"I just need some numbers!" Photo from Flickr.
Fellow CHEM 3451 Students,
I seem to have misplaced the class’ data from yesterday’s lab. If anyone could send me the numbers, I would greatly appreciate it.
Thank you,
Hailey
The lab report that required the class’ data was due in less than 24 hours. Hailey had just started on it when she realized that she didn’t have everything that she needed. She frantically typed out an email and waited for a reply. Twenty minutes went by, then thirty, then forty-three… Her computer was silent except for a 15% off coupon redeemable at any Victoria’s Secret store or online. Surely someone will respond by tonight, she thought.
“We are seniors in college. How are people still just finishing their lab report the night before it’s due?” Stacy complained to her friend as they stood in line at Subway. There was no way that Stacy was going to be of any help to Hailey. Stacy was competitive. She learned her freshman year that the other students in her major were her competition for medical school. If there was a way that she could jeopardize her fellow students’ grades, she would jump on the opportunity.
Travis was racing the clock to get some parts delivered before the close of business that day. He was speeding down I-35 when his phone buzzed. Oh poor Hailey! That was a tough report, he thought as he passed a cop. Oh s***. He saw the lights flip on in his rear view mirror and quickly forgot about the plea for help.
Joe, who had been in and out of sleep ever since he enrolled at the University of Oklahoma, rolled over and knocked his phone on the floor. He was one of those “bright” students who didn’t need to study or do much of anything except attend class to have the highest score on exams. He stayed awake in class, but this morning he didn’t have class and quickly fell back into his own dreams.
It was 9pm and Hailey was still waiting on an email that would never come. The other students either deliberately did not offer up the data, forgot about the cry for help, or assumed someone else would help. Hailey ended up turning in a lab report with no data and had little faith in her classmates from then on.
Author’s Note:
This was based on the story The Hare with Many Friends from the Aesop’s Fables (Jacobs) unit. I set this writing up the same as the original story by describing each character’s excuse not to help. This scenario seemed the most applicable to our lives as students. I felt very convicted when I read this specific fable because I am usually the one who assumes someone else will handle it. Hopefully, I will take the moral to heart and help out! We all should.
Bibliography:
Hares. The Fables of Aesop. Joseph Jacobs. 1894.
Wow, what a creative way to tell this story! I love that you related it back to something we can all totally relate to as college students. There is actually an interesting psychology term for this: the bystander effect. When people are in large groups, they are less likely to help someone than if they are the only one around because they feel a diffusion of responsibility. So if a student were to randomly single out one person to ask to the data, they would have a better chance of getting what they need :)
ReplyDeleteThis was such a creative idea! I loved that you related it back to something that every college student has experienced in one way or another. But, I totally know what you mean; my initial reaction is always "oh, someone else will take care of that." But, Aesop definitely has a good point! I also liked the different perspectives that you used of each student. I feel like we can all relate to each of the different personalities that you gave each student. Great job! :)
ReplyDeleteSkye,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this story. It has certainly been applicable to my life here at the University of Oklahoma. One critique I would have for your story, is to add more detail to each of the settings in the story, to add more to the story as a whole. While, yes as a student, I can picture everything that is happening, but the story seems very short and abrupt. If you added more detail to the story as a whole, it would make for a much more enjoyable read than it is now.
Maybe if you also added more background to each person instead of just the brief description that is currently provided. While I do know someone that is like each of the descriptions you provided, I also know multiple people that could fit each description you provided, as well. Maybe include information about their high school experiences, or something similar.