Picture a typical day in class. You walk in, take your seat, open your backpack, and pull out your books. You chat with the person or people around you until the professor enters the room. When he or she is ready to begin, you do one of two things.

If you're a nice, sensitive person, you stop talking, turn around, and pay attention. If you're not, you keep on talking or whispering with your friends, annoying the heck out of your classmates who fall into the first category.

This article is directed towards those of you in the second group. I have only one thing to say, and I'll keep it as simple and non-offensive as possible.

Ready? Are you sure? Think you can handle it? You know, you can still stop reading right now if you want. Go take a look at that cool article on Republicans, or go read the news section if you're so inclined.

What? You're still here? OK...brace yourself. Here it is.

BE QUIET!

There. I admit that I am not always nice or sensitive, but I do have trouble concentrating in class when there's a steady murmur going on behind me. Maybe there's a biological cause for my easily distracted nature, or maybe not, but regardless, on behalf of all similarly affected people, I beg you to please have some respect for your classmates, and shut your mouth.

But, you may be thinking, I'm just whispering. And why are you listening to my conversations, anyway?

Because I can't help it. If there is noise, no matter the volume, I will hear it. Not just people talking, but doors opening, computer keys clacking, and papers shuffling all grab my attention for several seconds and put it on the person making the noise, rather than on the lesson, where it should be. By the time I'm able to focus again, I sometimes found that I've missed a significant point.

So, to you loquacious ones out there, consider this your only warning. When my attention is focused on you because of the noise you're making, my opinion of you will not be favorable. Of course, you may not care what I or anyone else thinks of you, but that may change when you want to borrow notes from or are assigned to do a project with a person who's constantly annoyed by your excessive verbosity.

I know that some of you may not have realized that you were causing others such pain and anguish by your incessant surreptitious chatting. Be reassured that I forgive you, but please, now that you know, just repent from your old ways and don't do it again.