Samuel Casey
Ah, the “Wooster Plague” — you don’t worry about if you’re go- ing to get it, but when. Its first itera- tion already came and went, pass- ing its symp- toms (which show up in various forms) from person to per- son throughout the campus. When you eventually get sick, you must make an important decision whilst surrounded by layers of tissues, tea- stained mugs and pounds of salt for gargling: do you go to class?
The answer should be easy — hell no! The 50 or 80 minutes you won’t be able to pay attention anyways should be spent resting, drinking fluids and downing vitamin C. Moreover, going to class increases the risk of spread- ing the Wooster Plague to your peers which is not fair for them if it can be avoided. But as you know, the answer is not that easy. You must consider the ramifications of missing class. If a professor has a policy that you can only miss three classes, excused or unexcused, you may decide this is the time to cash in. But if you’re feel- ing pretty good, you may decide to go eventhoughyouprobablycan’tfocus andwillbesneezingandcoughingin the vicinity of 20 other people. Wait, Sam, are you claiming that the attendance policies at Wooster cause the Wooster Plague? Yup.
It should be noted that attendance policies differ from professor to pro- fessor, from lenient (show up or not I don’t care) to strict (this can be your only absence of the semester and, oh, please show proof of an obituary). But during a meeting of the Student Government Association (SGA) a few weeks ago, many shared their person- al experiences which persuaded me to write this viewpoint.
I wish the spread of germs was the only issue regarding attendance poli- cies, but it is only the tip of the ice- berg. Another point brought up dur- ing the meeting was the treatment of mental well-being as less important than physical well-being. If you email a professor to say you puked all over the Holden toilets and won’t make it to class, there’s a high likelihood it will be excused. However, if you can’t come because you’re feeling particularly anxious that day, a professor may be less likely to accept this. Moreover, a student may feel uncomfortable di- vulging that information to a professor who may require it to decide if its excusable.
Again, I’d like to note that there are probably a lot of professors who will understand these circumstances,but I also know for certain of professors that don’t; it is not fair for students to be penalized more because they just happen to have a certain professor versus another. The College is making certain strides toward recognizing the struggles that students have with mental illnesses, but there are still steps that could be taken.
I like to think that I’m sympa- thetic to the opposing view. The goal of professors is to facilitate discussions in the classroom and that can’t be done (at least as well) if many people are missing; there has to be some accountability among students and attendance policies are probably the easiest way to do that. However, it mustn’t be forgot- ten that we are paying a lot to go to this school. We want to attend class
because we are paying an enormous sum for our education and when we do miss, the only person it is hurt- ing is ourselves. Therefore, if we do make the decision to skip, it must be for a good reason. Whether the reason is sickness, mental health or any other applicable reason not mentioned in this viewpoint, I urge the faculty and administration to reflect on these issues from the perspective of students and think deeply about how detrimental attendance policies can be.