Dear Alex, I have the world’s the flakiest group project partner. Whenever we text and schedule a time to meet to work on the project, he never manages to show up. Not even for a little bit. Should I forget about him and carry on with the project by myself, or should I chew him out in person for never showing? – Q

Q, I’d recommend neither of those options.

Instead, I suggest you take your concerns to your professor during their office hours, or send an email, if you think that’s more appropriate, about your absentee partner.

I imagine your professor will be willing to work with you, assuming that you aren’t already relatively close to the due date of the project. Whether it’s lightening your load or sticking you with another group, I’m sure they’ll think of a solution.

Worst case scenario is that your professor isn’t sympathetic. In that case, crowd- source help from your family and close friends. They may not do as much work as a partner should, but they’d likely offer a helping hand.

Alex, I’d like to start running. The problem is that I think people would judge me when I run, because I’ve been told I have this awkward duck style of running. How do I start? – Help Me

Running looks weird no matter who does it, Help Me. However, it wouldn’t hurt to see if you could fix your posture and gait for the sake of running.

If that can’t be helped, it shouldn’t deter you from partaking in an activity that you want to do.

It feels like a somewhat unspoken rule that if someone is giving a genuine effort to do something, they shouldn’t be gawked at. At the gym on a treadmill or outdoor on a track, all that matters is the effort.

Other runners get this, and most times are generally supportive. For instance, I finished a run recently, and a random guy high-fived me and said, “Keep it up!” That kind of reinforcement makes running with people present pleasant.

If you don’t want to run around or with other people, though, you have options.

The RFWC isn’t necessarily the best place, as it’s usually humming with activity, but the upstairs track is relatively dormant at odd hours.

Your other option is running outside at night. Obviously, that comes with all the dangers of doing anything alone at night, but the campus and the apartments are well lit enough to dispel almost all concern there. Good luck!