I returned to campus an hour later with ice packs and water to beat the heat, and it felt even warmer than before both outside and inside. Worse, the class was packed, mostly consisting of bright eyed, fresh-outta-highschool students ready to take on the world. Me, on the other hand? I was grumpy. Mostly because it was too damn hot. But also because I was annoyed by how busy the first week of classes always was. It felt like high school all over again, in many ways, and I hated it. 

However, I reassured myself that the first week or two were always the most chaotic weeks of the semester, and things would get much better once the census date came and went. Plus, I only had to endure the heat a little longer. Soon enough, I’ll be bitching about it being too damn cold in the classroom. 

As soon as the clock struck 2:30 PM, my professor strutted to the front of the room, cleared her throat, and immediately jumped into the introduction. Being the responsible student I was, I’d already read the syllabus and prepared all of the materials needed for the class. So, I quietly doodled in my notebook while the professor went over the syllabus. 

Evidently, all of the young whippersnappers behind me did not read the syllabus, and seemed a bit taken aback when the professor proclaimed, “You are all adults now, so it is your responsibility to study and learn the material presented to you! That, and because attendance is not mandatory, if you spend the entirety of this class on your phone, or talking to your friends, or sleeping, or any of that nonsense, I reserve the right to kick you out… If you cause any sort of unreasonable disturbance, I reserve the right to get campus police involved!”

At first, this struck me as a bit… over-the-top. But, then I remembered that there’d been an incident in the sociology department a semester or two before, where a student had been arrested for getting outraged at the professor over something stupid. Perhaps, that’s why my professor felt the need to make that obvious boundary even more clear. At least, that’s what I told myself to make myself feel better. 

Also, I will say, the vibes in the room were off, too. A lot of students were withdrawn, and a couple students left early. Probably because it was hotter than hell. And the professor addressed that by saying, “Had I known it would be this hot, I would’ve held classes virtually today. Keep up-to-date on your email in case I cancel in-person classes last minute, because these are not optimal learning conditions…”

Clearly, the professor was frustrated from the get-go, but I understood. I, too, was frustrated. I wanted to get out of that heat as fast as possible, and made a deal with myself that if the college didn’t get its shit together by the end of the week, I’d drop in-person Psychology and just spend my days doing college entirely online.