Evaluation Comments (or Threats, as the Case May Be)

In the coming weeks, most faculty members will receive copies of the semester’s various evaluation instruments. Over the years I’ve seen some bizarre comments from students on those evaluations. Lots of complaints about room temperature, chair hardness, flourescent-light flicker, and so forth.

The most incredible comment I ever saw said something like this about a colleague: “Every day I sit here staring at my professor’s wedding band and wishing that there were one more dead spouse in the world so that I might have a chance.” That was in the days before the hotness chili peppers on student-rating Web sites, so the professor was understandably spooked, and his department chair sent a copy of the comment to campus safety.

What are the strangest comments you’ve ever seen on student evaluations?