When the choice is between going to class or getting more sleep, many
students choose sleep.

In the 5th Annual Central Michigan Life Readers’ Choice Awards,
students said lack of sleep was their number one reason for skipping
class.

“Sometimes my bed is just too comfortable to get up, or my roommate
forgets to set the alarm,” said St. Clair freshman Trevor Walker.

Even some students who have not skipped a class yet — like Oxford
junior Ryan Marsh — admit that if they did, it would probably have
something to do with being tired.

“I haven’t skipped yet, but if I did it would probably be to sleep
in,” Marsh said.

Students also said being hung-over or still drunk from the previous
night was a common reason not to attend class in the morning. This is
especially true for Friday classes.

Students also voted that simply not wanting to go to class — or
having something better to do — as another common reason for skipping
class. Sometimes an opportunity comes up that seems to be more
interesting than going to class, said Battle Creek sophomore Michael D.
Brewer.

“I was walking when I saw my friend and said, ‘hey, you want to skip
class and go play ping pong?’” Brewer said. “We ended up playing for
about two hours.”

Owosso freshman Taryn Reha said doing something other than going to
class is not always a spur of the moment decision.

“If Jessica Simpson was going to be on TV, I wouldn’t go to class,”
Reha said.

The TV schedule is a common factor in students’ decisions whether or
not to attend class.

“Monday Night Football,” Pleasant Lake sophomore Nathanael Haack
said. “If there are sports on TV, you don’t go to class.”

Students also credited hobbies or free time interests as reasons for
skipping class.

Many students would rather miss class than show up without all the
homework finished. Students also said work for one class prevented them
from going to another, whether it is needing to study for a test or
work on a project.

“One day I stayed late and organized the choir dresses,” said
Muskegon junior Bonnie Barnhard.

Many students said certain classes are pointless to go to because
the notes are straight out of the book or the lectures are online.

Like Gladwin freshman Levi Morse, some students simply want to take
advantage of the nice weather and enjoy the afternoon outside instead
of in a classroom.

“I’m having a great time,” Morse said. “We’re hanging out and
singing songs from the 60s and I just don’t feel like going to class.”

E-mail the author: defaultuser