Ease the stampede

I witnessed an unfortunate spectacle from a student who sat next to me in class the other day. After polishing off a Red Bull, she dozed in her chair. The lecture was wrapping up and students started to ask questions. The student next to me woke from her nap and spoke out in protest.\n"No! Don't ask questions," she commanded. "No questions. Are we good? I'm good."\nWith that, she stood up. She had declared that class was over and began to step over me as I was still taking notes and the professor was still talking.\nCall me crazy, but aren't most of us shelling out big bucks to come to class and ask questions of knowledgeable scholars? Why even bother showing up if your only goal is to leave and perhaps step on some toes in the process?\nMaybe you've experienced the phenomenon. You're sitting in a large lecture and when the professor says one word insinuating the end of class, students get restless and the storm begins. Phrases such as "any questions?" incite mob mentality. The professor might be speaking, but the room sounds like a frenzied plague of locusts.\nThere's no good way to word this argument without sounding like a huge nerd. But the display by Red Bull girl was too appalling to remain silent. If your professor is still lecturing and class isn't over, there's no need for a paper rustling extravaganza followed by a race to the door. Some students actually want to hear what's being said.\nAfter surviving nearly the entire span of the class, is sitting for ten more minutes really that difficult? You've made the long, strenuous journey through the desert. The tropical oasis is only a few feet away, but you stop, kick your camel in the shins and start building a sand castle.\nAccording to Wikipedia, the sound of rustling leaves is about 20 decibels. Rustling leaves are a lot like rustling papers. The sound seems innocent enough, almost soothing, but if 50 students or more are making that sound at the same time, the decibel level compares to that of a motorcycle or a jackhammer.\nI don't claim to be a model student with pristine classroom etiquette all the time. Have I fallen asleep in class before? Yes. Have I written haikus instead of taking actual notes? Yes. I've even tried to use the power of my mind to make time move faster, but that doesn't change the fact that I came to class to learn. \nI'm embarrassed by the blatant display of disrespect shown by students who start a stampede when a professor is still trying to speak, but what's worse is there are still a few nerdy students who actually care about what's being said. Just because you can't bear to sit in class for a few more minutes doesn't mean you should take that right away from others. Regardless of the sentiments of Van McCoy, there's no need to be doing "the hustle" in an educational setting, especially when only a few minutes of class remain.