Ohio State student skips class to see World Series

Douglas Seitz, Staff Writer

Just over two weeks ago, two professional baseball teams were preparing to make history in the World Series. Cleveland, a city who has been on a role this past sporting year with championships in UFC and the NBA, was looking for a third championship win in their Cleveland Indians. In the very same week as game one of the World Series, the Cavaliers were celebrating their championship ring ceremony, and downtown Cleveland was flooded with proud fans whether it was for the ceremony or game one.

One of the fans was a student from Ohio State University. This particular student made his way to class to hand in an assignment, signed in on the attendance sheet and made his way to the door to head to Progressive field for game one. Later that class, his professor took attendance again and recognized that he was the only student that signed in that wasn’t present for the second roll call. The professor emailed the student asking why he signed in and wasn’t in class. The student replied with a selfie at the World Series. The professor ruled it as a legitimate excuse and told the student to have fun.

Student and Utica College baseball player, Jake Ryan, was asked if he were in the same shoes as the student from Ohio State, would he have made the same decision. Ryan replied with, “If I had that opportunity, I would go to a World Series game in a heartbeat whether my professor accepted it or not.” When asked why, he stated, “I believe that any professor with a sports IQ would consider it a excuse because it is a once in a life time experience.”

Ryan’s teammate, Jordan Hughes, also agrees. He said, “It is a very legitimate excuse. Professors always emphasize real world experiences. This is an experience that is once in a life time, and would last a lifetime.” He continued with, “At some point we do need to take into account the long term effects of our actions. If I knew I were going to fail or lose my job, then no I wouldn’t skip to go watch the World Series.”

Hughes thinks that some professors who are strict might not accept this excuse while others that are more understanding of the situation would allow it, but it is the student’s responsibility to get caught up.

Professor Patricia Swann’s opinion on the situation varies. She stated, “I don’t know that professor’s policies, so I can’t agree or disagree. My policy is three unexcused absences.” Swann did not agree that this is a legitimate excuse to skip a class, but she said that she would be very excited for any student who gets the opportunity to experience their favorite team playing in the World Series.

Ryan proclaimed, “If I were a professor, my only rule would be to bring me some pictures.”