Student Claps Back at Entitled Professor’s Power Move, Goes from Failing Class to Passing With a B: 'The look on [his] face still makes me chuckle to this day'

Author image for Isabella Penn
Isabella Penn
Nov 29, 2024 2:00 PM EST

College is the time of ramen dinners, endless exams, and paying absurd amounts of money for an education that sometimes feels like a scam. Between paying for overpriced textbooks and trying to keep up with assignments, the last thing anyone needs is an overzealous professor on a power trip. Yet, somehow, they seem to exist in every department, making the college grind harder for no reason.

You're paying thousands of dollars, and these professors act like they're running a boot camp instead of a classroom. Seriously, shouldn't the customer always be right when the customer is footing the bill? If you've ever had a professor who seemed to thrive on enforcing arbitrary rules, you know the struggle. Missing one class, being late, or, heaven forbid, sneezing too loudly in their presence could turn into a catastrophic grade deduction.

But sometimes, the stars align, and a student gets to put a professor in their place. This tale of one power-tripping professor and a savvy student who knew their rights proves that sometimes, knowing the rules can be just as important as studying for the exam. 

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  • 01
    When the over-zealous professor got corrected on his university's policy
    via u/Time-Concentrate845
  • 02
    About 8 years ago, I was in my final semester of college & only had one more class left to take that was required for my major (the rest were just random electives to fulfill the minimum unit requirements to graduate).
    via u/Time-Concentrate845
  • 03
    I'd noticed the name of the professor I was assigned to & instantly felt dread. I'd had him during my freshman year for another required course, and let's just say, he wasn't a pleasant human being. Constantly on a
    via u/Time-Concentrate845
  • 04
    power trip, would dock a percentage of your grade for every class missed or were late for, and had no problem yelling/talking down to you in front of the entire class. I ended up getting sick during
    via u/Time-Concentrate845
  • 05
    the beginning of the semester, so I had to miss his first class. Since it met twice a week, I made sure to show up to the Thursday class. The professor gave me a look when I walked in, so I (re)introduced myself & explained I'd missed the Tuesday
    via u/Time-Concentrate845
  • 06
    class b/c I'd been sick, thinking that was the end of it. Nope. He called me over after the class got dismissed, and in a sinisterly delighted way, told me that since I missed his first class, on the first week, that he was allowed to drop me & that I would "have to
    via u/Time-Concentrate845
  • 07
    take the class next semester, sorry." The university policy was that if you missed 50% of class meetings during the first two weeks, the professor could drop you from the course (assuming they cared enough to take
    via u/Time-Concentrate845
  • 08
    attendance). So if a class met four times in the first two weeks, and you missed two of them, you could get involuntarily dropped. I went straight to our department's building & there was an admin sitting there, right by the elevator. I told her what
    via u/Time-Concentrate845
  • 09
    the situation was, basically repeating my understanding of the policy to her. She nodded & said that was correct. Right then, the elevator door opened & my professor walked up. I said, in a sinisterly delighted way, "Will you
    via u/Time-Concentrate845
  • 10
    please explain the policy to my professor? I don't think he's very familiar with it." The look on my professor's face still makes me chuckle to this day, and I ended up passing his class w/ a B.
    via u/Time-Concentrate845
  • 11
    LateToCollecting • 1d ago • I'm a professor. I can only speak from my own [USA] experience, but I just don't care if someone misses day 1: • The first week or two, depending on the semester, is all at-will add/drop anyway. • I'm mostly just going over the syllabus because I'm required to.
    via u/LateToCollecting
  • 12
    • I view it as my students are paying me to train them for their careers in my field, from the basis of me (and each of their other profs in my department) being world-level experts within our laser-narrow discipline focus. • University students are old enough to get drafted and fight and di for their country, so I'll respect their choice to flush their tuition money down the drain if they choose to miss class.
    via u/LateToCollecting
  • 13
    • If one of my students is earnestly struggling or ill, I can move heaven and earth to help that student through successfully. Life is hard enough without having to fight against the professors ostensibly there to help guide you. I was raised to treat people the way I want to be treated. • Mentoring my students is an absolute joy and privilege. Each one I coach into a great career
    via u/LateToCollecting
  • 14
    start propels me for weeks when they tell me the job offer! Keep on roundhouse kicking, OP.
    via u/LateToCollecting
  • 15
    Inevitable-Win2555 • 1d ago . And he had no chance to do anything shady without being accused of retaliation. Nice!
    via u/Inevitable-Win2555
  • 16
    Prestigious-Tip-6819 • 1d ago • I had an ROTC instructor change the schedule of his class. I was getting a degree in nursing, so my schedule was extremely tight because of clinical hours. I couldn't make it to his class with the new schedule. He informed me too bad, figure it out.
    via u/Prestigious-Tip-6819
  • 17
    I went to the school admin..I forgot their title..and explained my situation. He simply said, "he cant do that" and he would take care of it. Class was returned to its original schedule and that instructor gave me stink eye the entire semester.
    via u/Prestigious-Tip-6819
  • 18
    Ogi010 • 1d ago • Professors that go on power trips against students who were sick are the WORST! I had a serious illness where I missed 4 weeks of school in a 10 week term. I ended up taking a bunch of incomplete's due to medical reasons, and while most professors were more than accomidating, one professor was an absolute about it, and just made things way more difficult than they should have been.
    via u/Ogi010
  • 19
    From ignoring emails, to not having records of my turned in assignments (and thus calculating a wrong grade for me), it just went on and on. It has been ~15 years now, and while I did get an A in his class, it shouldn't have taken dozens of emails, and such stress and anxiety on my part (while I was trying to focus on my own recovery) to get there.
    via u/Ogi010
  • 20
    then, the elevator door opened & my professor walked up. I said, in a sinisterly delighted way, "Will you please explain the policy to my professor? I don't think he's very familiar with it."
    via Unsplash (Getty Images)

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