Students' classroom manners are disrespectful of professors

This semester I have, without fail, missed the last 30 seconds of every lecture in every class. No, I have not been sneaking out early. And no, I don't just fall asleep after 49 and a half minutes. Rather, my lectures have been actively disrupted by my fellow classmates.

As soon as the professor says something to the effect of, "Next time we will discuss . . . " or, "Let me stop here," he or she is immediately drowned out by a cacophony of rustling bags. It does not matter whether the class is running over time or ending early; the zippers still get pulled with all the same consequence.

If the lecture runs over, though, these key words often become unnecessary. The professor does not even have to signal that the lecture is drawing to a close, since the audience is quick to provide a very audible reminder that it is time to leave. After all, if someone is going to have the audacity to keep a class for an extra moment while finishing up an argument, any obligation to pay attention is removed from the students. That's the way these things work, right?

The issue is minor, I know, but this is my seventh semester suffering through the phenomenon, and it's time it stopped. In light of the current dialogue about the University's intellectual climate, we must also reexamine the attitudes with which we come to lecture. They are all part of the same thing.

Consider this: If a lecture is scheduled to run for 50 minutes and the professor starts wrapping things up around minute 45, why do people start packing their bags? It can't have anything to do with a need to be in another place in too short an amount of time; the professor has already given a few extra minutes to students, so they actually have more time than they were expecting. Besides, I have often seen this happen at the end of 11 a.m. lectures, after which the majority of students break for lunch. Hardly a pressing obligation that requires early packing.

Central here is an issue of respect. I do not claim that University students consciously or purposefully disrespect their professors; on the contrary, I find that most everyone here is in awe of the great minds and talents that are available for our instruction. But absent is the basic courtesy that when someone is speaking to us, we listen with full attention. In its place is an attitude best expressed as, "My time is too precious to waste on listening to you if what you're saying is not directly relevant to what I'm here for. And don't you dare try to impose on my schedule by taking more time than you've been given." Let's see you try that at the end of your McKinsey interview. No, I didn't think so.

Let us not underestimate the power latent in our manners. They speak volumes of our approach to a situation. Simple actions are an indication of often not-so-simple attitudes. While a lackluster approach to lecture will not be cured just by putting off packing our bags, it is a start. We need to move away from viewing class as part of the drudgery of daily obligations, and instead come each day with a consideration — and even joy of presence — that lasts through the entire lecture.

Only once we have mastered fundamentals such as that can we expect to have any success in improving the overall intellectual atmosphere of the University. Good scholars must first be good listeners, and good listeners must first learn to listen with respect. Lowell Schiller is a Wilson School major from Warren, N.J. He can be reached at schiller@princeton.edu.