Major Major*

Major Major. Pen and ink. Originally published in the Daily Pennsylvanian on October 4, 2007.

The university’s Division of Facilities Services handled all requests for repairs and maintenance from students living in the college housing system. Requests could be reported over the Internet or over the phone (for emergencies), and then prioritized and treated according to severity. Incidents considered “major” included plumbing issues, non-functioning toilets, and sparking electrical outlets.

I personally had zero problems with the rate of response to any issues that I reported, but I heard about a girl so frustrated with the extremely slow response to her “minor” incidents that she flooded her bathtub to get the maintenance men to show up sooner.

Looking back, that girl probably lived in a single (I can’t imagine any roommates forgiving her for intentionally sabotaging a shared bathroom), or the entire story was an urban legend (more likely). Still, I pictured this cartoon in my head the minute I heard that ludicrous story. The absurd makes for good material.

(*Note: I know this strip pre-dated Venus Raj’s line by 3 years, but I couldn’t help it.)

This is a scan of the original drawing prior to publication. More about my stint at the DP here.

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