The fourth week of school brings midterms, a sense of routine, and some unexpected surprises. One of these came Monday morning when one professor decided to shake up his classroom by telling his students that they could call him by his first name, Peter. The Alternate Universe conducted a series of interviews to gauge their reactions.

One sophomore student described her distress, “I don’t think I can do it. Am I just supposed to be like, ‘Hey, Peter. When’s the midterm?’ That just sounds wrong.”

On the other hand, Chad McMichael Murray, a senior majoring in business, doesn’t see this as a big deal. “I’ve been calling him Pete since the first day of school.”

When interviewed by The Alternate Universe, Professor Peter described his motives.

“I like seeing my students squirm as they figure out what to call me. Today I got an email addressed to Dr. Professor Peter Smith. It was delightful.”

The sender of the email, McBryLeigh Nielson, described her thought process, “My mom told me I could never call my YW leaders by their first name growing up. How am I supposed to call Dr. Smith by his first name alone?”

The other students fall somewhere between McBryLeigh and Chad and as they figure out how to adjust to this shocking request.