It is week 13, one more week away from the end of the semester. We know that assignments are piling up and you have like what, ten group projects to submit next week. You are hustling your way throughout the week. (We are proud of you, keep going!) And then, there is this one particular mortal in your group who went MIA since the creation of the WhatsApp group but only shows up a few hours before the deadline - probably just to send you their name and student ID (UGH we know - THE AUDACITY!)
Before we jump right into the ways of dealing with these FREE RIDERS (and no, we are not talking about food delivery riders), let’s analyse the meaning behind this term. Free riders are the people you HAVE to avoid, especially in group assignments. Here’s why; they will barely participate or might not even contribute in any of the process of completing the assignment. They might be silent or may be as loud as they can at first, but oh honey, never trust words more than the actions, they would try to slack around and not do anything until the assignment is done.
Hence why, “free riders” is the suitable label for them, because in the end, they will arrive at the same destination as you, without having to pay for the ride (doing the assignment). Despite your prayers asking to not be associated with these people, entropy is part of life. So, how do we deal with these riders?
First and foremost, if you sense something is off with one of your groupmates, reach out to ‘em! They might be going through something personal - maybe family problems, health issues...OR MAYBE they are just wasting their time watching Netflix, playing games - we never know. Once you have identified either they are actually having issues or just ignoring you, we move to the next stage.
Since some of these riders are so busy riding - you need to expect some delays in their responses. It can be an hour, a day late or a few hours before the deadline, so to avoid these ‘delays‘ - we highly recommend you to ‘check up on them‘. By checking up we mean, TEXT THEM EVERY SECOND, every day - or in other words, pester them. Do not be afraid to @ them in the group chat, demand for their response and leave them some missed calls. It might be super draining at this point - assignments piling up and you have to deal with this kind of person - but HANG IN THERE! You got this, we will be supporting you from afar.
The next step will require your highest level of patience. They act unbothered and just avoid your texts despite you bothering them? Of course they will. Therefore, you have to tolerate less. This is the part where you LITERALLY CALL THEM OUT and address them as the ‘potential free rider‘ to the group (so you will not have to deal with them alone). If this does not work, this person is just plain rude and they are testing your patience. This is where the next move takes place.
Okay, you are starting to feel like an active volcano that is about to erupt. Don’t be shy, don’t hold back, this is where you draw the line. Do project the eruption by reporting the free rider to your lecturer once you have arrived at the destination. As we mentioned before, they will probably send in their name and student ID right before you are about to submit the assignment. So, instead of including their name in the report, take this opportunity to submit their details to the lecturer with the right label, which is a “free rider”.
PLEASE, remember that it is not wrong of you to demand for their cooperation and contribution. It is just natural for you to do so. After much tolerance, patience and understanding with your group members, you are allowed to feel disrespected by these free riders.
Those who have issues when working on a group assignment, inform your team beforehand so they will not consider you as a free rider. We hope they understand your circumstances.
To the people who feel attacked, this is a wake-up call for you. It is week 13 - STOP making others suffer because of you. Stop pretending as if you did not see the messages - the bluetick says it all. You signed up for this degree, act like it.
AND OH, ALL THE BEST FOR THE REMAINING WEEKS!~~~~
Disclaimer: If you think this article was not necessary, maybe you are the problem.
Proofread by Ilyana Elisa & Illya-Wardina
Published by Muhammad Hadwan & Aisyah Hanim
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