Prevented Absence for Grandfather's Funeral... Takes Leave to Stay with Dying Pet Dog

Netizens "Is a human life worth less than a dog?"

A private university professor who refused to recognize the attendance of a student absent due to a grandparent's funeral caused controversy after notifying a class cancellation, citing the need to be with their dying pet dog.

On December 23rd last year, a post titled "Professor who said grandparent funeral absences won't be recognized" was uploaded on the university student online community 'Everytime' free board.

The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. Photo by Asia Economy

The student, A, who wrote the post claimed that they requested Professor B to recognize their attendance despite being unable to attend class due to attending a funeral, but the professor did not acknowledge it.

A also inquired at the department office but was told it was "at the professor's discretion." According to the school's internal academic regulations, attendance can be recognized for up to two days during the funeral period in the event of the death of the student’s or their spouse’s grandparents, but this was considered a discretionary rule.

Since it states "may" rather than "must," the recognition of attendance for family events is left to the professor's discretion, and ultimately A attended the class.

On December 23rd last year, a post titled "Professor Who Said Grandfather's Funeral Absence Is Not Recognized" was uploaded on the free board of the university student online community 'Everytime'. Photo by community 'Everytime' capture

Then one day, Professor B notified the students of a class cancellation. The reason given was that the professor needed to be with their dying pet dog. While not recognizing the student's absence due to a grandparent's funeral, the professor did not hold class because of their dog's final moments.

This news spread on the anonymous university student community 'Everytime' (Eta) Y University free board, sparking outrage among students. Netizens posted criticisms such as "Does a student's grandparent's life mean less than their pet dog?", "Formally protest to the school," and "Not recognizing grandparent funeral absences is crossing the line."

According to the school's internal regulations, professors are generally not allowed to cancel classes. If a cancellation is unavoidable, they must notify students in advance, submit a cancellation and make-up plan through the department and college to the academic affairs office, and must conduct make-up classes. Violating this regulation may result in disadvantages during faculty performance evaluations.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.