One day last week, I was lucky enough to experience the singular joy of class cancellation. It’s one of the best surprises in the life of a college student, especially for 9 a.m. classes. The few extra hours of sleep procured from such a serendipitous occasion are so much sweeter, so carefree as worries of unfinished homework blissfully glide away from our minds.
But as wonderful an experience as class cancellation is, it raises some interesting questions. What did the professor mean when she said she “is observing a religious holiday,” or when he wrote, “I am feeling a little under the weather today”? Yes, they could simply be telling the truth, as many times every once in a while we students are when we ask for an extension or an excused absence. But, especially when the use of such stock phrases is employed, it makes one wonder what our professors are really doing.
