Okay, so today was an interesting day. You know I was enjoying my morning because I didn't have any classes today besides teaching molecular lab today. My day went as the usual, woke up at 10 AM, got dressed and taught lab at 11:30 AM.
We were suppose to run RT-PCR gel samples to get the peroxidase sequence samples for the specific Arabidopsis thaliana tissues (root, stem, leaf). I had all the equipment ready, prepared all samples, readied all the micro-pipettes for the students; but before I could begin lecture the lab technician told us that the RT-PCR gel electrophoresis analyzer was offline due to 'technical difficulties' attained when a chemistry student forgot to turn off the machine from the previous night.
I was outraged, I mean, seriously, these machines are ridiculously expensive. The RT-PCR gel electrophoresis analyzer is worth over $100,000; and attached to this machine is a electrospectrophotometer machine which is worth over $80,000. These machines are interlinked and if one machine is offline, that means the other is offline. I was just utterly annoyed how any professor would have allowed such an inept and moronical student have oversight in our molecular genetics laboratory and have access to almost a quarter of a million dollars machinery inside.
I found out as well that this so called 'chemistry student' was a sophomore who wasn't doing any research, but was an aide to a senior chemistry student working on her chemistry senior thesis. First of all, this meant that the sophomore had no specific access to the molecular genetics laboratory, but used the key from the senior student to access.
My point, as I made clear to these students after I found out the machines were offline, was that:
1) No one is to have access of our molecular genetics lab unless you are a biology major
2) The senior student's gross ineptitude in allowing an inexperienced and untrained sophomore into an upper-level biology laboratory was utterly against protocol. Only lab TAs are allowed inside or lab techs or professors. NOT, i repeat, NOT sophomore students who have no experience in molecular genetics!!!
Because of their insensitivity to the biology department and lack of respect and lack of understanding at that, my molecular biology lab was canceled.
I reported the senior student to the biology chair for gross incompetence and charged the sophomore student for downright vandalism of material.
This underclassman should not have been tampering with laboratory instruments beyond his/her scope of understanding in the first place. Can you imagine? Machinery whose worth almost totals $250,000 was damaged and 'offline'.
One thing I truly cannot stand is incompetence and total ineptitude.
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