Student Tries to Change Precept, Stellic Enrolls Him in U.S. Army Instead

By Yara Almoussa '28

On Wednesday, September 2nd at approximately 6:30 am, the Princeton University add/drop period opened up. This allows students the opportunity to shop classes and explore different class schedules for the first two weeks of the semester. However, the University’s recent adoption of Stellic, an online course scheduling platform, has caused some new issues for students. “It was really frustrating,” recounted Priya Medd ‘29, who wanted to change her organic chemistry lab time but ended up being removed from the course instead. The spot she left behind in the course was “immediately filled by some other sophomore, probably sitting there just salivating over the computer,” Medd stated. While issues like Medd’s often resolve themselves, other students have encountered some more complex obstacles. Jim Dillon ‘28 attempted to change his SML 201 precept time. However, when he clicked the bright blue “submit” button on Stellic, he found an entirely new course added to his schedule. “I was in shock,” he said, upon seeing “ARM 101 - United States Army, Basic Training” taking up an eight-hour block, every day, for the next six months on his schedule. According to Dillon, there was no option to undo his choice. “One minute I was figuring out my classes, and the next I was being hauled onto some military plane with a bunch of other GI-Joe looking dudes. With how stressed they were, it made me wonder if they were trying to take SML for some SPIA requirement, but then they started talking awful casually about life or death, so I definitely knew they were pre-med,” Jim Dillon recounted following his first week of training. The Registrar office was notified of this incident on September 17th, but they “can’t do anything about this unfortunate software malfunction” because add/drop ended on September 16th. To make matters worse for students, the Army does not have a history of cooperation. “No Takesies Backsies,” reads a glaring banner on the U.S. Army’s official recruiting website. “No matter how you get the call,” the message continues, “you must take it. You must.” We at the Tiger Magazine humbly wish Dillon and all others affected by Stellic the best of luck.