Attending class should not be celebrated, but expected

Amanda Siefken Opinion Editor

On average, students are paying $525 per class (if they are South Dakota residents, and it is a three credit course). If we are all paying at least $525 per class, why do people still not go?

I am under no illusion that spring break is keeping people away from campus this week, or that some students are still in recovery from the week of wildness that vacations brought on, but the number of people not going to classes at all during the past few days, is astounding. 

Personally, I am a junior taking 18 credits. This leaves me in the position that, I not only have six different class opportunities to seek attendance, but that I also am in only major specific courses, so the people I am sitting with, are also intending on working in these fields for the rest of their lives. That idea can be kind of intimidating to some students, but it should also ignite an inspiration to do the best we can, to have the best possible futures we can. 

I guess the main point, or problem that I have right now is that students do not go to class. Classes at 8 a.m. are hard for everyone to go to and I understand that, but when I went to one of my Rotunda classes at noon this week and only 14 students out of the 54 actually showed up, my aggravation really came to a forefront. When many students do not go to class, teachers are less likely to teach to the full caliber they would with a full class attendance and then the people going to class miss out just as much as the people still in bed. 

We live in South Dakota people. Not only should we be used to really crappy weather, but we also should know that March is always the snowiest month and April, not so long ago, brought a crazy ice storm just south of us. Last year it snowed during finals week in May. 

I really do not think that the weather still gets to be an excuse for poor class attendance. If we were able to go to class with a foot and a half of snow on the ground, and the wind chill temperature hovering around 40 below zero, we can go to class when there is an inch of snow on the ground and it is 30 degrees. That is a 70 degree difference. Most states do not see that big of a difference all year, let alone us seeing it in a two week time span. 

For $525, students are not only throwing away money, but we also throw away opportunities to possibly learn something. I cannot speak for the greater SDSU population, but I am in these classes and chose the major I did because I like them and want to get a degree in them. Ultimately, I can use them in my future career. This is kind of the point of college. We pay a lot of money to get an education and then get a job that pays more money, so the education as well as the costs of said education are worth it all. 

If students are not going to class, this means that they are not learning. Students not learning means that they will not be able to successfully do their dream jobs to the best of their ability. They then run the chance of not getting their dream job because they do not know the right information. Students not getting the jobs out of college to pay back college loans makes the years and money spent pointless and then your degree is just another piece of paper that doesn’t mean anything.

Classes at noon are not hard to get to people, and if the weather really was that bad, the school would be considering cancelling classes. One inch of snow, and 30 degrees is not going to get classes cancelled. Go to class. Learn something. Get the dream job and pay back your student debt.

I know some classes are far from fun, but if you really don’t want to go, then don’t take the class, don’t pay the $525. Life is too short to be avoiding classes, and wasting money. Find your dream job, then pick the major, choose the class, and then go. It is not hard, and who knows, you might actually learn something, it is class after all. 

 

Amanda Siefken is majoring in political science. She can be reached at [email protected]