Students interviewed for this article were asked to describe the pressing issues they faced this semester. One described what he said was an “unhinged” professor who locked him out of classroom.
Chen Pan, 22, a sophomore who hasn’t declared a major, described his two biggest worries when he was interviewed on the Hunter sky bridge connecting the North and West buildings. The third-floor sky bridge corridor also is a gathering place where students meet up, stake out space to eat, kickback between classes as well as do homework and other sundry stuff.
Picture of students on the third-floor sky bridge crosswalk. A glimpse of what the campus looked like before COVID-19 shutdown.
“Definitely school,” Pan said, “my grade is not that good so I’m trying to bring up that grade.” Pan seemed anxious. When he was asked which class worried him the most, his expression turned into a face of frustration. Pan spoke of an unpleasant experience with a professor that happened right before the interview.
“The professor closed the goddamn door,” he said, “like within the five minutes of class starting. So, you can’t go in and you can’t go out.”
He was referring to classmates like him locked out. Pan also said that students who left the class to use the restroom were told by the professor “not to come back.”
“I was like close to 10 minutes late but the door was already fucking closed,” he said.
Another interviewed student, Abby Guastella, 19, a sophomore who hasn’t decided on a major, described her concerns, saying “I have so many answers, stresses of college for one.” Sitting on the fifth floor of the Hunter library, she spoke of her struggles getting a copy of a film she worked on for a classmate in the 2024 spring semester.
Hunter library picture by Kira Scott.
“I deserve a copy of my work,” she said, “I worked for free, the least I can get is a copy of the film.” Guastella also spoke of her dissatisfaction with the New York City public transportation system and what she said was the littering problem in the city, calling them “bad.” Guastella commutes from Staten Island where she lives.
Lamont Jackson, a 26 year-old media studies major with a concentration in journalism, said he had one clear pressing issue: “I want to raise awareness to Christian persecution.” Jackson passionately spoke of his goal inside Room 470HD, a journalism-media lab. He said he wants to report on Christian persecution as a journalist who “goes to the areas most effected.”
These areas include countries in the Middle East like Yemen, Iran and Iraq, he said.
He also named countries in Africa like Nigeria, Libya, and Somalia where Christian persecution is most prominent. Jackson also said he plans to be self-employed with his own business after he graduates.
He said, “I’ve tried e-books, but now I’m pivoting to Internet radio podcasting on Patreon.” He also said he had plans for starting a podcast on professional wrestling or mixed martial arts.
Jackson praised the efforts of Lausanne.org, lauding it as “the Avengers of Christian evangelism.” For 50 years their movement has worked to spread Christianity and collaborate with Christian leaders around the world, he said.
This writer’s most pressing issues? I’m a senior and graduating is my most pressing issue. Going into these interviews, I was expecting each student to have pressing issues solely related to their studies at Hunter as I was so focused on my own worries about graduating. But to my surprise, I learned of several unexpected issues from the students interviewed. Pan’s retelling of his experience not only made me grateful I never had a professor like his, but it also inspired me with potential story ideas about the crazy, bad and absurd professors whom students have to deal with.
Tony Ayala can be reached at “TONY.AYALA19@myhunter.cuny.edu