A college student recently asked Redditors for their opinions after she embarrassed a class bully during a group presentation. This is her complete story.
She Was in New Territory
The Original Poster (OP) is a 20-year-old woman attending college. One of her classes involves group presentations and discussions, which was a fairly new situation for her.
It Was Going Fine Until…
Recently, OP completed a group presentation as part of an end-of-year assignment.
Overall, the presentation went well, except for an encounter with another student in the class, a 21-year-old man.
He Always Had Something to Say
This guy had already developed a reputation for asking irrelevant questions and generally being a pain.
OP described him as the “well, actually” guy who would play devil’s advocate even when there is no call for it.
He Was a Bully
OP said that her classmate had developed a reputation as something of a silly verbal bully.
It Wasn’t Going to Be Fun
After OP’s presentation, the bully said he had several questions, then launched into them.
OP braced herself because she knew it wouldn’t be a fun experience.
He Thought They Should Be Criticized
Part of OP’s presentation focused on a trend that emerged in 2020, where grown men would make fun of teen girls on TikTok.
This prompted her classmate to ask why she didn’t think the girls deserved criticism for posting silly content online in the first place.
They All Rolled Their Eyes
It was an irrelevant question that left the room tense, and OP observed many other students rolling their eyes. Even the guy’s own friend gave him a subtle “shut up” nudge.
She Turned on Him
Frustrated by the bully’s off-the-wall questions and the fact that they were mostly directed at her rather than the other members of the group, OP decided to confront him.
She Was Done With Him
OP told him she wasn’t going to answer any more questions from him. She told him that he was grasping at straws and admitted that she didn’t try very hard to hide her annoyance.
A Productive Conversation
That shut the guy up for the moment, and OP and her group went on to field more input from the class.
The rest of the questions from their peers were substantive and relevant, contributing to a more productive discussion.
Despite the hiccup with the bully, the presentation was generally successful.
But It Wasn’t Over
As the class was letting out, the heckler approached the professor and complained about the incident.
As a result, the professor sent OP an email, requesting a virtual meeting to address the situation.
He Wanted Her to Apologize
As an added surprise for OP, the professor also urged her to apologize for embarrassing the guy and not fostering a safe space for her peers.
She Tried to Make Peace
OP wanted to put the matter behind her, so she attempted to resolve the issue privately before the meeting.
She messaged her tormentor and told him she didn’t mean to be short but found his questions pointless.
But He Was a Jerk
In response, the classmate escalated the situation, calling OP a derogatory term and blocking her.
Maybe It Was Stage Fright?
OP is still pretty upset about the incident and wonders if maybe she overreacted.
She admits that she was suffering from a bit of stage fright since she doesn’t often speak in front of crowds of any size.
They Were All Men
But OP also wonders if there is a gender dynamic at play, since her fellow presenters, the heckler, and the professor are all men.
Reddit comments on this story fall heavily in favor of OP. They think she was right for trying to shut down the heckler, and many think she was pretty gentle about it.
What do you think of this story? Was OP right for trying to shut her critic up when he started asking irrelevant questions? Or, should she have been even more forceful?
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The post She Put the Class Bully in His Place but Her Professor Says She’s the One That Needs to Apologize! first appeared on Mama Say What?!
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / Roman Samborskyi. The people shown in the images are for illustrative purposes only, not the actual people featured in the story.
Source: Reddit