In a recent issue of the Los Medanos College Experience, there was an article on page two that caught my attention titled “Stop skipping the class, you paid” by student Luis Martinez. 

While the article had many valid points on tardiness and skipping class, I believe there is a different way to look at the matter that could provide everyone with a better perspective.

Don’t get me wrong, I completely understand how annoying it can be when other students show up late to class. This can be especially irritating if it’s happening on a daily basis. But I also feel that it can be difficult to pin-point each individual’s specific reason for being late or not attending class entirely. 

We have to remember that, while school is important, we go to classes every day with a large amount of diverse students from different backgrounds. We go to school with mothers, fathers, students who take the bus, students still in high school, those with demanding jobs, people with disabilities and adults with complex issues. 

It would be rude and potentially ignorant to generalize everyone’s absences because we’re all different. No one should argue “well if I can be on time you can” or “it’s the hard truth” because a majority of people are living their own “hard truth” and dealing with it on a daily basis.

Former LMC student and frequent public transportation user, Monica Baugh said, “Going to school was very difficult because I was going to work and going to school […] I had a night class after I’d get off work.” 

While larger priorities can arise in anyone’s life, causing them to be thrown off course, things like depression and sleep deprivation could also be the reason why that one student is too “lazy” to go to class. 

No one should make it a habit to be late, but we also have to recognize that college isn’t high school. There is no foolproof way to completely deter tardiness within the students because, at the end of the day, they’re the ones paying for their own education. 

Although performance and effort matters, college simply isn’t a job. It is engraved into our brains that college takes our money, it doesn’t bring it.

Keep in mind that the same professors preaching not to be late are human beings too. At some point or another, they have been late at least once in their life. 

I know it’s an important issue, but I believe it’s also just a life issue. An uncontrollable problem that varies from person to person. We have daily distractions and I feel as though a class goes by smoother if the professor, just like everyone in the class, moves on. 

We can’t be responsible for anyone else and we can’t just assume someone is doing bad because they’re late or occasionally miss a class. We can only be responsible for ourselves and move on in appropriate situations. Be understanding of others, but do what you need to do. We’re all still learning.