Even during the summer, the students can get to me. I’m dealing with a young man who wants me to raise his F to a C so he can keep the athletic scholarship that he was granted. The tone of his emails is quite desperate, so I’m forwarding them to my department chair. As much as I hate to admit it, I’m a little nervous about this one.

Maybe I’m a nervous because one of the problems I’ve dealt with in the past has reappeared, although not to me directly. Remember the disturbed student who was behaving inappropriately towards young females in astronomy courses two years ago until we had him removed? Well, last Tuesday was the first day of the second summer session, and this young man showed up in a chemistry class. On Wednesday, his instructor asked him to be more respectful. The student said no, and a fellow student said something along the lines of “come on, just show him some respect.” The disturbed student ambushed this second student after class and beat him up fairly thoroughly, from what I’ve heard. I know, as a community college, we’re “open enrollment”, but something has to be done about this kid. (And yes, in case you’re wondering, by the second night of class, the instructor had already noticed inappropriate behavior towards females, too.) We now have security posted outside our building.

Students. It’s a good thing the majority of them are wonderful, or nobody would ever teach.