A certain part-time professor is collecting final portfolios and specifically tells her students to have their work in to the department by 4pm.....because she is coming to pick them up at 4pm.
A student waltzes in at 4:35pm and informs Pat that she is dropping off a paper for this professor. Pat says ok and lets the student know that the professor has already come to pick them up.
"Oh- yeah, I know. I'm late," The student responds nonchalantly.
Pat is more concerned about the student missing this deadline than the student is.
"You might want to send your professor an e-mail and let her know that you have turned it in and it's in her box," Pat tries to help.
The student feels the need to defend her lateness at this point for some reason, "I live further away than most students....it takes me 30 minutes to get here so I didn't make it in time."
"ok....." replies a confused Pat. Pat doesn't know why the student is telling her this in the first place and in the 2nd place this is not a legitimate excuse for being late. Pat tries to get back to the point, "Seriously though, please send her an e-mail so that she knows that you turned it in. She may not physically come back to campus this semester and she will fail you if she assumed that you didn't turn it in." Pat assumes that this information should be pretty clear but it is apparently news to the student.
Pat should have just taken it without trying to help- it's the student's own fault. At the same time though, Pat does not want to see this student next semester coming in to file a complaint about her professor who failed her and claimed that she didn't turn in a paper when she did. Pat would be the one to deal with her though because she would come in to the department 30 minutes after it closed and Pat would be the only one there....she probably still won't be able to figure out that commuting time next semester.
As the student walks out of the room Phyllis makes a comment quite loudly, not caring if the girl hears. "I live 30 minutes away but it's fine because I just leave my house 30 minutes before I have to be here and I still get to work on time."
Pat and Phyllis have a good laugh.
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