I am not an easy man to please.  When my TV gets fuzzy, my first impulse isn’t to get it repaired, but to kick it in the side for its insubordination.  It started working again, which was the desired effect even if the colors became a tad absurd.  

The point is I’m easily angered when something I have to use or work with doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do.  The problem is that most of what I have to work with isn’t technology, but people.  Unfortunately most people that don’t do what is required of them cannot be ‘fixed’ by a swift boot to the side.  We all see them, but do all of us believe they exist?  If you don’t believe it, allow me to open your eyes to some strange creatures.  

Take a minute and look around you.  Almost anywhere on campus, you can spot these people.  You might not know who to look for, but they’re there.  They’re almost everywhere, and I’ve come up with some endearing nicknames for them.  

For example, single out one of the students you see in your local hangout that always seems to be there and never seems to have class.  They aren’t doing schoolwork, and in fact they might not be doing anything at all.  They’re just there, taking up space in a chair you like, breathing your air, maybe even hogging the plugs with their laptops and surfing the Internet.  

The reason why they never seem to go to class or be worried about going to class is because they don’t intend to go to class.  From the perspective of those in the classroom, these are ghosts: people who are enrolled in the class, and never actually go.  Like any ghost, you get a feeling they are there somehow when the roll is called, but when you look?  Nothing.  

 Is attending class such a problem to one’s personal life that it must be avoided at all costs?  I know school is a great place to have a social life, especially at FCC, but the point of going to a school is to take classes.  Some people did not get that memo, and it goes beyond ghosts.  Many people come to school just to socialize because their large groups of friends have classes and all hang out together.  

Mind you, these people are not taking any classes themselves – they’re just there because it’s fun, or because they have nothing else to do.  For this behavior I have labeled such people dust bunnies: people who are not enrolled in classes, but can still be seen in the same places almost every day doing the same things.  I personally know of a man who has come to Yoshinos for years, and I have never seen him go to a class.  Doesn’t this seem somewhat irresponsible?  Don’t these people have better things to do, like look for jobs?  

This last one is my personal favorite: Bigfoot.  This is the student that you know is enrolled in the class, rarely attends but for some reason stays in the roster, and can be seen in your peripheral vision ditching class, similar to the Bigfoot sightings of urban legend.  

I’ll be the first to admit I have been each of these things before, and I know I wasn’t proud of it.  Anyone can understand that enjoying your personal life or slacking have their ups and downs, but students who go to class and have to depend on people to help earn their grade know how much of an annoyance these kinds of behavior are.  

My first impulse is still to kick things that don’t work.  It fixes my TV, but I’m sure it will take more than a boot to deal with these people.  Don’t be a ghost, or a dust bunny, or a Bigfoot.  Settle for responsible student.