1. Eating during lectures
DO- Having coffee, breakfast/lunch during class is normal (especially for classes that start at 8 am) and acceptable to most profs as long as it isn’t a major distraction( like getting up in the middle of the lecture to get a tray full of food whose aroma sidetracks everyone)
DON’T- Eating a bag of crunchy chips in the middle of a quiet class where all you can hear is the sound of the prof speaking and the munching of your chips, is not a good idea, unless you are the unwanted attention seeking kind.
2. Entertaining yourself while bored
DO- Checking out YouTube/playing games/chatting to your friends while being bored is OK when you are sitting on the last seat (and probably in a corner)
DON’T- Sit in the middle somewhere with people all around you and start playing your favorite vids on YouTube or worse, start having online chats with your friends WITH your web cam on( happened to me once and it was highly annoying turning up in some stranger’s webcam). This might annoy the people to the core not to mention diverting their attention from what the prof is saying. If you are uninterested, doesn’t mean that you should make your neighbors too.
The reason why some profs don’t allow the use of laptops in class.
3. Gossiping/ talking on phone
DO- It’s OK to talk when everyone else is( usually before the beginning of the lecture, after its over or during the break)
DON’T- It is not amusing when your cell phone rings in the middle of the class disturbing everyone. Make 100% sure that it is on silent mode. And if it’s that important to talk to your friend during the lecture, just text him/her (what I normally do). It’s much better than infuriating the people around you who are trying to listen. And it can be embarrassing when you are told off by your neighbor/the prof.
Lectures can be interesting and great fun too at times. Just stay out of trouble.
