"What Have Millennials Ruined Today?" Game, presented by Charleston Chew™

[Flex]

I'm outing myself a lot this year. Meet me, the board's resident foot fetishist (really, I'm just a sex maniac).

Are you annoyed at gen z's "no feet" rules?

[Kory]

I'm outing myself a lot this year. Meet me, the board's resident foot fetishist (really, I'm just a sex maniac).

Are you annoyed at gen z's "no feet" rules?

Not too much. I agree with Maj on it being up to them to set their own standards (and that foot fetishists can be horrific pests (not me) rings true when it comes to that very specific standard being set), but I also agree with you that this isn't happening universally to their generation. I do also agree with you on the troubling aspects of them shaming others for not monetizing (though they may at a certain point recognize that it's exhausting to even have to think that way), and I'm also troubled by the stories of them harassing their teacher for wearing open toes, which is almost as bad as what they're railing against.

[Dr. Medulla]

I'm outing myself a lot this year. Meet me, the board's resident foot fetishist (really, I'm just a sex maniac).

See everyone, wasn't I right when I said Kory was a creeper?!?

[Kory]

I'm outing myself a lot this year. Meet me, the board's resident foot fetishist (really, I'm just a sex maniac).

See everyone, wasn't I right when I said Kory was a creeper?!?

I'm not one of these guys that requests photos online though.

[Flex]

I'm also troubled by the stories of them harassing their teacher for wearing open toes, which is almost as bad as what they're railing against.

Yeah, I agree that struck me as pretty fascistic conformo bullshit (even if I thought the teacher's "how do you do, fellow kids" reaction was also inane) which, well, is pretty in keeping with the attitudes of Teen Agers for generations, although admittedly my experience growing up was that stuff was usually confined to attacking peers and not levied at other generations as much. "Harassing a worker for what they wear at their workplace" is pretty contemptable behavior.

[Dr. Medulla]

I'm outing myself a lot this year. Meet me, the board's resident foot fetishist (really, I'm just a sex maniac).

See everyone, wasn't I right when I said Kory was a creeper?!?

I'm not one of these guys that requests photos online though.

Old skool creeper, yo!

[Flex]

I'm outing myself a lot this year. Meet me, the board's resident foot fetishist (really, I'm just a sex maniac).

See everyone, wasn't I right when I said Kory was a creeper?!?

I'm not one of these guys that requests photos online though.

Old skool creeper, yo!

He doesn't send DMs, but he is an "elite MVP contributor" to wikifeet dot com

[Dr. Medulla]

I'm outing myself a lot this year. Meet me, the board's resident foot fetishist (really, I'm just a sex maniac).

See everyone, wasn't I right when I said Kory was a creeper?!?

I'm not one of these guys that requests photos online though.

Old skool creeper, yo!

He doesn't send DMs, but he is an "elite MVP contributor" to wikifeet dot com

You've also read his c.v.?

[Dr. Medulla]

This could go in a few different threads, but I've always loved this thread name, so any opportunity to bump it.

Okay, this year I specifically put in my syllabus and announced the first day that staring at one's phone during lecture is really rude and won't be tolerated. Of course, I'm not someone to call people out—I'm just not that guy—plus I hate to break my rhythm when speaking. But students are just lost without staring at their phone. Still, shit in one class has been really bad of late and so today, at the start, I asked them, with two classes left, to pretend they aren't bored and keep their phones down.

I start the lecture and one guy is staring at his phone, so I stop talking and just stare at him. Five seconds, ten seconds, fifteen seconds, at least thirty seconds pass without reaction. Immersed in his phone, unaware the lecture has paused. Finally, he realizes that his neighbours are staring up at him. He looks up, and from under his hoodie he pulls off headphones.

Me, exasperated muttering: Headphones too?
Him: What is it?
Me, very exasperated: What are you even doing?
Him: Texting with family.
Me: In class.
Him: Yeah?
Me: Yeah, no. Take it outside if you need to do that.

He leaves. In some respects it was no surprise. He's shown up for class all year maybe five times, regularly emailing me with excuses why he can't make it. Big surprise that he never brings anything to take notes with either. So there's zero way he can pass the final (or the class). But I was just flabbergasted by the audacity(?). Not looking at me, not hearing me. Why bother coming to class? Again: What are you even doing?

[Kory]

This could go in a few different threads, but I've always loved this thread name, so any opportunity to bump it.

Okay, this year I specifically put in my syllabus and announced the first day that staring at one's phone during lecture is really rude and won't be tolerated. Of course, I'm not someone to call people out—I'm just not that guy—plus I hate to break my rhythm when speaking. But students are just lost without staring at their phone. Still, shit in one class has been really bad of late and so today, at the start, I asked them, with two classes left, to pretend they aren't bored and keep their phones down.

I start the lecture and one guy is staring at his phone, so I stop talking and just stare at him. Five seconds, ten seconds, fifteen seconds, at least thirty seconds pass without reaction. Immersed in his phone, unaware the lecture has paused. Finally, he realizes that his neighbours are staring up at him. He looks up, and from under his hoodie he pulls off headphones.

Me, exasperated muttering: Headphones too?
Him: What is it?
Me, very exasperated: What are you even doing?
Him: Texting with family.
Me: In class.
Him: Yeah?
Me: Yeah, no. Take it outside if you need to do that.

He leaves. In some respects it was no surprise. He's shown up for class all year maybe five times, regularly emailing me with excuses why he can't make it. Big surprise that he never brings anything to take notes with either. So there's zero way he can pass the final (or the class). But I was just flabbergasted by the audacity(?). Not looking at me, not hearing me. Why bother coming to class? Again: What are you even doing?

Probably texting with the family that gave him the trust fund that means he doesn't have to pay attention.

[Mimi]

This could go in a few different threads, but I've always loved this thread name, so any opportunity to bump it.

Okay, this year I specifically put in my syllabus and announced the first day that staring at one's phone during lecture is really rude and won't be tolerated. Of course, I'm not someone to call people out—I'm just not that guy—plus I hate to break my rhythm when speaking. But students are just lost without staring at their phone. Still, shit in one class has been really bad of late and so today, at the start, I asked them, with two classes left, to pretend they aren't bored and keep their phones down.

I start the lecture and one guy is staring at his phone, so I stop talking and just stare at him. Five seconds, ten seconds, fifteen seconds, at least thirty seconds pass without reaction. Immersed in his phone, unaware the lecture has paused. Finally, he realizes that his neighbours are staring up at him. He looks up, and from under his hoodie he pulls off headphones.

Me, exasperated muttering: Headphones too?
Him: What is it?
Me, very exasperated: What are you even doing?
Him: Texting with family.
Me: In class.
Him: Yeah?
Me: Yeah, no. Take it outside if you need to do that.

He leaves. In some respects it was no surprise. He's shown up for class all year maybe five times, regularly emailing me with excuses why he can't make it. Big surprise that he never brings anything to take notes with either. So there's zero way he can pass the final (or the class). But I was just flabbergasted by the audacity(?). Not looking at me, not hearing me. Why bother coming to class? Again: What are you even doing?

Fail him.

[Flex]

This could go in a few different threads, but I've always loved this thread name, so any opportunity to bump it.

Okay, this year I specifically put in my syllabus and announced the first day that staring at one's phone during lecture is really rude and won't be tolerated. Of course, I'm not someone to call people out—I'm just not that guy—plus I hate to break my rhythm when speaking. But students are just lost without staring at their phone. Still, shit in one class has been really bad of late and so today, at the start, I asked them, with two classes left, to pretend they aren't bored and keep their phones down.

I start the lecture and one guy is staring at his phone, so I stop talking and just stare at him. Five seconds, ten seconds, fifteen seconds, at least thirty seconds pass without reaction. Immersed in his phone, unaware the lecture has paused. Finally, he realizes that his neighbours are staring up at him. He looks up, and from under his hoodie he pulls off headphones.

Me, exasperated muttering: Headphones too?
Him: What is it?
Me, very exasperated: What are you even doing?
Him: Texting with family.
Me: In class.
Him: Yeah?
Me: Yeah, no. Take it outside if you need to do that.

He leaves. In some respects it was no surprise. He's shown up for class all year maybe five times, regularly emailing me with excuses why he can't make it. Big surprise that he never brings anything to take notes with either. So there's zero way he can pass the final (or the class). But I was just flabbergasted by the audacity(?). Not looking at me, not hearing me. Why bother coming to class? Again: What are you even doing?

Yeah, this seems genuinely insane. Two items:

1. As you say, why even show up in this scenario? You're literally neither seeing nor hearing the class, are the chairs really comfy or something? I genuinely don't understand why you'd do that. Not like he has a perfect attendance record or something to maintain. Actually baffling behavior.

2. I've always heard about people blowing off classes but, like, it's always strange for me to hear of these specimens actually doing it. Why take the class at all? It's college, no one has a gun to your head. Take something that interests you. I find the whole thing very weird. As Kory says, no doubt he's someone for whom there's no real nexus that between the financial cost of education and his own concerns, but it's still weird to me to have the hassle of these kinds of classes you kinda need to spend energy to blow off. Just don't take a course or find a class that's interesting enough to take the earbuds out for. So weird.

[gkbill]

This could go in a few different threads, but I've always loved this thread name, so any opportunity to bump it.

Okay, this year I specifically put in my syllabus and announced the first day that staring at one's phone during lecture is really rude and won't be tolerated. Of course, I'm not someone to call people out—I'm just not that guy—plus I hate to break my rhythm when speaking. But students are just lost without staring at their phone. Still, shit in one class has been really bad of late and so today, at the start, I asked them, with two classes left, to pretend they aren't bored and keep their phones down.

I start the lecture and one guy is staring at his phone, so I stop talking and just stare at him. Five seconds, ten seconds, fifteen seconds, at least thirty seconds pass without reaction. Immersed in his phone, unaware the lecture has paused. Finally, he realizes that his neighbours are staring up at him. He looks up, and from under his hoodie he pulls off headphones.

Me, exasperated muttering: Headphones too?
Him: What is it?
Me, very exasperated: What are you even doing?
Him: Texting with family.
Me: In class.
Him: Yeah?
Me: Yeah, no. Take it outside if you need to do that.

He leaves. In some respects it was no surprise. He's shown up for class all year maybe five times, regularly emailing me with excuses why he can't make it. Big surprise that he never brings anything to take notes with either. So there's zero way he can pass the final (or the class). But I was just flabbergasted by the audacity(?). Not looking at me, not hearing me. Why bother coming to class? Again: What are you even doing?

Hello,

I have become much more confrontational. If someone is being rude (e.g., looking at their phone while I'm speaking), I will call them out ("Eyes here!"). I'll mention that when you (the offender) speak to me, I will not look at my phone while you speak to me. I think some students don't understand that I am talking to them, not at them - I'm not just some robot blathering away. Occasionally, I'll use the laser pointer and point it at their forehead or on their phone - that usually works. We are there to teach them. Apparently, their parents failed to teach them how to pay attention so I will have to do it - for their own benefit.

[revbob]

This could go in a few different threads, but I've always loved this thread name, so any opportunity to bump it.

Okay, this year I specifically put in my syllabus and announced the first day that staring at one's phone during lecture is really rude and won't be tolerated. Of course, I'm not someone to call people out—I'm just not that guy—plus I hate to break my rhythm when speaking. But students are just lost without staring at their phone. Still, shit in one class has been really bad of late and so today, at the start, I asked them, with two classes left, to pretend they aren't bored and keep their phones down.

I start the lecture and one guy is staring at his phone, so I stop talking and just stare at him. Five seconds, ten seconds, fifteen seconds, at least thirty seconds pass without reaction. Immersed in his phone, unaware the lecture has paused. Finally, he realizes that his neighbours are staring up at him. He looks up, and from under his hoodie he pulls off headphones.

Me, exasperated muttering: Headphones too?
Him: What is it?
Me, very exasperated: What are you even doing?
Him: Texting with family.
Me: In class.
Him: Yeah?
Me: Yeah, no. Take it outside if you need to do that.

He leaves. In some respects it was no surprise. He's shown up for class all year maybe five times, regularly emailing me with excuses why he can't make it. Big surprise that he never brings anything to take notes with either. So there's zero way he can pass the final (or the class). But I was just flabbergasted by the audacity(?). Not looking at me, not hearing me. Why bother coming to class? Again: What are you even doing?

Get some nerf balls or something similar and whip them at these assholes.

[Dr. Medulla]

Minor bit of context (not that it might add anything). Guy's a football player from the US. Presumably some kind of scholarship involved. But my experience with student athletes is that there's no middle ground—they are either hyper responsible toward their studies or they are are the laziest, blow shit off, beg for a pass at the end types. And, unfortunately, my courses, because they have "fun" subject matter, attracts a lot of people who think it's conducive to lazyitis. I wish I could be more like gkbill, but deep down I'm still libertarian with school and so I'm rarely confrontational. My big error in all this was not tackling it earlier, just reminding people not to use their phones in class or to start each lecture by asking them to put their phones away, but instead let it mushroom into this situation. That part is on me. But it's making me look forward to December break more than ever before.