Winter is now here and the school year is almost over. As the semester winds down, students are now hustling to do last minute work, finish assignments, prepare projects and ultimately pass their classes.
While some students tend to their work through the course of the semester, other students chose to wait until the last minute. These students opted to submit their assignments during the final few weeks before grades are officially posted.
Chuck Manchion, 20, a junior political science student from Cincinnati, admits that he has a tendency to put things off.
“I am a procrastinator,” Manchion said. “I see the value in doing things ahead of time, but I have a tendency to put things off until the last minute. Part of the reason is because of time management but of course it’s also because I have a lot of things on my plate. It’s probably more of the former than the latter.”
To avoid doing things at the last minute, some students use planners to help them get through the course of a day. By doing this, they are able to keep track of assignments and due dates.
Brittany Stephens, 22 a senior biology student said students who procrastinate should aim higher. She said that these students are slackers.
“Personally, I believe that students who wait until the end of the semester to improve their grades are slackers,” Stephens said. “I use the word slacker because instead of working hard, attending office hours, and getting help throughout the semester, they wait until the end of the semester to turn in assignments.”
Every professor is not lenient. While some teachers may accept late work, others refuse to take it.
John Chambers, a professor of psychology, is one of those teachers. His assignments are due when he asks for them.
“My assignments must be turned in at the time they are required,” he said. “It’s to be done in the time that we have covered the material. Students who procrastinate lack direction, focus and don’t have the seriousness to be a student until the eleventh hour.”
However, Rick Campbell, an English professor, is more permissive.
“I’m more tolerant of procrastination than my colleagues,” Campbell said. “It frustrates me when students do it but I find myself accepting it anyway. I may take a few points off but I’m not going to fail them for procrastinating. I think anybody who ever said they haven’t procrastinated on an assignment is not telling the truth.”