Semester End is Near

The time has come when it can feel as if that last day of school, which is getting close, can seem so far away.




Many of you have been through this before. You know that it does end, but the journey can be arduous. And for some of you, the spring semester may be your first stab at college life. Hang in there little kiddies.



I know how difficult the end of the semester can be, so I'd like to share some reviews that may not lighten your work load, but will hopefully lighten your mood.



These are some of the things I've encountered during the last and longest month of the semester that really make me clench my butt cheeks in anger.



I would first like to address the Testing Center, or as I like to call it, The Cave.



Excuse me, but whose idea was it to move the Testing Center to its current location? For those of you who remember, the Testing Center used to be in the Browning building, and I thought that was a stellar location for it.



Now when a student has to take a test, he or she has to put on spelunking gear and delve down into that abyss. There's only one door to access the main crypt inside, so students are constantly bumping into each other while trying to enter and exit the room.



The air conditioning and heating system within is very loud and distracting. Perhaps someone said, "Let's test the students in a room with noisy air conditioning so they can be prepared to focus in a distracting environment."



Well, whoever decided to un-improve the location of the Testing Center should have to live there for one month. He or she would have to sleep on the floor with a constant interruption of sleep because of the noisy vents. Oh, and good luck finding the bathroom in the middle of the night. I've taken countless tests down in the cave, and I still don't know where the restrooms are.



My next review is for the group of students who seem to have no issues with the end of school workload. These students are either a lot smarter than I am, or they simply don't care about their grades.



I'm not bitter, but it irks me to see the kids who laugh it up every day on campus and don't seem to get the least bit stressed about the ever-increasing amount of schoolwork. OK, I'm just a little bit bitter.



Those students who dance through college as if it were a ballroom and not the mine-riddled battlefield it actually is get a very special kind of review.



I've got to award each and every one of them with 12 more credits added to their schedule for next semester. Those 12 credits should have to be electives that don't count towards their degree. Oh, and those electives should have to be electives they don't want to take.



And last, and most certainly least, let's give a happy little review to the instructors. Most of the instructors here on campus are good people. They are aware that students have more than one class and have a lot to tackle, especially during the last month of school.



However, there are a select few who seem to think that the world revolves around them. They are under the impression their classes are the most important, and if a student doesn't dedicate his or her every waking moment to the study of that class, then that student doesn't deserve a passing grade.



Luckily for me, I don't have that particular problem this semester, but it has been a looming issue for me in semesters past.



We all know at least one instructor that falls under this category. The semester is ending and he or she suddenly dumps endless amounts of homework and projects on the students. College kids have to devote their whole existence to that one class in order to pass, and still find time to pass their other classes as well.



To those instructors, I'd have to say they need four more years of college to remind them of the stress load students face. I'm talking a full-time, 16 credit workload for those instructors. Hopefully, that would make those instructors, few as they may be, realize that students are only human.



Take a deep breath. Conquer the cave. Ignore those students who don't seem to care about the end of the semester. Gear up for those classes that seem overwhelming. And above all, keep telling yourself it will end.