Professor Throws Curse Words into Lecture to Keep Students' Attention

Professor Barge has been teaching philosophy for 32 years, but feels as if his style is still as young as it was during the Cold War. However, his students do not agree. Twenty-five minutes into his fifty-minute lecture, the tenured professor, Dr. Barge, realized his students’ attention was waning. At first, he tried new PowerPoint transition effects, testing each one out and nervously looking to see his students’ reactions. No one looked up from their laptop, assumedly too enthralled by their Facebook pages. In a last-ditch effort to persuade the 8 remaining students in the class that Philosophy of Hamlet was truly cool, he looked students right in the eyes, called Laertes an “ass," and threw finger guns.  

Laughing uncomfortably to the silent faces of his students, he said, “So we can all agree that shit happens, right?” Students stated that they were not only confused by why their 70-year-old professor was so aggressive towards characters in a fictional play, but also disappointed. “I see right through it,” said Casey Wilkes (C ’19). “He's trying to establish a reputation as ‘the cool professor.’ It's not subtle.”

Another student, Todd Hampton (C ’19), was also disappointed by the way the class was structured. “I was looking forward to this class because I wanted to have intellectual discussions about a classic play, but I think the professor just wants us to think he’s cool.” Professor Barge commented that his lectures always provoke intellectual discourse, calling them “on point” and that his students “seriously need to chill.”