I just wanted to let everyone know that the people who work over in Student Health are very competent and that they actually care about us. Sometimes, it seems as though the UA's main goal is to generate income, and that educating students is merely an af terthought. So, when I received a bill in the mail from Student Health with a mistake on it, I braced myself for the worst. I placed the erroneous bill into the bottomless pit (my purse) and made a mental note to stop by Student Health to correct the erro r.

I ended up procrastinating for a few days, because I was certain that getting the mistake erased from my account was going to be a grueling battle.

The whole scenario was playing in my head: First, I would be seated in a cubicle and forced to deal with some minimum-wage-earning dimwit who inevitably would not be able to figure out how to use the "delete" key on her computer. She would probably sit th ere and push the keys on her keyboard one at a time, trying to figure out what to do, until her computer started beeping at her to get her to quit pushing the wrong keys. She would look up at me with vacant eyes and say, "Duh, I can't take this off your a ccount. You're just gonna hafta pay it."

Oh, great. My forthcoming degree in biology had just been kidnapped by a computer and was being held for ransom. If I didn't pay up, I would never be allowed to graduate.

At this point I would demand to speak to the dimwit's supervisor. The supervisor would glare at me and act irritated because I refuse to pay a bill that I did not incur. When the glares and the irritated act didn't coerce me to break out my checkbook, she would start speaking to me very loudly and slowly, like I don't understand what she wants. Maybe the supervisor would utilize the "delete" key; maybe she wouldn't. I suppose that would depend on how lucky I was that day.

I made sure I had several hours available to plead my case and went to tackle Student Health.

I was seated in a cubicle. Fortunately, I was not forced to deal with a minimum-wage-earning dimwit. Instead, I had the pleasure of dealing with a very nice young man who seemed to have his head together. Although he could not remove the erroneous item fr om my bill, he told me there was a lady in administration who could. I thought he was talking about the Administration building. I told him that if I go over to administration, they will just send me back to Student Health for paperwork or something, so I 'd better not go over to administration empty-handed. The young man then offered to get someone to go to administration with me.

It turned out that I did not have to go to the Administration building; I just had to walk to the administration offices in the back of the Student Health Center. I was escorted to the offices by a very polite, redheaded lady who seated me, asked if I wou ld like a beverage, and then disappeared to find someone who could delete the error from my bill.

That someone turned out to be a very sweet lady, literally. Her entire office was full of various containers of candy. Apparently, the lady sells candy to her co-workers, and at much lower prices than can be found at the grocery store, let alone the vendi ng machines on campus. The lady said that it keeps morale up around the office. The whole room smelled like candy; if I had been irate, there would be no way I could stay that way for very long in a roomful of candy smells.

The candy lady then called someone to bring my chart into her office so she could compare what was on my chart to what was on my bill. My chart appeared in less than two minutes. The error was deleted from my bill two minutes after that.

It is rare to be treated so well in any office, especially when a computer error is involved. Instead of leaving with my face pale and my hands shaking from the ordeal, I emerged from Student Health calm and smiling. I even had time to kill before my next class.

I would like to thank Student Health for treating me with respect, and handling everything promptly. I had fully expected to be jerked around by an army of idiots. Instead, my problem was handled in a timely manner by a group of exceptional people.

Paula Huff is a biology junior. Her column appears every other Friday.