The purpose of this simple meditation is to prove the existence of time, and therefore the extreme lack of it for the average college student. Paying a debt to both Bible criticism and kooky longtime friends, I will call this average student �Q.� His hypothetical situation is the bare minimum required of the average college student.
First, the obvious. There are seven days in a week, each day composed of 24 (twenty-four) hours. This makes a total of 168 (one hundred sixty-eight) hours in each week.
Student Q is taking an average course load � 16 (sixteen) credits, or 6 (six) classes. Five of these classes are 3 (three) credits, and there is a one-credit activity class. Each credit hour counts for an hour of class. Therefore, 16(sixteen) hours of Q�s week are taken up with class alone.
For each of Q�s 16 (sixteen) credits, the college requires 3 (three) hours of study. It is therefore assumed that Q studies 48 (forty-eight) hours a week. The subtotal of Q�s class and study time comes to 64 (sixty-four) hours each week.
Q is a healthy young student, and tries to get 8 (eight) hours of sleep, a recommended minimum for healthy adults each night, seven days a week. Q�s total sleep is 56 (fifty-six) hours per week. Adding this to Q�s class and study time produces a subtotal of 120 (one hundred twenty) hours.
Q likes to be clean. He showers and uses the bathroom for total of 45 minutes per day, or 315 (three hundred fifteen) minutes per week (5.25 hours). If you have experienced college bathrooms, this is a frightening discovery. Adding this to the previous class and study time produces a new subtotal of 125.25 (one hundred twenty five point two five) hours.
Q is also a hungry young student. Q spends three hours a day eating both snacks and regular meals. Therefore, 21 (twenty-one) hours of Q�s week are spent eating. Q also has a job. He has a Federal Work Study job cleaning toilets, and gets paid a small pittance ($5.15 an hour) for his misery. But that doesn�t matter. Q works 10 (ten) hours a week. Adding the amount of time Q eats to the hours that Q works produces a subtotal of 31 (thirty-one) hours. Combined with the previous hours, the new subtotal is 156.25 (one hundred fifty-six point two five) hours.
Q doesn�t have a car, so he can�t drive to class from his dorm. It is a 15 (fifteen) minute walk from Q�s dorm to his classrooms. Q does this walk an average of 6 (six) times a day, for a total of 90 (ninety) minutes per day, and 630 (six hundred thirty) minutes a week (10.5 [ten point five] hours). Q also has more walking to do to get from class to class, from class to work and back, and from class to the dining hall. Q spends an average of 50 (fifty) minutes a day making these small walks, or 350 (three-hundred fifty) minutes per week (5.83 [five point eight three] hours). Therefore, Q�s total walking time is 16.33 hours per week. Adding this to the previous subtotal of 156.25 (one-hundred fifty-six point two five) hours produces a final total of 172.58 hours.
It has already been made clear that there are 168 (one hundred sixty-eight) hours in a week. Q�s schedule, encompassing only schoolwork, Federal Work Study, eating, and personal hygiene, requires 172.58 (one hundred seventy two point five eight) hours, more hours than there are in the week. Therefore, it is impossible for Q to complete everything satisfactorily and still have time for a healthy mental and social life. This is failing to mention that Q lives in an overcrowded shoebox, eats slop, and can never get sleep thanks to the rap music that is blaring out of the stereo next door.
What can be done to remedy Q�s situation? Reply here.