While I’m only a grad assistant, I’m officially part of the department.  I teach 5 labs, hold office hours, yada yada yada.  So guess what that means for me?  I got to pick up one of the labs that this faculty abandoned.  It’s a fairly large lab, with about 30 people in it.  From looking at their faces, they seemed to be relieved that I showed up.  After looking at their grades, I can see why:  I don’t think he actually told them when assignments were due.  In fact, only half of them even turned in their first project (significant portion of their grade).

As big of pain as it is, I’m happy to do it.  I like to be able to contribute and hopefully I can help the department save-face in this whole fiasco.