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A spirit that is not afraid

Editorial: The attendance policy: tardy to the party

Rachel Suhs / DESIGN EDITOR
Rachel Suhs / DESIGN EDITOR

Do you remember how awful high school was?
The teachers were, more often than not, authoritarian babysitters. Every minute of your day was planned out; the will of the educator held sway.
You were, essentially, free of responsibility in the most malignant way possible. Your life was not your own.
Of course, this Pink Floyd-ian environment wasn't true for everyone. In fact, it probably wasn't true for the majority of students.
Nonetheless, the stark image of a dictatorial administration weaseling its way into a student's everyday life should strike fear in you.
Unfortunately, the University has a tendency to let its inner authoritarian slip out every once in a while. For example, the campus-wide smoking is an egregious use of University policy -- if you're a smoker that is.
But you don't even have to look outside of the classroom for examples of Auburn's iron fist in a silk glove.
The official University Attendance Policy states, "Specific policies regarding class attendance are the prerogative of individual faculty members." Yet that prerogative all too often results in an antiquated three-strike system.
Under normal circumstances, this would be the pointless complaining of over-privileged college students. You know the them, the frat guys who bitch and moan when they have to go to class hung over; the slackers who have reported their grandmother dead too many times to count.
However, in case you haven't noticed, we're in a recession. Everything is expensive. You can't be awake without spending money.
One of the most expensive things a person can do is get sick. If you don't have insurance, you could go into crippling debt from just one trip to the emergency room.
If you're a college student who isn't supported by their family, or is over the age of 26, God help you.
This is where the three-strike attendance policy comes in to play. When it costs you a whole paycheck just go to a doctor for sinus infection or to get an excuse for being out with food poisoning, you probably won't go.
This means no official excuse, and a loss of one or more strikes, which eventually lead to a lower final grade or even the dreaded FA.
It's a situation that needs to be amended for the times. Professors who use this policy need to understand that some of us have to work two jobs just to be able to sit in their class.
We aren't asking for a free pass to skip whenever we want. What we want is some empathy and leniency.


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