Dear Athena is Her Campus Oswego’s Advice Column. Click here to submit (it’s completely anonymous)!
Dear Athena,
“I have been having an issue in class. I love the professor and the content, but another student has just been bothering me. This other student makes comments that aren’t relevant to the discussion just to get the attention of the professor. The comments are usually stories trying to make them sound better than others, jokes that don’t have anything to do with the class, obvious facts, or sucking up to the professor. They don’t raise their hand to speak either. Another student has joined them in doing this recently. This happens a lot and derails the discussion so the professor often loses track of what we were talking about and then people who had something relevant to say (like me) don’t have a chance to contribute because we move on. It’s ruining the experience in class and any educational value I get from going. Is there anything I do to cope with this? I don’t want to bother the professor with it because it’s going to sound more like a personal problem than an educational one, but I’d like to know if there’s a better way to learn with the stress of it. Thank you.”
— Can’t Learn Like This
Dear Can’t Learn Like This,
I’m so sorry to hear this is happening! I have had this experience before too, believe it or not, so I can understand how frustrating it is. Often, students may vibe particularly well with a certain professor, or a certain professor may take a student under their wing. I myself have had close relationships with professors who were mentoring me. It tends to happen if you are especially passionate about the subject material your professor is an expert in, and through that, you form a bond (because hey—something led you two to both be very interested in that specific thing). I mention this because it seems from your letter as if this student may be trying to force that bond with this professor, either for career or personal reasons. If they’re not contributing relevant discussions to the class, that leads me to believe that they aren’t necessarily passionate about the material, but rather, passionate about the professor.
Though we’re only a few weeks into the semester, I would advise you that your peers and professor are not dumb. They have most likely noticed at this point what is going on, and it’s likely that your peers who do care about the class like you are frustrated, too. It also may not be that your professor is letting this student (and others joining them) derail the discussion, but rather, is getting frustrated like you are and trying to cope with it by moving on in the lesson so that this other student can’t waste more of everyone’s time. I know you don’t want to bother the professor about it, but it may be worth it to go to their Office Hours and mention how you are feeling. Instead of framing it as “this other person is a problem,”perhaps frame it as “I am having a hard time focusing in class because I feel our discussions go off-track and then I can’t contribute because we move on.” Your professor will be sympathetic to a concern about how you are feeling with regards to your educational benefit of the course rather than targeting someone else. They may even bring up that they’ve noticed this student interrupting the lesson, because when this has happened to me, the professor has later shared that they knew the whole time and were trying to stop it. Honestly, there is no advice I can give you to cope better with it because you’re not the problem here—someone else is. If talking to your professor doesn’t help, you can also go to the tutoring center and see if they have any resources for the class that would help you. Good luck, Can’t Learn Like This!
Dear Athena,
“I’m a transfer student who spent the past two years online during the pandemic. It’s been hard to deal with being back in person. Any tips for making connections? I don’t want to waste the time I have left in college.”
— Pandemic Transfer Student
Dear Pandemic Transfer Student,
I totally get where you’re coming from—I am also a transfer student! While I didn’t transfer after the pandemic, I did do two years of online school through Monroe Community College. Seeing my peers and professors in person, having to navigate a campus, and re-learning how to learn in a live class were all challenges early on. I can promise you that once you’re in the swing of things, you’ll see just how comfortable you can be back in person.
What really helped me through it was a mix of a few different things: 1) getting involved on campus in student organizations, 2) forming study groups with my classmates I got along with, and 3) going to a professor’s Office Hours. Student organizations, or even things like athletics and Greek life, are natural ways to make connections, as people in these organizations are looking to meet new people who have the same interests as them. Study groups provide the same thing, since your classmates who are interested in creating one are usually invested in the material and you can bond over that, though I’d recommend forming these in classes within your core major. Finally, I mention getting to know your professors during their Office Hours because they will be sympathetic to your concerns and can help suit the classroom environment to help you feel more comfortable. My best advice is that honestly, no one’s here to attack you. College is really special in the fact that most people (including the faculty) are interested in who you are and giving you a chance. Don’t be afraid to approach the peers in your class or people in the organizations you join. I promise you can find where you belong if you just give it a little time and effort.