Minority students (including myself) have been victimized by the Ames Wal-Mart, and we did not even know it ’till one astute ISU student brought this hideous crime to light. See I was under the impression that Wal-Mart was a for-profit company and as such had only one goal in mind — profit.

I mistakenly thought that Wal-Mart interacted positively with the community and then advertised it because it was good for business. They are actually a caring and benevolent corporation. I erroneously believed that their marketing was based on demographics, shelf-space and profitability. Now, I know that it is based on the whim and fancy of the community.

But since I have been enlightened, I have decided to gripe for all the years I have lived in Ames. I am of Indian descent and as such am partial to rice with curries, so perhaps I should get the Indian Student Association to petition the Wal-Mart cafeteria to carry such items on their menu at least once a week. The weekend would be a nice time to have it as I could just shop at Wal-Mart and then eat at the cafeteria. Then I would not have to go to the Bangkok Palace on Welch or (heaven forbid) Des Moines for a good Indian meal.

I am sure some women of Indian origin would love it if Wal-mart sold sarees. That way they would not have to go to Chicago or India to purchase one. Well, then my wife, of Russian origin, loves caviar and piroshkis (pastry with a meat or fruit filling), not to mention Borsch (beet soup) and Beef Stroganoff. My ex-roommate was a Chinese Malaysian, and just to be fair, Wal-Mart should tickle his palate with some steamed buns with BBQ pork filling. And my Indonesian friends would love some Satay sticks with peanut sauce.

Off course, there is Tim Floyd who came here from New Orleans. I’m sure he gets a hankering for some good ‘Justin Wilson’ cajun cookin’ (I wouldn’t mind some myself). And since he is worth so much more than most of the ISU community, Wal-Mart should take that into account. A seafood night would not be too bad either. I am giving Wal-Mart one week to comply with my request. After that I am going to their headquarters to stage a protest.

Next month, for those of you tired of driving to Des Moines to take a flight out of Ames, I propose a petition to have American Airlines fly directly to Ames.

Ozzy Desa

BS, Mechanical Engineering, 1993

MS, Mechanical Engineering, 1996

Dallas, TX