If The University of Memphis were located on Sesame Street,today would be brought to you by the letter "W."
It is once again the last day to withdraw from classes. HappyDrop Day!
Each semester, students gather on this day and eat gum drops.Wait, that is Gum Drop Day, which was officially Feb. 15.
Forget about John Kerry, George W. Bush and Ralph Nader. Todayis Decision 2004. Each semester, struggling students are faced withthe off-putting task of deciding whether or not to drop acourse.
If you want to withdraw from any of your classes, you have to doit now. After this afternoon, you will be stuck in all your coursesfor the duration of the semester. You will pass, or you willfail.
But dropping a class can be a hard choice to make. You know youshould drop a course if the only thing you have passed in yourclass is the attendance sheet. Or, you know you should drop acourse if Howard Dean was the Democratic Party front runner thelast time you went to the class.
Dropping a class can have its advantages. You instantly gainthree hours to your week. It is like having a super-sized DaylightSavings Time in the middle of the semester. You could use the threeextra hours to catch up on your sleep, work on homework or learn toride a bike.
If you have never withdrawn from a class at The U of M , it isfairly simple.
First, figure out the one hour a day TigerWeb is actuallyworking. Next, log in using one of your multiple U of M passwords.Go to the Add/ Drop/ Withdrawal page. Then, find the course youwant to get rid of and click "drop." If you catch on fire whiledoing this, do not forget to "stop, drop and roll."
I usually take advantage of Drop Day. This year will be nodifferent. My transcript has at least twice as many "W"s than MayorHerenton's business card.
Remember, Drop Day is not just for the idiots and slackers. Donot let the true meaning of Drop Day pass you by. This is one ofthe few days of the year that quitters actually win. Make today theday you withdraw from something else in your life that is not goingyour way. Quit smoking or your job. Quit something.
