Religious Studies Professor Holds Smoke Sesh During Office Hours

With mental health concerns becoming just slightly more worrisome throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, one Penn professor is taking an innovative approach to student wellness. Dr. Bud, a well-known and highly respected professor in the Religious Studies department, began hosting virtual smoke sessions during his weekly office hours this past January. The new initiative, Herbal Hours, has been extremely successful so far, consistently gathering more students than Bud’s weekly lectures.

Herbal Hours take place every Wednesday at 3:00pm EST for exactly one hour and twenty minutes. This gives everyone ample time to roll a spliff, light up, and play religious-based Kahoot games. If time allows, they might say a thing or two about silly meta things.

“Talking about religion or whatever is definitely not easy and it can be really mentally exhausting for students,” Dr. Bud stated, “which is why I made Herbal Hours a required component of my course. Mandatory office hours sounds like a drag, but my students have a blast. Literally.” 

When asked about the students’ love (addiction?) for Herbal Hours, Dr. Bud simply credits the vibes. Cameras are not required and the big words that students commonly use in other class to stroke their little nerdy egos are strictly prohibited. Dr. Bud is proud to have created a unique safe space for students at Penn when the administration has aggressively failed to do so. 

You might be wondering about the legality of Herbal Hours and the consequences of an elite professor engaging in such a high-risk practice, but Dr. Bud does not seem worried at all. “God knows tenured professors are never held accountable,” he explained. “I am simply fulfilling my religious duty of elevating the youth's mind and helping them find their greater (greener) purpose. And besides, a little bit of God’s lettuce never hurt anybody.”