These people, as opposed to those who talk for more salutary purposes, are usually much more easily heard. One can pick up the tone of disrespect in their unrestrained, acid-like voices halfway across the lecture hall. “Haha, he confused the variables again; what does he think he is doing?” This would be about the professor, who no doubt can hear them in many of the situations. “Why would he ask such a stupid question? It’s explained already.” This would be about a fellow student. “I f****** hate this class.” I don’t understand what this is about at all, but I do feel an impulse to ask back, “Why the f*** are you here?”

We are free to like or hate a class or to personally judge a professor. We might have justifiable reasons to do this. A few things, though: Making loud, arrogant comments full of disrespect isn’t so conducive to learning for others who are really trying to engage in a class. A class one hates could be a class others enjoy. Why force your opinion and hinder others’ studies?

Professors can make mistakes. They are human after all. But I would be very, very cautious (meaning I wouldn’t) to disrespect his or her knowledge or abilities merely for a few mistakes or because I don’t personally like the professor. Say personal things personally. Don’t deride the professor in his or her class. Chances are that you wouldn’t ever walk up to the professor and prove that you are better. I’ve witnessed, on several occasions, that some students might take something the professor wrote on the board as a mistake and laugh about it, only to find him later explaining a good reason for his intentions. The students would then say “Oh, oh yeah, yeah I guess you could see it that way,” which to me is nothing more than the lamest euphemism for “I didn’t know what the heck I was talking about but still wanted to swagger because I am not grown up enough.” Why so weak now after all those bold remarks and laughter?

What about this, though, is new to anyone? I feel like the thing I am writing about is respect, supposedly plain and simple. But the situation demands a reminder of what should be plain and simple because it, simply, is not. I do not understand why this situation had to come about, but the deal is that it has, and it’s shameful.

Perhaps some people are unfamiliar with what I’m saying. I am confident that they have heard many times in life to “respect others,” and surely they are fully capable of speaking out those words themselves. But does this capability automatically mean that they know what they are talking about? I would say no. It is easy to regurgitate a commonly spoken belief and claim it, but obedience to that belief at a level of action requires believing it in the heart; some may fail at this. Maybe these people should learn what respect is beyond its dictionary definition and why, and where, they ought to show respect, especially when they’re in class, listening to someone who is supposed to be helping you become better. With that achieved, we might all find ourselves in a better learning environment.

Bubble Spinner

‘Bubble Spinner’

Steve introduced “Bubble Spinner” to me a week and a half ago. I’ve played it every day since. It’s had a crippling effect on my productivity. It’s actually quite a depressing story, starting when I first played the game. I got 100 points, then 125 points, then 200 points, but I could never get past the first stage. You see, “Bubble Spinner” is a little like “Snood” on an axis. You control a cannon and shoot colored balls at a mass of…more colored balls. Match three and they all come tumbling off the lump. The difference between this game and “Snood” is that every shot alters the orientation of the mass. There are physics involved, and every fired ball makes the larger mass of balls revolve around its center. There will be turns when you have to sacrifice a good yellow to rotate the mass a little to the left, so you can use a crucial blue. If you get rid of all the balls, you clear the stage.

And finally, after an hour of playing, that’s exactly what I did on my first day of playing “Bubble Spinner.” All the balls fell off, and I was on to the second stage. I made it all the way to 1,200 points. Feeling proud of myself, I boasted to my roommate. That turned out to be a mistake. Within three days, his high score was 4,800, and I was still at 1,200. But it’s completely unfair, because I’m playing on my laptop’s trackpad, and he gets to use a mouse!

You see what this game does to me? I’m so bitter, so angry, and I can’t seem to get a better score. My roommate and I call it the worst game ever, because you can never win. But then again, it always feels like you’re one move away from busting it wide open, so you keep on playing. That’s why we also call it the best game ever. (Percy Olsen)

One Button Bob

‘One Button Bob’

Click to move forward. Click to not move forward. Click to go up. Click to go down. Click to shoot out your boomerang of death. Click to play “One Button Bob,” and prepare to do a lot of clicking. “One Button Bob” is a short platformer with charmingly pixelated Commodore 64-style graphics that is completely controlled by clicking the mouse. The twist is that clicking the mouse has a different effect on each screen. In one scenario you click as fast as you can to outrun a boulder, and in another you click to jump over maliciously placed obstacles. It has a great sense of humor, and the game counts the number of clicks it takes to finish to keep as a high score. The catchy extreme guitar music in the background is a plus. After you’re done playing, you’ll wonder why games ever needed more than one button. (Michael Yang)

Roly Poly Cannon 2

‘Roly Poly Cannon 2’

If you’ve ever been playing a video game in which you’ve blown up an alien, drowned a viking or lit an evil cyborg on fire but thought, “I wonder how my gaming experience would be affected if all the characters were pill bugs,” then “Roly Poly Cannon 2” is for you. It’s all in the title: There are evil insects, and you destroy them with a cannon in various inventive ways. What’s not to love? (Steve Hardy)

‘Line Rider’

It’s always fun watching a motorcyclist go off a few jumps on a BMX track. Just then, the 5-year-old inside us blurts out, “It could use more loop-de-loops.” With “Line Rider,” this power is in your hands. You draw a track that a sledder will ride down with as many flips, loops and jumps as you see fit before having him fall to his icy doom or crash into a shattered heap. There is a vibrant community dedicated to making the most insane tracks and decorating them so it truly looks like your sledder is on a great adventure. (Adam Rubin)

Square Divide

‘Square Divide’

Directions: Bust large square into bits until it disappears. Play as often as needed. When the effects of “easy” become less potent, increase dosage.

Warning: “Square Divide” may inspire fits of unchecked passion and obvious inattention to other tasks. Other side effects include irrational frustration, obsession and withdrawal. (Ashley Adam)

‘Desktop Tower Defense’

This game has a little of everything—action, strategy, speed and the ability to annihilate peeping little creeps. Basically, there are a lot of evil “creeps” that you’re trying to stop from making it all the way across your desktop. To accomplish this, you build a maze of gun towers, which fire automatically when a creep gets in range. Different towers have different ranges, firing speeds and intensities, and there are also towers that can stun, slow down or lay traps for creeps. But the creeps themselves have different abilities—some can fly straight over your maze or split in half, and some are immune to freezing. And if 20 creeps make it all the way to the other end of the desktop before you damage them enough, that’s game over. Not recommended if you only have 20 minutes between classes—“DTD” is one of those games that will have you muttering to yourself about firepower as you plot the shape of your 12th maze. (Nora Long)

Clinically Obese Super Mario

‘Clinically Obese Super Mario’

The original “Super Mario Bros.” is one of the most highly regarded video games of all time. Each playthrough is both fun and exciting. But many often find themselves wondering, “What if the Super Mario brothers and all of the supporting characters were morbidly obese?” This game answers that question and more! (Adam Rubin)

‘N’

“N” combines simple design with demanding game mechanics. The hero, a ninja with superhuman speed and gravity-defying leaps, establishes a new standard in flash platforming. The objective is straightforward: Reach the goal within a time limit while avoiding enemies and jumping carefully, lest a misstep kills you. The game has 150 stages scattered with a few golden blocks to prolong life. Despite the easy preliminary levels, the stages quickly become impossible. I have played this game off and on for three years but only cleared about half of the levels. Precise reflexes are a must. Though occasionally frustrating, “N” wastes time admirably. (Davis Sargeant)

‘Bubble Trouble’

Miniclip was the greatest Web site in the world throughout our high school tenures. The crown jewel in their collection of games is “Bubble Trouble.” Similar in concept to “Asteroids,” this game requires the player to shoot grappling hooks at giant bouncing bubbles, causing two smaller bubbles to emerge. To eliminate them all takes finesse, speed, planning and lightning-fast reflexes. Expect countless hours to fly by while you play. (Adam Rubin)

Regardless, one issue presented in the film deals with Lohan’s character pretending to not understand a class she is in so she can be tutored outside of class by the guy of her dreams. While this led to further consequences, I couldn’t help but sympathize with Lohan’s character. Keyword: character; not actually sympathizing with Lindsay Lohan, since that’s pretty hard to do. After all, what are we supposed to do when we want to spend time with that attractive individual in our class outside of class? How do we win that special someone over and find out what he or she is really like outside of an academic setting?

Let’s say you are in a small class, and in this class there’s that good-looking guy or girl you want to talk to, get to know better and, if there’s chemistry, spend time with outside of the classroom. Hopefully, your professor will encourage class discussion and maybe even small group work. If so, do everything in your power to try to work with that person.

You can even just walk up to them one day and say, “I really liked what you said about…” or “What you said about this or that text was so interesting.” It’s as simple as that.

A compliment always proves helpful in the game of love, and this can easily lead to a bond and an excuse to work together. If you don’t actually think what that person says is interesting, either move on or, if you are just that attracted to that person physically, find some other compliment. Just don’t be overly maniacally friendly, and never refer to anything you see on that person’s Facebook, even if you do stalk him or her daily.

If you find yourself in a large lecture environment and notice that cute guy who comes to class every day, you’ll know that he probably cares about schoolwork, which is always good. Though it may be hard at first, sit next to him one day. Flash a charming smile, and you can even ask to borrow a pencil/pen/piece of paper. Just don’t let him look in your backpack to see that you actually have one and are just asking to initiate conversation, because then he may think you’re crazy.

Another tip is to try to talk with that person after class. That is, if you and a friend grab lunch and happen to see that cute girl sitting with her friend, it is more than all right to walk up to her, say hello and make a comment about that day’s class, like how boring it was, or laugh over an absurd comment some other student made in class. Eventually, if love is in the cards, you guys can start eating lunch together. Given time, this can lead to hangouts off campus.

If you want to take eating lunch together to the next step, tell that person that you guys should make a time to hang out that weekend or go out one night. It can be said causally, while simultaneously allowing you to get the message across that you’re into him or her. You can also ask that person to study with you, since group studying is both fun and productive—well, sometimes. More importantly, this is a nonchalant question, and a study date could with time progress to romance. All you have to do is communicate.

So the next time you want to pull a Lindsay Lohan and are tempted to pretend to be stupid just to have that special someone tutor you, don’t. After all, playing dumb probably won’t work—we are pretty bright kids. Just remember to be yourself, talk to the person you’re interested in and if it’s meant to be, it will be.