By Nader Hussein

With all the responsibility that college puts on each individual student, some of those students find themselves unable to fulfill their commitments. Some students accept responsibility for their failures, while others try and use excuses to justify their behavior.

Dr. Fritz Polite, a professor in the Harry F. Byrd Jr. School of Business and the director for Shenandoah’s sport management program, has received so many excuses that he has compiles them in a single document.

“Hey Doc” is the name of the 8-page document that has every excuse Dr. Polite has received in his one-and-a-half years at SU. He derived the title from the common introduction to the emails that contain excuses. From missed assignments to tardiness to absences, Polite is constantly receiving emails from students with explanations for different problems.

“One of the common ones is car issues,” explained Polite, also expressing the regularity of oversleeping as a reason. “They had an assignment due that day, so if they just don’t come to class, they think they don’t have to turn it in.”

Dr. Polite did express his sentiment for certain issues that students face, resulting in their inability to fulfill immediate expectations.

“Anytime you have family involved, that gets very sensitive,” shared Dr. Polite. “ I would never ever put my class in front of anyone when it comes to family.”

Excuses are as human as breathing, but some justifications are more accepted than others. Some professors share more sympathy for certain reasons, but one can be sure that they will continue to receive excuses as diverse as the students they teach.