Throwing shade is a far more sophisticated art than just dramatic down-talking. People use it to subtly show a superior attitude without explicitly demeaning someone else. So why exactly are people throwing shade around as if it were confetti? Well, to be fair, there’s a fine line between saying exactly what you think and showing what you think. You don’t really want to bluntly insult your bio professor after an unfair grade or look your roommate in the eye and tell them everything they never wanted to hear.
Want to make your feelings known in an understated yet brutal way? It’s time throw shade.
1. When someone takes your unassigned seat in class
“When someone takes your seat after half a semester has gone by, they either don’t like you or don’t even know you exist,” Williams College sophomore Mateo Fiorentino said. Like in any community, there are certain implicit rules that all members should follow. The same goes for students in a classroom. “We don’t take our classmate’s seat because our professors might get confused,” Fiorentino said. “One day, when someone sat on my desk, my Computer Science teacher asked ‘Where is Mateo, I saw him coming in,’ and I was sitting just two desks away from my unassigned assigned seat.”
2. When the school gets a snow day but your teacher puts a lecture online for you to read
You wake up to the deafening sound of the wind against your foggy window and realize that your town is covered in about 15 inches of snow. There is absolutely no way you can be expected to go to class in this weather, right? Some professors outsmart the weather and post online lectures, ruining your snow day fun. “A lot of my friends had online lectures they needed to watch,” Boston College sophomore Raymond Norville said. “They said it was annoying because they all just wanted to relax, or chill with friends and play in the snow but they had to do work (especially if they were up late the night before).”
3. When your professor takes the day off but you still have class
As a Boston student, watching the Patriots win the Super Bowl and having a professor opt out of your 9 a.m. the next day is a dream come true. “I was first like ‘Yes!’” BC sophomore Louisa MacEwan said. “Then I could sleep in too, as I am a Pats fan.” Little did she know that her professor would send an email telling the students that they still had to show up for class because a sub would still take attendance. “We all had to show up for a 9 a.m., but the professor got to sleep in after celebrating. Most annoying moment of my life!” MacEwan said.
4. When a professor cancels class but leaves a note on the door instead of sending an email
Whether you pulled an all-nighter or maybe feel sick or even just exhausted of being a college student, everyone wants to have a class cancelled. But what’s the point if you have to get out of bed and walk like a zombie all the way to your classroom, only to find a note on the door saying that class is cancelled? “The email would’ve been less work on their end and you wouldn’t have had to get out of bed,” BC sophomore Kelsi Ensminger said.
5. When someone food shames you
Of all the things you want to hear in your four years of college, someone calling you out for how much food you’re eating is definitely not one of them. “My roommate never let me eat treats, and every time I ate a cookie, she would tell me ‘Don’t cheat, Dani,’” Marymount University sophomore Daniela Eguiguren said. “She also told me ‘nothing tastes better than skinny feels.’” Food shaming creates feelings of anxiety and guilt, and it usually indicates that the shamer has their own battles with confidence. You don’t need that type of negativity in your life, so toss your hair over that shoulder and go all in on that cookie.
6. When your professor says your life is a B+ but it could be an A if you tried harder
Professors sometimes take grading too far. Getting an unfair grade on something you put a lot of work into can be pretty demoralizing and straight up irritating. But what if that unfair grade was not for an assignment, but for your life? That deserves some serious shade. This happened to one student when her professor told her that her life was a B+, but that it could be an A if she just put more effort in. “It was odd because we were going over my transcript and what plans I had for college when she said that,” BC sophomore Sophia Fox said. “I know she meant it as a compliment but it definitely didn’t feel like one.”
7. When someone holds the door for you, but you’re still too far away
“Some of my best 100-yard marks were done when someone held the library door open for me,” Fiorentino said. Okay, we get it, kind stranger. You’re a good person and you want the whole world to know. But do you really think a racing heartbeat, shortness of breath and unnecessary sweating were worth it? I don’t think so.
8. When your friend says they’re going to fail the exam…then get an A
There’s nothing worse than an extremely smart person who says they’re going to fail an exam, not even your friend stealing your last late night mozzarella stick. “My roommate and I were taking the same math class and we were always complaining about how hard it was,” said BC sophomore Thali Boruchovitch said. “We had an exam and we were both desperate saying we failed; she even cried. When the grades came back, guess who didn’t fail: My roommate. Guess who did: me.”
9. When your professor doesn’t remember your name… even though you go to their office hours every week
I know that you might be thinking that these ignorant teachers are rare, but yes, this actually happens a lot. Getting your professors to like you is harder than graduating. You can do everything humanly possible, like asking questions in class and putting in face time at office hours, but sometimes they might not even remember your name. That deserves some dark shade.
10. When a student from a rival school is on campus
When you see someone wearing a rival school’s sweatshirt on campus, you can literally feel the tension. What are they doing here? This is our territory. At times like these, something truly magical happens on campus. The entire student body suddenly breaks out their school hoodies and hats, throwing some mass shade at that outsider. Ouch.
