Whenever people hear of age discrimination, they generally think of people discriminating against the elderly. Age discrimination is not exclusive to this. Younger people are often discriminated against as well.

The best personal example I have of this is an incident that occurred last year. A bunch of my friends and I went to a restaurant to watch a Packer game that was unavailable on any station in the dorms. We were dressed in jerseys, but we were quiet, neat and well behaved. We sat at a table by the TV, ordered meals and eventually dessert. A few people played cards while we waited for the game to start.

The employees eyed us with increasing dislike until a manager came to speak with us. He was harsh and very rude, talking in an exaggerated, patronizing tone.

He told us that the restaurant would be closing on time, whether the game was over or not, and that if we caused any trouble about it we would be thrown out.

He told us that the controls were in the basement, which was kept locked, so we couldn’t try to sneak down there. He insisted that we put our cards away, saying that the fast food place we were at was a “family restaurant.”

I was extremely insulted by the way I was spoken to. We were treated as though we were about to get up and start rioting, rather than as the polite, well behaved and paying customers that we were.

This type of behavior is all too typical. College students, especially, seem to be discriminated against in towns such as Platteville. I have heard employees in various stores complain at the end of school breaks that all the college kids will be coming back soon. Instead of being glad about the business we bring, they complain because they automatically assume that all college students are rude, devious troublemakers.
We, and our families, pay several thousands of dollars a year for us to attend a four year university and better our lives and future careers, yet many people seem to think we are just a bunch of irresponsible, worthless children. I am sure many people like myself have had times when they are having trouble being taken seriously in a professional setting, simply because they are in their early 20’s.

What is to be done about this? We need to show that we do not appreciate being treated poorly, but should do it in a professional, mature way that will prove our point. I should have complained to the proper people that day I was treated rudely at the restaurant. Only by standing up for ourselves and showing that we are mature young adults will we begin to see the respect that we deserve.