MYTH: Students are allowed to leave campus if their teacher is more than 15 minutes late to class.

 STUDENTS SAY: Senior Justine Kang remembers a particular incident when she was a TA for a class of freshmen. She was outside the classroom among the other students, patiently waiting for her teacher’s arrival. However, a little over 10 minutes passed, and Kang had to usher the students back as they had started to leave while mentioning the “15 minute rule.”

[su_quote]“Many people looked for [the rule] in the [student] planner; it’s definitely not there,” Kang said.[/su_quote]

 TEACHERS SAY: Literature teacher Vennessa Nava recalls a day when her students had to wait outside her classroom door because she forgot to call in a substitute, during a month of many absences. Remembering this time as “the strongest moment” of feeling the 15-minute rule exist on the MVHS campus, Nava said that although some of her students mentioned contemplating whether it would be appropriate to leave or not, they all stayed anyway.

[su_quote]“I find that students always talk about the myth, [but] none of them are gutsy enough to actually walk away,” Nava said.[/su_quote]

 ADMINISTRATION SAYS: According to Administrative Assistant Diana Goularte, the “urban legend” has never been an actual policy adopted by the school. If a teacher on campus were to be late to class for 15 minutes or more, the main issue for the administration would be primarily a safety concern. She strongly recommends that if students land in this sort of situation, they either have a neighboring teacher or representative from their class immediately call the office.

THE VERDICT: Busted.