As students pile into the first-year seminar, "Latino Culture in the United States," one freshman raises her hand and asks if there's time to get some water.

"Go do that, and then we'll talk about you," says Assistant Professor of Foreign Languages Amy McNichols. She isn't being facetious. Her students are examining a long list of pet peeves compiled by College faculty and staff, in an effort to make her students aware of what those around them deem "inappropriate." Leaving the room during class time is one of them.

The young student rushes out of the classroom in the lower level of Hill Hall and slinks back less than a minute later.

McNichols' freshman seminar will focus on how Latinos are viewed outside the Latino community. She is planning to use the list of pet peeves to bring students into a larger discussion about customs and stereotypes in other cultures.

On the list, the obvious: cell phones in class and during private instruction. One respondent wrote of trying to help a student,
" … their cell phone rings -- and they take the call. And not only do they take the call, but they have a five-minute conversation while I'm standing or sitting there. Grrr... I've gotten to the point where I just walk away. When they're finished they have to come and find me." The freshmen agreed that cell phones are inappropriate in an academic setting.

They also agreed with professors who complained about hats in class. "It's just not professional. You don't see hats in the workplace," said first-year student Justin Brockmeyer.

Instructors say they notice the yawning and stretching, even when students try to hide it. "I tell them I am not a TV set -- if you stretch by raising your hand above your shoulders, I will call on you," wrote one professor. Students agreed, "If you're really that tired, you shouldn't come to class."

"I may have done a number of those pet peeves myself," said student Chris Ferrick-Manley. "But in the past, of course."

However, many seminar students disagreed with some of the other pet peeves on the list. Among them, wearing pajamas to class. Some professors said the too-casual dressing gave the impression students rolled out of bed and suggested a lack of hygiene. But the majority of freshmen-seminar students found this type of casual dressing acceptable.

Freshmen also argued that they should be permitted to eat during class, despite complaints. One professor writes, "I have been in class when the Twinkie wrapper being opened across the room seemed to take an eternity and made me want to scream." But one student explained how she had six hours of classes and no time for lunch. Another's athletic schedule took up his break time. First-year students agreed that if they needed to eat in class, they'd eat "quiet food," in order to be respectful of the instructor.

McNichols used the examples to show how people perceive behaviors differently. It launched a discussion about how Latinos are viewed by non-Latinos in the United States and the search for common ground.

"It's good that people come from different places and they're meeting," said student Chuckie Abegesah. "If everyone were the same, it would be boring. We should learn from each other."

Pet Peeves List

• E-mails without uppercase.
• Coming late to class on the day an assignment is due.
• Making an appointment and not showing up - then wanting to make another one.
• Calling me at home (unless I have given them explicit permission - which is very rare). God help them if it is after 10 p.m.
• Passing notes back and forth in class and chatting while fellow classmates are giving presentations.
• Students who don't own or can't seem to find staplers.
• Having a student call and say "Did you get my e-mail?" or when they just sent it 10 minutes ago.
• Barging in to my office when someone is already there ... no knocking or "excuse me."
• I deal with students every day and one of their favorite words is the word "like." It is used entirely too much in the dialogue of a student. For instance: "I like want to like go to the pub like after class." See what I mean. Sometimes I don't even think they know they are doing it because most of their other peers are doing it as well.
• Rapidly garbled names and phone numbers on the answering machine. Enunciation is a really big plus. It helps get the message returned in a timely fashion.
• Using the subject heading to indicate what the message is about (and so I don't throw it out unintentionally with the 90 percent garbage e-mails I get).
• Students sitting in the last row and mumbling quietly an answer. For those of us going deaf with age (and for other students trying to hear the answer) it frustrates us to no end.
• Looking constantly at your watch. Yes, it's an hour and that can seem like a long time, but it gives off the impression that you'd rather be somewhere else, and even if that is true, why irk the professor into letting him/her SEE that?
• Students who give presentations without removing their slur-inducing tongue jewelry.
• "All I have to do is print it out," when it is due now.
• To be asked "Did I miss anything important?'" When a student misses class, I feel like responding "No, I just stood up there and babbled for 90 minutes."