Darrell

September 5, 2008

Oy vey! Can you believe it? Not a month into the semester, and I’ve already had to bear witness to one of the many pitfalls of college life! Why me?  Well, I suppose I should start from the beginning, then.

It all began as a normal day in my Political Science class. We were having yet another political debate about the upcoming election. The only problem was, the majority of the people in our class had no idea how to go about it properly. Too many negative reactions to ignorant viewpoints, too much tension in the air, not enough guidelines for the debate and the anxiousness to get out of class early? Well, all of that certainly had something to do with what happened next.

At this point, I had blocked out the entire debate because quite frankly, it was going nowhere fast and I didn’t care to hear a bunch of pointless arguing. So, I guess it was no surprise that when I looked up for a brief moment, I saw everyone packing up and leaving. I assumed, of course, that we had been dismissed and since I looked at the professor and saw no objection from him, I went ahead and left with everyone else. Strike one for Darrell. I went back to my room, did some studying, ate at Palms, hung out with my friends, and went to sleep, ready to start the process all over again the next day.

However, I was in for a rude awakening when I entered my VSU Emerging Leaders class at noon. Our professors took attendance as usual, and then they proceeded to tell us an urgent message.  It concerned the fact that over half the class had left the previous day. Our Political Science professor not only complained to our Emerging Leaders instructors, but to the Honor Board as well. This meant that if he chose to, he could drop all those students, including me, an entire letter grade. Our instructors expressed their frustration and disappointment at what we had done. Of course, you could imagine my reaction to this sudden change in events.

Although some of the other students explained that they walked out due to the tension in the room, there were others like me who walked out by accident and did not mean to intentionally “leave.” I ended up finding out that some of the other students heard our professor telling everyone class wasn’t dismissed and didn’t leave. Strike two for me. Of course, I didn’t realize this. I simply thought those students were staying after class to ask questions. I also found out that the students who stayed behind signed their names on a paper, as proof that they stayed behind. Strike three!

Unfortunately, at that point it looked like I was on the way out. Although our instructors both understood our side of the story, they reminded us how easily the problem could have been avoided in the first place had we only listened (for those who, like me, accidentally left; which they were right about) and not been so reactive to the debate (those who left intentionally).  They also said that the situation was out of their hands, so that even if they wanted to change the punishment, in the end, they could do nothing about it since the decision was ultimately up to our professor. Afterwards, I had to make a personal decision myself. I could either wait until the next class and hope the whole situation blew over without any consequences, to no avail, or take matters into my own hands. So, I decided to take a trip over to his classroom right after class. Unfortunately, there was no professor waiting there, and I quickly reminded myself that college professors don’t just sit in classrooms all day. So, I figured I would try again at a later date. This plan was quickly derailed by my decision to take a quick nap after my 3:30 and 5:00 classes were over. What was supposed to be 30 minutes turned into a few hours, and by the time I woke up, it was too late to go back. The next morning, all I could do was wake up and go to class, hoping that somehow I could explain things to our professor. As luck would NOT have it, the crossing signals took longer than usual, so I ended up in class barely a few minutes before it started, and had to immediately begin copying the review questions on the board.

As the clock struck 9:30, our professor stopped us and reminded us the responsibilities of being a college student and the importance of attending class. He ended his speech by saying the “perpetrators” of the “crime” would receive their proper punishment. Yikes! I actually think I stopped breathing for a second. Class went by in a blur, since all I could think about was my grade being dropped so early into the semester. I remember there being another debate, one not as volatile as last time, but still not an overall success.

Finally, class ended and on time, as you might expect. I waited until everyone left and then I walked up to our professor and explained my role in the events that happened in the previous class. I apologized first, and then told him that I would never intentionally miss class, especially one I enjoyed as much as his. None of this was fabricated, I really did enjoy the class, regardless of its nuisances. The subject always interested me, and I liked learning more about it. He stopped me for a minute, and then asked me for my name. I told him, and he looked onto our class roster, and then made a checkmark next to my name. When I saw that, I felt the knot in my stomach slowly release itself. I then proceeded to tell him my ideas on how to improve the debate, in terms of rules and ways to organize it. Not being cocky here, but I suppose he must have been impressed or at least surprised, because he stared at me for a few seconds, then asked me my thoughts on the upcoming political election. I told him, and he somewhat agreed with me, making me laugh. We talked for a few more minutes and as I moved to leave my professor told me that he appreciated the fact that I came to talk to him.

As I walked back to my room I couldn’t shake this feeling of utter triumph. I don’t really know what it was. I guess for the first time, I actually felt like a responsible individual. I had some problems with that in the past, but all of that seemed to disappear that day. Maybe college life is having positive effects on me in more ways than one. I really hope that turns out to be true in the long run. And I guess this whole situation can be summed up in one sentence: “School is like a business. Keep your affairs in order.” (Yes, I borrowed that from the tagline for Tyler Perry’s new movie, but as least I know how to give credit where it’s due. No plagiarizing here, Professor Lugo! Man, I love her English class!)