April showers may bring May flowers, but they also presage the end of yet another year here at the University. Here at the Bucknellian, we are sad to see that our year is quickly ending. I, for one, will miss writing about farting in class, Ken Burns traveling back in time and the casino night getting swept by that Las Vegas Caravan. Because of the dear friends and memories that I have made here, I truly wish that we had more time. 

There is a select group of students that also wished that they had more time – if only to submit the assignments that they may or may not have forgotten to do. Luckily for them, many professors are offering extra credit. However, some of these extra credit opportunities are… interesting. 

For example, one professor in the Engineering School has been having their students develop blueprints for a hypothetical college/university. According to the professor, the hypothetical university would be called “Buckley University,” and would have a tuition of almost $80,000 per year and would be located in Bewislurg, Pa. 

“This has no relation to our university at all,” the professor said, adding unprompted that “I have no desire to build my own rival university to compete with this one.”

However, this extra credit opportunity has proven very polarizing for students. While some students are finding enjoyment through this work, others consider it nothing but frustrating. The professor in question allegedly continues to raise the workload, “upping the ante” for what was supposed to be a quick extra credit opportunity. For instance, the professor has added some strange instructions to the assignment, including the following:

“In your blueprint, be sure to include three spiral staircases that lead to absolutely nowhere”;

“In your blueprint, be sure to include at least one room dedicated to mirrors. Nothing but mirrors”; and,

“Have one room in your blueprint be dedicated to me. The walls should be covered with framed pictures of me, important quotes by me, etc…”

Some students have been dropping out of this extra credit race, however, since the professor only ultimately promised them one extra point on the final exam. Why professors keep adding ridiculous amounts of work for little reward – the world may never know.