Every high school teacher has had themoment. Midst conversation, with their marker touching the board, they pause and look out into the class. On the board is a depiction of an octopus and a nuclear bomb and the class discussion topic is currently Bill Clinton’s poor life choices. The teacher chuckles, yet their eyes are fearful. “I’d have quite a bit of trouble explaining this if someone were to walk in on this,” they intone. Suddenly, they’re hastily erasing the board and sharply switching topics.

That has got to be one of the biggest changes in the transition from high school to college. Four years of being made to ask to use the bathroom, being told that there’s only one right away to do things, and being hushed and restricted in both language and thought have suddenly turned into an environment where “the people in charge” actually value your genuine opinion, whether or not it agrees with the bias of the curriculum. A professor defines the constitution as a set of boundaries that citizens must follow and when a student in the back shouts out "no!" they aren’t shut down. Instead the professor asks “Okay. Why?” and opens the floor for discussion. Instead of the enforcement of conformity, there’s a push to understand, to explore, to question. Here, the professors are open, and we get to be too.

In college, we’ve got moments where the professor points to the hand-drawn diagrams of male and female genitalia on the board, and pauses to actually full-on belly laugh at the thought of someone walking in on this scene; it’s never an actual worry though because it’s college, and it’s a gender studies class anyway. Here, the professors can relax and get comfortable with the class. The student-teacher bond grows and the easy environment lets people speak their mind, ask tough questions, and laugh when the teacher says something awkward or hilarious. There definitely hasn’t been a shortage of that this semester. Hunter professors naturally establish a personal atmosphere where it’s easy for them to joke around and be honest as people. We get to see them be witty, lighthearted, and faux-existential, and their funny moments are too good not to share. Thus, here are 14 things I’ve heard from my professors this semester, courtesy of the wonderful Hunter staff.

1. “If you multiply Santa Clause by ___, it makes him real.”

2. “Sometimes, pianos fall on our heads and we die.”

3. “You might come across someone who might scream a math problem at you. If it’s Pi Day, it might be me on the subway.”

4. [Upon discovering a can of Pringles on the teacher’s desk] “There’s Pringles, but no eraser.”

5. [Searching for a usable marker] “…A more extreme marker, a more…marker-filled marker.”

6. [Talking about luck] “Sometimes you win the lottery, sometimes you get bit by a shark– that’s kinda lucky right? Sometimes you lose Russian roulette…”

7. [Pauses class for a moment, stares into the distance] “Hungry…Thirsty…Want a blanket.”

8. [Sitting in a chair] “Must…get up.” [Doesn’t move]. “I’m turning into an old man.” [Moment of contemplation] “Aren’t we all.”

9. [Recalls random fact] “I don’t know if that’s true…I read that in a box of cereal with facts meant for kids.”

10. [Pulls up a slide titled “How a Bill is Passed into Law”] Yeah I know, there are YouTube videos about this, and flow charts, but it’s my duty as your teacher to teach this to you, so at least you’ll know more than our President-elect.”

11. “Suppose a bill is proposed on the legalization of marijuana…you guys are college kids, that ought to keep your attention.”

12. “That’s a horrible thing to contemplate…so don’t.”

13. “Functions are complicated…Stuff is hard.”

14. [On Lewis Carroll’s "Alice In Wonderland"] “This is some dark shit!”