AACC students said they can usually get out of class or turn in an assignment late if they give their professors the go-to “I’m sick” excuse.
In an informal poll of 10 students, half said they have used a fake health issue to miss a class, while the other half gave excuses ranging from car trouble to technology malfunctions.
“I had a minor cold but told the teacher that I was sick with pneumonia,” Aziah Deal, a freshman, said. “I even poured water on my face and went in shaking when I talked to her to make it more believable.”
According to a Harvard University survey of more than 3,000 students, 28 percent of students gave professors a false excuse when, in fact, 30 percent simply didn’t feel like coming in and 19 percent just wanted more sleep.
“I tell my pig-headed male professors that it is my time of the month and they ask no further questions,” Titilayo Cgunduyilemi, a visual arts major, said.
Traffic, car accidents and cars breaking down are a few other excuses used repeatedly.
“[One] morning when I overslept, I told my teacher I got into a car accident on Route 50 and my car nearly flipped over,” Tyler Creswell, a freshman business major, said.
Some students claim to stun their professors with their excuses. One student couldn’t stop laughing as he recalled his “most ingenious excuse.”
“One time I really did not feel like staying in class so I rubbed a greasy breakfast sandwich on the back of my pants and told the teacher I had explosive diarrhea,” Tony Lombardi, a sophomore transfer studies major, said. “Needless to say, I was excused.”