It was a disturbing Tuesday morning for the students and teaching assistant of Economics 101 discussion, when a bee entered Social Sciences B33Z on the University of Wisconsin campus.
At approximately 10:13 a.m., a yellow jacket flew through the open window, immediately interrupting students attempting to graph the latest economic figures.
“It came in through the window and immediately tried to sting me, so I swatted at it with one of my students’ notebooks,” economics teaching assistant Richard Haas said.
Missing the first swipe, Haas was left with a clean notebook and a clean conscious as he missed the black and yellow intruder.
“I hoped he would miss it,” sophomore Sandy Valley said. “As the leader of a bugs’ rights activist group on campus, I am vehemently opposed to all violence against bugs.”
After the initial attack on the bee, the class waited in silence before the bee came back into sight.
“Those first few seconds after I swiped were very intense,” Haas said. “Nobody could see the bee and we were all looking around making sure it hadn’t stung anybody.”
In typical bee fashion, it flew back up toward the ceiling and buzzed around for the remainder of the 50-minute class. Students were reported staring at the ceiling instead of paying attention to the day’s lesson in economic policy.
“Because of the circumstances, I can’t mark anybody down on their participation grade for the day — it would be too unfair,” Haas said. “Bees are a nuisance on this campus, and until the problem is taken care of, I can’t grade my class accordingly.”
The bee was last reported exiting through the east window of the room and is still at large on the UW campus.
