15 Minutes or Less

By Alyssa Amasol

September 22, 2011

Most students assume that if a professor shows up more than 15 minutes late to class, everyone can leave and class is cancelled. However, rumor has it that if the professor has a doctorate degree, that time increases to 20 minutes. It is interesting to note that nothing about a professor’s tardiness is mentioned on the Hawaii Pacific University website, although it is expected that students are on time to class.

“I think after 20 minutes you pretty much know that they’re not coming to class,” said Torri Ishida, a fourth year student at HPU. “I feel like with today’s technology, there should be a way to alert people of something like car problems, health reasons or other emergencies.”

In some instances, professors may be running extremely late with a valid reason for their tardiness. However, it is highly unlikely for students to wait around for a professor for more than 20 minutes. A five-minute grace period is understandable but once it gets to the double digits, students start to rethink coming to class.

“I’ve never heard of this [rule] and I’ve been in academia for a long time,” said Peter Britos, Director of Media and Cinematic Arts in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at HPU. “It sounds like the five-second rule [where when you drop a piece of food, it’s still alright to pick it up within five seconds] or that kind of urban myth. I think that it depends how late you are.”

Rumor, urban myth, unwritten rule, or whatever you would like to call it, the amount of time a professor is late to class does affect the students’ learning.

Although most students would love more time in their day not spent in class, there are those who value the consistency of their classes.

“Personally I’m the kind of person that if there’s no class I’m good, but technically my dad who is helping to pay for my school would disagree and want to get his money’s worth,” Ishida said. “Ultimately I think it is the teacher’s prerogative, but if they’re not being punished then students shouldn’t be punished for being late to class either.”

Whether you have your high school diploma, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate degree, it should not change the amount of time people should wait for you. As for professors, unless a “late-wait policy” is specified in their syllabus or explained by the specific professor, it is the student’s decision whether or not to wait. 

Bio: Alyssa Amasol

My name is Alyssa and I'm in my junior year at HPU. I'm majoring in journalism and I hope to someday work in print, online, or broadcast journalism here in Hawaii. I've lived on the island of Oahu my whole life, both in Ewa Beach and Kapolei. I became interested in journalism my sophomore year of high school when I first enrolled in a news writing course. Unfortunately Kapolei High School's newspaper funding was cut so for the rest of my time there I worked as a part of the yearbook staff. I loved publication production and even became editor-in-chief of the yearbook.

Currently, I am a full-time student and working part-time at my church, Hope Chapel Kapolei, as an administrative assistant. On the weekends, I love going to church, hanging out with my family & friends, and going on dates with my boyfriend. When I'm not studying I love sleeping in, lounging around at home or on the beach, going shopping, trying out new recipes, and discovering new places to eat.

Besides all of that, I'm a huge fan of The Office, Friends and Modern Family. Kit Kats, flaming hot Cheetos, Swedish Fish and an Arizona Green Tea are my movie snacks of choice. Right now, I think my favorite food is pad thai, but honestly I just love food (even though I'm kinda picky)! I'm a Christian and I love Jesus, He's the giver of all good gifts. Find me on Facebook & follow me on Twitter! I'm a big fan of social media. I love Starbucks, wearing pretty dresses, new shoes, shave ice, and smiling. Aside from all that, I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you through this class.

Act of War

In the film "Act of War," the first thing that stood out to me was the scene where the lady was saying, "We are not American, we will never be. We will die as Hawaiians." Although the film was outdated, Hawaii was annexed on August 21, 1959. I feel like by the time they produced this film, they should be a little more accepting of Hawaii as part of the mainland. Personally I see myself as an American, even though I've lived in Hawaii my whole life. The people featured in the film felt very strongly about their native culture and history. I very much admired their love for the islands and desire to keep it the way it was, without influence of outsiders. I also thought it was interesting that when Hawaii was annexed it was shown in newspapers throughout the world. I learned that we are strategically placed, which led to the annexation of the islands and the U.S. as a superpower. One thing I disliked about the film was how the foreigners forced ancient Hawaiians to change and give up their traditions. Ancient Hawaiians are known for their amazing use of the land and I think that many foreigners could have learned a lot from them. Hawaii was portrayed as a child compared to America, which I thought was very racist. By watching this film I think it did improve my knowledge of the history of the islands.