COURSE CALENDAR 

Make-up work and exams are given at the discretion of the instructor. In cases of personal illness or emergency, with proper documentation, the instructor will allow make-up work, provided the student requests one immediately upon return to class.  

Students must be on time and in their seat at the start of class to be counted present. Students arriving after the roll is called or the sign-in sheet passed around will be counted absent for that class period. Students who arrive tardy on exam days may not stay and take the exam with the rest of the class and must contact the instructor for a make-up exam.  

Late work is not accepted in this course, unless due to verifiable personal illness or emergency and always at the discretion of the instructor. 

Activities that are disruptive to class will not be tolerated. Arriving late for class, reading newspapers, speaking while others are speaking, packing prior to the end of class and cell phones are highly disruptive. Cell phones, Ipods and other similar devices must be turned off during class, unless previously approved by the instructor. Any student engaging in disruptive behavior will be asked to leave the classroom. 

Eating and smoking are not allowed in class. This includes the use of e-cigarettes or other forms of vaping. 

Only students enrolled in the class are allowed inside the classroom. 

Laptops may be used for note-taking only. Use of laptops for purposes other than note-taking will result in the banning of all laptops from the classroom.  

In this course we will frequently discuss current events, and at times, some students may find these topics controversial. It is important to keep in mind that different students may come from a different background and therefore may have different experiences and points of view. Students may disagree on these points of view. Disagreements lead to critical thinking, scholarly debates and learning, but only when students disagree respectfully. Disrespect towards any person or group of people, whether inside the classroom or out, will not be tolerated. Students may not denigrate or attack any person or single out any person based on race, gender, religion, age, ethnicity, nationality, abilities, appearance, or sexual orientation. Any student behaving disrespectfully will be asked to leave the classroom. 

The instructor will grade and return all submitted course work ASAP, but never longer than 7 days after the assignment is submitted, without notice. 

Students should attend every class and attendance will be taken by sign-in sheet at the beginning of every class. As there are valid reasons that students might need to miss class, each student will be allowed three automatically excused absences for the semester. Students who need to miss more than three class days during the semester will have additional absences excused on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of the instructor. Any absence not excused by the instructor, after the first 3, will each result in 5 points taken from the student’s final grade for the course. If a student leaves class and returns or leaves class before class is dismissed, the student MAY be counted absent for that class.