7/30/2019 Nov 2808 Lifestyles

1/1

Clicking Pens. Whis-

pering. Revealing the

messy details of a

divorce. These are just a

few things driving Dixie

State College students

crazy in class.

The most common pet

peeve on campus is the

one student in class who

feels he or she has to tell

others about his or

her personal life.Kelsie Wat-

ters, a junior

communica-

tion major

from

Santa

Clara, said: Students,

keep it on a needto-know basis. TMI.

She said there is one

student who seems to

have no lter when it

comes to sharing private

parts of his life.

I know about his

dysfunctional children,

his failed marriage,

and his medical

problems, Wat-

ters said.

She is not the only one

who feels this way.Calee Drew, a junior

English major from Las

Vegas, said: Its freakin

ridiculous. They take up

the whole class time, and

we dont learn anything.

While students have

addressed this

as a problem

in the class-

room, some

professors

dont see it

as a con-cern.

Jordon

Sharp,

director of student

involvement and lead-ership, said: Those

students dont bother me.

I feel like I can maintain

them.

Other pet peeves

among students include

classmates playing loud

music, walking in late

and smacking their gum.

I hate it when people

pop their gum in class,

especially when I am tak-

ing a test, said Madison

Hauver, a freshman busi-ness major from Overton,

Nev.

Students are not the

only ones who have pet

peeves in the classroom.

Professors spend their

days teaching hundreds

of students all semester.

My biggest pet

peeve is the cell-

phone, not only

in the classroom

but all the

time, Sharp

said. Its anepidemic.

Each year,

the student

government

and advis-

ers go to

lunch

and get to know each

other, but Sharp said thisyear most of the students

were distracted by their

cellphones, and it seemed

like they didnt care.

He also gets annoyed

when students talk to

their neighbors while

hes lecturing, yet he

understands the tempta-

tion to talk.

I am in a class full ofcommunication majors,

Sharp said. Talking is

going to happen.

The occasional chat-

ter is OK, but the ongo-

ing conversations that

happen can be a distrac-

tion to students and

professors.

Next time youre in

class, try to restrain

from telling your

classmates about per-

sonal details, andkeep cellphones

in your pockets.

You never know if

it could be someones

pet peeve.

College is a reason to break

your bank; it shouldnt be a

reason to break your back.

Students around campus

heave their heavy backpacks

to and fro on a daily basis. But

some students may be carry-ing more than the necessities,

making achy backs and long-

term difculties a reality they

may not be aware of.

Its not all textbooks and

calculators weighing Dixie

State College students down.

Some students unveiled what

excess belongingsdull and

excitingthey bring to cam-

pus with them, some realizing

maybe it was more than they

need.

Jordon Polatis, a junior

accounting major from St.George, opened his loaded

backpack, revealing a set of

gym clothes, two packs of

gum, and an empty Gatorade

bottle in addition to his school

essentials.

I dont really notice the

extra weight, Polatis said.

I guess its there, but it

seems like the stuff I do need

(books) are the majority of the

eight.

Haley Jeffery, a freshman

general education major fromDelta, unzipped her backpack

to nd a few things she didnt

even realize she was carry-

ing: some candy wrappers,

old birthday invitations, a half

empty bottle of water, an old

notebook, and her iPod touch.

My backpack is normally

not very heavy or exciting,

Jeffery said. A few times I

have considered those back-

packs that roll , but I just dont

think I would ever buy one of

those. But it probably would

make it so I could carry more

stuff.

Backpacks that roll may not

be the best solution for all, but

some students are in constant

pursuit of a way to lightentheir necessary load.

Maddy Harmon, a junior

health science major from

Mesa, Ariz., packs only the

items needed for her daily

class schedule and still nds

the weight on her shoulders

hard to manage.

Books, notebooks, pens,

highlighters, stethoscope

and cuff are the only things I

normally carry, Harmon said.

Its unreal how much it all

weighs, but I need it all, and

its easier to have everythingwith me instead of needing

something and not having it.

Harmon said she tried leav-

ing a few items in her car to

lighten the load, but after too

many forgotten essentials, she

went back to her ways of car-

rying it allall the time.

Gym clothes, stethoscopes

and candy may seem like a

priority now and not a s igni-

cant amount of added weight.

However, Scott Jeppson,

director of nursing at SterlingCourt Assisted Living Facil-

ity, said students tend to think

short-term instead of long-

term when it comes to packing

around extra weight on a day-

to-day basis.

Students need to be careful

and really think about what

excess weight they choose to

carry, Jeppson said. They

may not feel the effects of it

immediately, but just because

they dont notice it, doesnt

mean the damage is not being

done.

There are a number of things

that may add to back pain, and

carrying a heavy backpack

should not be one of them.

Trust me, just because you

dont notice it now doesnt

mean you wont be

kicking yourself

when youre 80

years old, wishing

youd left the ex-tra stuff at home,

Jeppson

said.

Did you know?More than 40 millionstudents in the United

States carry school back-packs.

Lifestyles-8- DIXIESUNNEWS.COM WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2012

BY JULIA BELL

For Dixie Sun News

Pet peeves distract students, faculty in classrooms

JESSICA BAIRD | DIXIE SUN NEWS

Students who text and chat during class, like SarahRamaker, a freshman general education major from

Midland, Mich., and Keith Goodrich, a senior musiceducation major from St. George, often grate the nervesof other students like Derek Brazeau, a junior musiceducation major from St. George.

BY KAITLEN JENSEN

Opinion Editor

Textbooks are not the only items that add to the heavy load of student backpacks. In additionto school material, students nd themselves lugging around a few unexpected items.

Bulky backpacks break backs

JESSICADORSEY|DIXIESUN

NEWS