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We were given a choice of whether to participate in a field trip or not. It was made clear that the field trip would not play any role in grading the final exam; it was merely for exposure. On the day of the field trip, only a quarter of the class showed up, and the instructor was not pleased. As such, he decided to give everyone who attended the field trip a pass on the course and fail the students who did not attend the field trip.
I felt that it was unfair for the instructor to fail the majority of the class. He had made it clear that the field trip was not mandatory and we were at liberty to attend or not. Therefore, it was unrealistic for him to fail the students who did not participate in the optional event.
I decided to leave the field trip as a way of resisting the decision of the instructor. Also, I mobilized the students who had showed up for the trip to leave in support of the other students. Also, I started a class group chat to inform the rest of the class of the decision of the instructor.
Although I could have gotten a free grade by attending the field trip, it would come at the expense of my classmates. I trusted my classmates to back my decision to resist the field trip because I did it to protect their interests.
One would think that I was a fool for resisting the field trip and a free pass on the class, but I saw no need of passing a course at the expense of my classmates. The field trip was initially optional and therefore punishing students who did not attend was unfair. Furthermore, I would not benefit from getting a free pass; instead, I would have felt guilty for not standing up for my classmates.