The first day of lectures is over and that means only one thing: the students who had set up their homes right next to the attendance scanners have retreated to their hiding places after another successful start to the semester.
This description applies to a very specific type of student. They enter their new classrooms at the beginning of the school year with only one mission in mind: to check the attendance machines we all hate, of course.
As most students at this great university know, attendance scanners are usually located either at the front or back of most classrooms. They usually work perfectly, ready to rat out the first student who forgets to scan in or overslept their alarm. However, on the first few days of classes, most scanners are not properly programmed for this task.
Now more than just a decoration on the wall, these scanners look harmless. To the naked eye, they look like any other attendance sensor. But when a student scans an ID card on this device, the truth will rear its ugly head faster than lightning. The scanner will emit a horrible screech.
The screeching isn’t the worst part of the experience. What’s really frustrating is that every time someone sitting right next to the attendance scanner tells you that of course the scanners aren’t on, you idiot. How dare you interrupt their absolutely sacred five minutes before class starts with that horrible noise.
I have nothing to do with several reports. Let’s first analyze the situation. If a student has a particular aversion to the noises that attendance scanners make, why on earth would he choose to sit next to the scanner? This is a mystery that I must ask heaven to enlighten.
Second, why must one announce the painfully obvious? I wonder if these students believe that every person unfortunate enough to scan an inactive scanner is actually a freshman and that welcoming these students to Mississippi State University is their personal cross to bear.
Finally, to balance things out a little, I have a confession to make. I intentionally scan these inactive scanners. Even when I see that they are not working. I do not trust these devices and if I stop scanning for a day, I am convinced that I will never think about scanning in class again.
Maybe we are all flawed beings. Maybe grace and forgiveness should be the first lesson of the new school year.
