Stuck in class

We’ve all been in one of those classrooms before — AC units not working when it's hot; the heat not working when it's cold; IT helpers in and out of class, fixing the projector or the computer (or maybe just figuring out how to turn it on). 

With professors constantly moving from room to room, it can be hard to keep the technology working just like it was even a day earlier. That is where English professor Amy Krug found herself in spring 2023. 

While teaching her honors professional writing class, Krug found a note by the computer saying that there was still a problem with the projector. The next class period, she found another note (in different handwriting), that read the projector was working, but now something else was on the fritz. 

“This kind of started the ball rolling,” she said. “We [began] to leave notes for each other [about different things].”

Each note left at the start of class was different: “Projector not turning on,” “Try muting it” and even just “Worked for me!” with the date and time.

Krug said she often feels isolated from the rest of her colleagues, with her classes tucked in the Zehler Hall basement, which hosts a mix of different classes from multiple departments, separate from the department’s main location in the Jesse Philips Humanities Center.

This anonymous small connection, Krug felt, prevented barriers from communication from forming. Whether someone was tenure-track or in a different department, it didn’t matter. 

“[The notes] were a really cool way to connect with other people,” she said.

“It evolved from issues with the room to more friendly conversation between people.”

Krug never learned who her semester-long pen pals were. In the basement of Zehler, little colored, paper squares can mean so much more. Because even the simplest gesture can truly stick with you.