Phone Calls in Class

Two of my classes were in the same classroom last semester. This room has a landline phone by the blackboard. I never knew it worked until halfway through the semester when it rang in the middle of my property lecture. At first our professor didn’t know that phone was ringing but instead thought it was one of the student’s cell phones. She grimaced a little and then plaintively bemoaned to the class “Come on guys, whose phone is that?” We all shrugged and looked at each other in bewilderment. A couple of rings later, we all realized it was that landline ringing.


Our professor walked over, picked up the phone and answered it. “Hello” she said. “No. I don’t know. No it isn’t. I’m sorry. Good bye.” All of this was said in a normal tone giving no indication to the person on the other side who she was and where she was at.

About a month later, the same thing happened in our civpro class. He handled it a bit more cooly. He calmly walked over, picked up the phone and answered it. “Hello… No it isn’t... I’m sorry… Ok... Good bye.” He picked up in the lecture right where he left off.

I’ve often wondered if the person on the other end realized who they were talking to, if they realized that 50 people were listening in on half of that conversation, or if they were calling a law school number.