My High School allowed 7 absences per semester, and 14 for a full year class. I barely used any of those absences but it was nice to know that they were there. I expected that college would be different than high school. After all, I am paying to come here. You'd think that considering that one fact, that I could miss as many classes as I deem necessary. If you thought that-- you'd be sadly mistaken. My college has such a tight restriction on how many classes you'd miss, it makes you want to cry, and then see if the doctors created a shot that would help you never get sick. And unfortunately, it hasn't been created yet, for those who were wondering. I honestly find this ridiculous, if I am paying to go to college, whether I miss a class shouldn't be up to the school. If I miss two classes, then some teachers either drop your grade a whole letter, or worse, you automatically fail the class. Here at Mercy, depending on the type of course, you can miss 2-3 classes. That also depends on how long the class is and how often in meets in a week. That 2-3 classes can just like that turn to one absence. I don't think its fair for the school to tell me how many absences I can and can't miss, and here's why.

1. Money

Isn't it bad enough that going to school is expensive? I mean really, some kids have to buy up to a thousand dollars in textbooks for the entire year. Not to mention travel expenses, food expenses, the cost of tuition, and other things that the school finds necessary for us to have. Continuing on, If i'm paying for school, then it's up to me to make that decision on if I want to show up. Sometimes I think as long that I have the power points and the textbook, and and an outline on what's going to be on the test, that I really don't need to show other than for a test. If it's my responsibility to pass the class, and i'm paying for that class, I think I should do whatever makes me comfortable. I understand the point that some people may abuse unlimited absences And i'd be willing to settle for more than 2-3 absences in a semester. but we are adults an our actions are our own, and we can't go around blaming the school for failing if we didn't show up and didn't do the work that needed to be done. I personally think that showing up for test and quizzes, and maybe even to hand in essays should be enough. We can send the homework in online.

2. The Weather

Mercy College Campus in Dobbs Ferry floods when it rains, I haven't figured out how exactly it does it, considering we're up on a hill, and the water should roll downwards, but the campus found a way to flood anyways. So here it is, raining and the campus is filled with water. First ew, there is mud everywhere, and secondly, I have to walk home after getting off the train, the streets are terrible, and people are going to get sick, but the school determines when classes are canceled. So do the teachers, but they think if they can make it so should you, and honestly, that is such a bogus comment that i won't even go into it. So now i'm going to get sick due to rain, my feet soaked due to the flooding, and I only have 2 absences and who knows what else could happen during the semester. Continuing on, what's bad at Dobbs Ferry does equal to what's bad for the students. Once the streets where I lived were iced out, and I had to go downhill to reach the train station. Can we please just take a moment to process how dangerous that is. Ice and downhill, and walking. It's utterly dangerous, imagine the cars on that day, but the school was still open but trains were running, and the streets around Mercy was fine. I think you get my point there. My last point is just this, sometimes when the weather is bad, and school doesn't close Which is a rare thing for Mercy College, I just need to stay home for the sanity of myself and my peers.

3. Emergencies and Health Reasons

This is my last point and one of my more important points. An emergency to me isn't the same as an emergency for the school. An emergency room visit and all those things that you know is listed under excused absences, but here's the thing. Emergencies come in big and small, and it shouldn't just be the emergencies that school decides. What about the students with more than one sibling, and their parent suddenly gets called into work? There's no one else to watch their younger sibling and they want to stay home so that their parents can go to work but they can't and why is that? Because it doesn't fall under the emergencies that the school cares about. What if I feel sick, but not hospital sick, but I have to come to school anyways because the 2 absences were used or because I don't want to waste them? My point is, the school doesn't know what's going on with the students at home, and they don't know what's going on with students personally. They do make exceptions but I don't think they fully think about what students are going through and what is best for the student.

So. All I can say is, Mercy College needs to give us more than two absences a semester and be more lenient.