scheduling score

For our sins, the faculty at Tiny Liberal Arts College are organized into a direct democracy. Yes, four times a year, every single one of us - all 120-some faculty members - is expected to find his or her way to the only auditorium on campus large enough to fit us all in. There, we are each allowed to cast our individual shards of pottery for whatever issue, candidate, or proposal takes our fancy.

If this sounds like a good idea to you, you've never sat in an uncomfortable folding chair while 100+ faculty members debate the merits of preposition placement in the institutional mission statement. OMFG. I have never truly appreciated the glory of representative forms of government until I came here.

This year, I accidentally found the perfect solution to the Faculty Governance Blues: I scheduled my BioAnth labs during the faculty meetings. Not only can I not make it to the meetings, but I have such a good excuse that nobody can fault me for not coming. Additionally, the fact that I've scheduled late labs means that I'm teaching outside of the "prime time", so I'm seen as a good team player, allowing other faculty to teach in more convenient slots. Hat trick!