Courtesy Danilo Rizzuti

With 14,000 students enrolled this semester at OCCC, there are nearly 14,000 behaviors and personalities all around campus.

Unfortunately, sometimes students do not think before they speak and can come off as down right rude.

Anything — from problems in the bookstore to problems with financial aid — can easily spark frustration in any individual.

Advertising major Jake Blocker said he has seen some students that fit this description.

Blocker said one year, a student became angry with a lab assistant for something that wasn’t the assistant’s fault.

“Advertising can be challenging with the graphic designing and computer drawing,” he said. “One semester, a student raised her voice at the lab assistant for something not working correctly on her computer.”

Blocker said he understands people get frustrated, but people should also be mindful of others.

“Everyone snaps here and there. I think people should just set aside all other problems going on in their lives before stepping into the classroom,” he said.

Meghan Morgan, Financial Aid assistant director, said the Financial Aid office staff sees students become irate for various reasons — usually because the student doesn’t fully understand the financial aid process.

“Normally, if we have a student who is getting agitated, we choose to bring them back to an office and out of the lobby,” Morgan said.

Harold Case, Student Support Services dean, said miscommunication, misunderstanding and timeliness are the three contributing factors to a student’s frustration at the Financial Aid Office.

“Timeliness is very important,” Case said. “If (students decide) to go to school in July, that is usually not enough time for them to receive financial aid.”

Humanities and literature major Tasha Bird said she feels it is disrespectful when students chatter in class and interfere in the learning process.

“I hate it when you get those students who don’t take a class seriously,” Bird said. “They talk the whole time as you’re trying to listen to the lecture,” Bird said.

Learning Support Specialist Mary Turner said OCCC counselors use various communication methods when speaking with angry students.

Turner said OCCC counselors realize students get angry, and said her office never takes anything to heart.

“We don’t take it personally because the person comes in and they had the last straw for the day and it overwhelms them,” Turner said.

“Most of the time if we do have a someone who is blatantly rude, once the moment is over, they come back and apologize.”

Turner said she believes that, in a classroom environment and all throughout OCCC campus, the behavior of students has a lot to do with the culture they live in.

“Learning some sensitivity, learning how to take a deep breath and think before you say something,” is how Turner suggests coping with emotions.

To contact Sarah Hussain,

email staffwriter3@occc.edu