Class representatives are important to lecturers and students. For the lecturers, this role and the person taking it solves most of the problem associated with managing the sheer number of people taking their courses. For the students, they could really use someone to submit their assignments and take the fall for anything that happens.
It might seem like a good gig to you, and it is – but as they say, it is not a bed of rose. If you currently take this post or have taken it, you will understand this:
Most of the contacts on your phone are not your friends
You become a property everybody owns the moment you take the class rep post. This means you need to have everyone’s number to add them to the WhatsApp group. it may not seem like a big deal at first, but it hits when you need some help and you realise that 80 % of the numbers on your phone are people you don’t really have a relationship with.
When everyone treats you like you’re the enemy
You are the errand boy – the messenger – but when the lecturer do some shit like giving an impromptu test or bringing the assignment deadline up to a closer date, everybody turns their anger on you like you had anything to do with it. Sucks.
When you realise that the lecturer thinks you are available at all time
You have to deal with your class, but you also have to deal with the lecturer, and that includes having to be at their beck and call. You are on a service to humanity level, so you can’t escape this.
The accusations (sometimes abuse) you get when someone didn’t get an information
Do university students like to have someone to blame? And you are an easy target. So, you get all the blame when a member of your class doesn’t get a memo. It doesn’t that matter that you passed the message across all the channels the class uses.
You wish your phone would stop blowing up
The life of a class rep is chaotic at best. Your phone has to be on at all times, and the frequent buzz is enough to make anyone run mad. But you can’t. You have a job to do.
You still have to study for exams like everyone else
Everyone in your department might know you, but that is not enough to pass you. You still gotta get down to studying. And this is a big challenge because you hardly get the time to do this.
