of Dunlops which I reluctantly purchased. Granted, the market for right handed clubs is much bigger, but in a town with a K-Mart, Wal-Mart and numerous sporting good stores, there were no left handed golf clubs. That is ridiculous.

And so the list continues: scissors, cameras, spiral notebooks, doors, can openers, etc., etc. Need I say more?

Contrary to popular belief, I’m not ignorant. I understand that the people in this world are predominantly right handed. That’s why a lot of the things I have mentioned have to be that way.

So cast your worries aside, I’m not going to go on a hunger strike or demand that we be called the handily challenged. Instead, I prefer to look at the situation in a positive way.

I have come to learn that all the extra struggles left handers go through, while often being time consuming, are helpful. It teaches us how to deal with adversity. It helps us to develop patience. And if nothing else, we know what it’s like to be in the minority.

But that’s okay too. I have no problem being a part of an elite class, I’m used to it. If you remember, I’m also a back row learner.

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Jackson Lashier is a freshman in journalism and mass communication from Marshalltown.