Dude, That's Rude: Shopping Week

Shopping week is not exactly retail therapy. In fact, we often need therapy after the trials and tribulations that come with a whole week of making decisions. Balancing concentration requirements and Gen Eds is enough of a struggle, so why must we also deal with other stressors? The ER requirement is rude enough. Flip to page one of the syllabus for an outline of even ruder shopping week missteps.

Giving real content in the first lecture

We only got out of bed for this 10 a.m. to see if the “gem” rumors are true. You’re off to a bad start if you pack actual course material into the first lecture. And there’s really no need to use the full hour and a half—we just want to get in, grab a syllabus, judge the gem-ness of the class, and get out.

Booking too small a room for a popular class

We refuse to be crammed into the corner of a tiny Sever classroom again, especially if you know that your class will draw a crowd. Since we shop many more classes than we end up taking, it should be obvious that you will have more shoppers than actual students. Please plan accordingly and upscale your classroom.

Making homework due during shopping week

This move is so rude that it barely merits an explanation. We don’t even know if we’re taking your class yet, and we’re probably juggling it with the ten other classes in our Crimson Carts, so spare us the agony. It could be a good strategy, though, if you’re looking to drastically reduce your class size. Rest assured no one will be coming back next week.

Releasing lottery results after shopping week is over

We’re Harvard students. We don’t like uncertainty. We want to have our schedules locked down as early into shopping week as possible, so please don’t wait until the weekend to let us know if we lotteried into your class. Put us out of our misery by Wednesday—Thursday at the latest.

The transition from break to school life is always brutal, so we beg you: don’t make it harder than it needs to be. If we see you committing one of these shopping week faux pas, don’t be surprised to hear us (respectfully) say: (Professor) Dude, that’s rude.