An 18-year-old student’s brush with a strict assignment deadline has gained viral attention after she missed the cutoff to submit her work by just five seconds.
In a post on TikTok that has been viewed over 915,000 times, she wrote: “This has to be a joke,” but opinions were split on who was at fault for the late paper.
“I had to complete my assignment right away because I was busy prior, and when I thought I submitted it right on time, it took a couple of seconds to actually load in and submit,” student Pari Brach from Vancouver, Canada, told Newsweek. “I couldn’t believe it. I thought it was a very ‘OMG’ [oh my God] moment that would give the public a laugh.”
Though Brach’s intent was lighthearted, the responses in the comment section turned the issue into a broader debate on academic deadlines, time management, and online submission systems.
A picture of the screen the moment the assignment was submitted just five seconds late. The Canadian student told Newsweek she thought the post would give the public a laugh.
@06b__/TikTok
Many universities and colleges utilize a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) for online submissions. This includes platforms such as Moodle and Turnitin, where students upload assignments directly. Online submission systems are generally available 24/7, but students are advised to submit assignments well in advance of deadlines in case of internet issues.
Because of the online system, the exact time of submission is recorded, meaning that even being a few seconds late to submit can flag a “late submission,” like in Brach’s case.
“As a uni prof, I let assignments be 12 hours late. I just don’t let my students know that,” commenter Hell.is.colder wrote, sympathizing with Brach’s plight. Others were less forgiving: “Late is late. Welcome to the world,” posted viewer Cole.
“Maybe don’t wait till 11.59 to submit it. I’ve never understood doing that. I used to submit my stuff at least 5 days before,” commented CozyBookishCharm.
However, others could entirely relate. Alyssa added: “Story of my entire college experience.”
In the comments, people were divided when it came to the pressure of deadlines and online submission systems. Brach was a little shocked by the reactions, particularly the amount of criticism what she thought was a lighthearted post would get.
“Honestly, I have very mixed emotions toward the public’s reactions,” Brach said. “There’s a lot of haters, people claiming to be professors and saying that it is my fault, people probably double my age trying to tell me about my poor management … Then there are the commenters who think it is very relatable and funny; those are by far my favorite because they understand TikTok humor.”
