[QUOTE=MsRobyn
Honestly, as these things go, eating in class isn’t nearly as bad a sin as text-messaging in class, a crime for which the guilty parties should have their cell phones forcibly inserted into the orifice of the professor’s choice. It’s also not as bad as chatting or any other unnecessary activity that involves other people in the class.[/QUOTE]
As to the OP, I don’t know if eating in class would bother me or not–to tell you the truth, even though I went to college only 10 years ago, I don’t recall anyone eating in class. Drinking a coke or coffee, sure, but eating? It’s never even occurred to me that one would be allowed to eat during class.
At any rate, if it did go on, it would only have been in large lecture classes, and it would have been a sandwich or Snickers bar at the most. I’m positive I did not see such a thing go on in smaller (under 40 people) classes. I can’t imagine any of my professors tolerating it.
I hadn’t seen it, but I think that’s awesome. 
OTOH, my phone rang in class last night, and it was a call I had to take. I’m grateful my prof didn’t slam my phone down like that.
Robin
Thank God cell phones weren’t popular yet when I was in school.
I hope you at least had it on silent mode.
I’ve noticed that, at least over the past three years, there have been many threads about etiquette, most of which degenerate into one side saying, “Do whatever you need to/want to, but try to be respectful and not to inconvenience others,” and another side saying, “I’m doing what the fuck I want - no one can tell me what to do!” and throwing out extreme situations to prove the point.
For some reason, etiquette is often a controversial issue. I seem to recall at least one thread about walking around barefoot in the office (unacceptable vs. acceptable) and putting bare feet up on a strangers’ seat. I usually fall on the former side.
Strangely, though, most people seem to agree with each other in the end.
For example, regarding the eating issue in class - yeah, crunching and smacking and rattling a bag of doritos is rude if you’re in the middle of a lecture but of course it’s stupid to expect someone to starve or fall unconscious because they’re hypoglycemic and unable to eat. I think most people can agree on that. It seems to me (and I think others have stated this as well) that the debate largely boils down to perception, but that’s just my humble opinion.
I don’t think anyone was distracted by my knitting. I know that at least one professor only noticed it six weeks into the term, when I’d been doing it every day. I always brought projects that didn’t require a lot of attention (I’d do the fiddly bits out of class). That way I didn’t have to glance down at it much - I probably was able to keep my eyes on the professor better than many others who were taking more extensive notes.
And I asked permission in seminar-style classes (never refused), but not in big lectures.
Doodling doesn’t work for me - I end up paying more attention to the doodling and losing the thread of the lecture.
I also did 1.5 sweaters during my Bar/bri lectures. I wore the completed one to the bar exam (which I passed). I didn’t knit in law school because I was more concerned about the professors getting bent out of shape about it there, and because I had switched to using a laptop in class to take notes, instead of pen and paper, so I needed to be able to use both hands more frequently. (When there was something to be written down under the old system, I would just hold my knitting in my left hand long enough to do it, then resume. It was riskier to set it on my lap with no hands, and I don’t type well with only one hand.)
Those who get the hunger pangs, as I do, should try eating more protein more frequently. It works a hell of a lot better than Doritos and most of the other stupid snacks people bring in.
A cheese stick, a handful of nuts, a hard-boiled egg, or a slice of chicken would take care of the problem, and all can be consumed in a very short amount of time.
But hard-boiled eggs stink, keep that in mind. The general gist of the thread is not to impinge on others too much. I know that I can’t stand the smell of popcorn, and my husband can’t stand the smell of pickles, so someone probably can’t stand the smell of boiled eggs. A good rule is that if it’s not an eating-specific area and it smells strongly, be it good or bad, you shouldn’t have it.
Nuts, cheese sticks, etc. are a good idea, just nothing that is noisy or smelly.
~Tasha
Yes! I absolutely despise the stench of hard-boiled eggs. I am in awe of people who can choke the foul-smelling beasts down their throats. I can’t even bear to eat around someone who has a hard-boiled egg… it makes me nauseous. Please, eat the cheese sticks instead!
Funyuns, Corn Nuts, and hard-boiled eggs… guaranteed to earn you plenty of space around your seat.
It wasn’t. The prof was interrupted by the dulcet tones of Salt n’ Pepa’s “Push It.” :smack:
Normally, it is in silent, and I’m good about sending callers to voice mail. But I forgot to change the setting, and I needed to take that call.
Robin
Well, I think being in graduate school brings a different set of rules than undergrad. Although I would say that if you’re taking calls in class, I’m not entirely sure I’d complain about folks text messaging.
Sure, but these things should be eaten outside of the classroom, where the smell can just blow away in the breeze.
I was referring to people who think they’re going to faint if they don’t eat between classes.
Out of curiosity, how so? If anything, I had more respect for my professors’ time in graduate school than I ever did in undergrad. I guess people are more likely to have other, equally-important committments once one reaches grad school (kids, etc.), but then again, there are people who get their degrees later in life who are as likely to have those committments.
I was going to ask this as well. At my school, undergraduates can enroll in courses with the prof’s consent. So we’ve had undergrads in grad classes - and since they have to clear it with the prof first, they usually do their best to excel. (One notable exception - the guy came to class as if he thought it was optional!)
I’ve learned to make sure courses start and end on time - because people have to go to work, pick up kids, etc. We even had a guy going through a divorce who asked if he could bring his kids to a seminar. We said sure - the kids were delightful. The youngest colored through the class, and the older two actually seemed to be listening to the lecture!
It just seemed for a while that there wasn’t much regard or respect for the person lecturing or presenting. I think if one asks before busting out with the bento box and the response is in the affirmative, you’re on semi-solid ground.
(Personally I think everyone should be consulted, because I don’t think that people munching around you is part of the expected experience when you’re plonking down cash for a course. If the members of the course agree, and the profs agree, have at it! But even then, I think the custodial staff should have a say as well…)
Basically, the second sentence. I’ve never been to graduate school, so I really don’t know, but it seems to me that there is a bit more autonomy and flexibility with graduate school students than undergrads. It seems to me that lateness, scheduling conflicts, etc. are more tolerated because the probability that there are equally important commitments for the student is higher. I would never ever dream of answering a phone call in class as an undergrad, even if I were on a death watch. It seems incredibly rude to let my business interrupt the teacher and other students. I don’t think I would even do it as a graduate student, but I’m trying to give everyone a benefit of a doubt here.
Grad classes are often small group size, in which it is easy to work things out.
Undergraduate classes are often huge, where it is not necessarily possible to work things out.
Lateness… well, we have University time, which means everything starts 10 minutes after it’s scheduled. That gives you a little extra time. It depends on the prof. Some people write on their syllabus that you are expected to be on time, and will give you shit for being late unless you give a heads up. On bad weather days most profs cut slack in morning classes, though. I had a class where you had to submit your homework before the class started - and pretty much no excuse was valid. I almost broke my neck riding to class to make the deadline a few times.
Scheduling… case-by-case. Most profs I know won’t let you enroll in a class that you can’t attend on a regular basis. It’s a pain in the ass for the student and the prof, especially if it’s a discussion based or seminar course. I remember a few years back one prof had a lot of students taking a course at the law school, which is a bit of a hike from our campus. He moved his class start time back 10 minutes.
Stuff with kids is pretty much okay, especially at a school of education. I’ve seen school-age kids in classes, especially in the evening. And if you’re pregnant, you usually get a lot of help regarding getting around, and being late and/or running out of class is not a big deal.
I cannot imagine any circumstance where a prof - or the students - in a course at my school would excuse answering a phone call in class. This is a graduate school part of a large university. I agree that it’s incredibly rude. I remember this happened once, and the entire classroom audibly gasped when the student answered and said, “I’m in class, I’ll call you back.” The prof asked her to stay behind. It never happened again.
No one would think it is acceptable to have a lecturer answer a phone in class - though I did attend a speech where the speaker answered his phone mid-speech (it was funny, though)!
I have seen people run out quickly to answer a phone, though. I think that’s okay, if you’re phone’s on vibrate and you position yourself to easily dip out of the room. But make sure your chat is away from the door - we can hear you inside.
One of my profs said, “If the call is that important, maybe you’d better give class a pass for the day and attend to your business.” I would agree.
In all fairness, I left the room to take the call, and let the caller know that I would call her back during the regular break, which I did. The call was part of a university- and department-sanctioned project, so I get a fair bit of leeway. It was still rude, but there were mitigating circumstances. In some ways, it’s similar to needing to take a call from a spouse or a babysitter – still rude, but necessary.
And to answer the previous poster’s assumption, as a non-traditional college student, I was extended much the same leeway that grad students get. I’ve been excused to take a phone call from the daycare, while a traditional undergrad would get a stern look and booted out of classroom.
Robin
Me can’t count. Third sentence, but that’s probably evident from my explanation.
Also, Muffin’s point. I guess I would also say there’s probably more mutual respect between professer-graduate student, and a closer relationship, which would allow for a little less formal student-teacher relationship, and more flexibility on matters such as answering your phone in class. Once again, this is just coming from observation, not personal experience.
I assumed their must have been mitigating circumstances of some sort. Well, by my standards (for whatever that’s worth), you didn’t do anything terribly rude. Somewhat rude? Maybe, but you did have the decency to politely leave the room to take the call, which is what the guy in the video did not do.