If you're a first-semester freshman, you may be watching some things go on around you that mystify you:

  Some of your classmates never come to class.
  Some of your classmates come to class with no notebook
         and sit through lectures without taking notes.
  Some of your classmates devote their attention to their cell phones.
  Some of your classmates "take notes on their computers" while
         actually surfing the Web.
  Some of your classmates come to class obviously drunk or stoned.

These observations may make you wonder, "Why shouldn't I do that too?"

You should bear in mind that, at large state universities, a large proportion of the freshman class drops out or flunks out in the first year. Commonly, only about half of a freshman class ends up graduating. Joining the non-attenders, the non-note-takers, the non-attentive, and the non-conscious makes it much more likely that you'll join those who are flipping hamburgers for a living. Don't mistake the behavior of your less dedicated classmates for the behavior of students who will graduate. Your less dedicated classmates should not be your role models.