I'm a second year TA, so I'm admittedly new to this. I have already seen the slackers, the snowflakes, and all of the other characters that make us question the future of education. However, I anticipated those problems, and I'm prepared to deal with them as I need to. What I never saw coming was the student that started following me around campus, and eventually, following me home after my evening class. He'd stay a few blocks behind me, but it was undeniable that it was happening. And once I was in my apartment, I'd see him standing outside, sometimes up to an hour.
Now the school has arranged for a security guard to meet me after class and walk me to the bus station. I don't have a car. I live two miles from campus, and the walk home was often the only time of the day I officially had to myself. I loved that time, and I needed it. Now, that's gone. My rights are gone, my comfort and security are gone. And now I have one more thing to be worried about, on top of teaching two different courses while earning a PhD in a difficult program.
I don't know what his motivation is. I don't know if it's a silly crush on the teacher that went too far, or if there's a more violent reason behind it. I just know I was a lot happier before this happened.
I miss the walks home. I miss not having to look over my shoulder. I miss thinking that the "worst" student was the cheater, or the liar, or the perpetually late kid. I can't even say I hate this particular student. I just hate what he's done.