An increasing trend on campus as of late appears to be talking smack about one’s professor(s) in public areas.

Mathematically speaking, you’d be incredibly lucky to go through four years of classes and be exposed only to instructors who perfectly click with your learning style.

Complaining about class is a time-honored college tradition.

An inherent role of any collegiate friendship is the understanding that it is possible that half of the friendship will choose to vilify a certain instructor or class and it is the other half’s role to nod along.

Cathartic venting of frustrations is both understandable and mentally healthy in moderation.

Expressing said opinions in public or semi-public forums is arguably less healthy.

Remember that we’re in college, and as a result of that our future co-workers, our future bosses and our future employees surround us.

While being nice to other students should seem like an obvious rule of thumb, don’t forget that the same goes for faculty.

Words have consequences.

You’re an adult, and it shouldn’t need to be explained why it’s best not to trash the name of the person currently in control of your GPA.

Reference letters become a necessity later on in the collegiate life span.

This process becomes ever more difficult if one has spent the last two years saying, “Professor X is a boring teacher,” or that, “Instructor Y has vague lesson plans.”

Even if the comments do not reach back to the named person, what if they interfere with someone else’s education?

I’ve taken instructors whose names were mud according to older students around me, only to find out they simply didn’t gel with that instructor’s style while I was a perfect fit.

College is tough.

Actual educational problems should be addressed to appropriate teachers, tutors, advisers and so on.

Don’t let something go so far as to drop a class over frustration.

USI employs far too many people with the intention of helping you have a successful collegiate career to simply grump your way into dropping a course.

Spoiler alert: Every single person working in education at USI has college experience. They’ve all been at the point you’re at right now.

My rule of thumb has served me well: If I cannot say said criticism to their face, I don’t say it at all. If the urge to discuss the issue is too strong, I wait until I’m off campus.

I generally have a moral at the end of an opinion, but I’ve already reached it.

Eat your vegetables, kids.