Sage Tokach | Monday Musing
John Smith, business senior, spent his Christmas break vacationing in Costa Rica and is still there, due to a flight cancellation.
Delta airlines had a mechanical issue with the plane scheduled to leave Jan. 8, and the soonest flight they could move him to leaves the evening of Jan. 9. This means he is missing the first day back to school.
“I am honestly, and I think understandably, devastated,” Smith said. “Syllabus day is my favorite day of the year, and I can’t bear to think about missing the last one of my college career.”
Syllabus day is a common term used to describe the first day of a class, when professors go over the syllabus, but nothing truly gets accomplished.
Sally Jones, English senior, accompanied Smith on this vacation and said she has never seen him so upset.
“I was excited about an extra day on the beach until I saw John’s true despair,” Jones said. “I’ve been dating him for three years, and I’ve honestly never seen him more miserable.”
Smith refuses to leave his corner of the airport terminal, where he stares blankly at the wall, Jones said.
Jones spent several hours wandering the airport, asking other travelers for old syllabi to cheer up Smith. She also connected to airport wifi and downloaded four of his current syllabi from d2L.
“I appreciate her efforts, but it’s just not the same,” Smith said. “I just can’t truly start my semester correctly until I’ve heard the plagiarism policy read aloud by each individual professor.”
Delta airlines apologized for the inconvenience and promised to keep Smith at the top of the waiting list for an earlier flight.
“I know how important syllabus day can be for students, and I’m embarrassed and ashamed to be disrupting that,” said Paul Nelson, Delta Airlines flight operations manager. “I assure you he is at the top of the waiting list, ahead of the new mothers, a family headed to a funeral, and Beyoncé.”
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