Image by Justin Jensen via Flickr
Cayla Bush | Staff Writer
opinion@fiusm.com
Student’s come to class, more or less, to learn. Granted, there are students who come because attendance is mandatory, but the majority do want to learn while they’re there. That being said, when you come into class and you’re distractingly obnoxious, you’re an obstacle to the pursuit of learning.
How can you tell you’re distractingly obnoxious? Generally, the majority of the class will groan anytime you speak. You’ll receive side-eyes so strong that you’d fear your fate if looks could kill. At some point in the semester, even the professor will begin to regard you as a nuisance.
If you’re this person, do the rest of your classmates a favor: either stop showing up or stop being an obnoxious a**hole. I am aware that my language is very strong; trust me it’s warranted. On the other hand, to sit in a class of any length and hear you scream obnoxious statements just to have all eyes on you is a punishment no one deserves.
I know I’ll get the “freedom of speech” rebuttals in which people will attempt to convince me that it’s a right to speak freely, but consider this: in the United States of America, a person’s personal rights end where another’s begin. That being said, your “expression of your freedom of speech” encroaches on my right to an education. I invite anyone to tell me how your irrelevant comment, such as a request that the professor Google “Two Girls One Cup” (if you haven’t heard of it, don’t Google it, please), more important than the collective right to an education?
I understand that people are essentially who they are going to be for the rest of their life at this point. I’m probably not going to change any of the obnoxious people I’m surrounded by with this opinion, I get it. My goal is to voice the general opinion of those in the class who are beyond done with your shenanigans. My goal is to simply request that you take a second to consider the rest of the class before disrupting the learning environment because for the last three minutes no one has acknowledged your existence.