This week, companies from across the country have sent representatives to Penn State to recruit their next wave of unquestioning office drones and cheat accountants who, with a little luck and a lot of flattery, will become the future misanthropic CEOs and unscrupulous executives.
Two-thousand-two has not been a "banner year" for corporate America. Everyone from the president to Martha Stewart has been implicated in some form of corporate fraud, and the hijinks of the upper-level management types have left employees and stockholders in states of financial despair.
As a result of this little lapse in moral hygiene, the job market is in a bad way these days, turning the already worrisome chore of finding gainful employment into a task more daunting than trying to convince the American people that we need to go to war with Iraq. I know, beggars can't be choosers, and most of us will snatch up the first job we're offered (would you like fries with that?) without hesitation. Of course we will, right? I mean, what's more important than money?
Well, for anyone out there who escaped the 1990s with their consciences intact, bells and whistles should be going off all over the place. Now more than ever, it's imperative that students entering the work force choose their jobs and careers conscientiously and continue to act responsibly once employed. I doubt America will tolerate another debacle like the one we saw this summer, and the only way to avoid a repeat performance is for individuals to start actively resisting the corruption that seems to pervade our collective workplace.
But personal responsibility goes beyond ratting out coworkers who dip into the petty-cash box to buy a soda from the vending machine; while we should all strive to be responsible no matter where we end up working, it's more important to work for a company that is itself responsible.
During the last week or so, Dow Chemical Co. has been advertising employment opportunities. A quick reconnaissance mission to their information session at the Nittany Lion Inn revealed a room packed with bright-eyed youngsters armed with parchment-paper résumés. I'm guessing the presentation by the Dow reps didn't cover the situation in Bhopal, India.
According to CorpWatch India, on a night in December 1984, at least 27 tons of gas leaked out of a pesticide plant there, blanketing the surrounding town with a toxic chemical. There was no warning: Safety systems had been turned off or weren't working. Within three days, 8,000 people were dead. Another 20,000 have died due to exposure since 1984, and another 120,000 suffer long-term illness as a result of this accident. Dow owns the company whose plant leaked the gas. As compensation for the worst chemical spill in history, that company --Union Carbide -- paid victims the equivalent of $300 to $500 a person -- not enough to pay for long-term medical needs, and an insulting compensation for the loss of a human life. The people of Bhopal are still awaiting justice for this act of negligent corporate terrorism; although a warrant for the arrest of then-CEO Warren Anderson was issued in 1992, the United States has refused to extradite him.
I hope that none of the people I saw in that room knew about Bhopal: To continue to seek employment at Dow after hearing this story would trivialize the lives of the people who died in Bhopal and is a de facto approval of Dow's refusal to assume liability.
This is just one horror story, but I assure you there are others. By signing on to work for a company like Dow, you are abetting any criminal acts that they have a hand in throughout the world. Take the time to do some research about your prospective employer before interviewing with them. Go beyond the materials they give you.
To all those visiting the career fair, good luck. Just remember to choose a job with your head and not with your wallet. You'll probably be happier for it.
