CMU School of Drama


Wednesday, September 10, 2025

Woman Was Completing A Final Project With Two Other Groupmates, But When One Of Them Disappeared, They Removed His Name From The Project Documents

TwistedSifter: Teamwork only works when everyone shows up. If you were working on a group project but one of the group members didn’t show up for meetings or help out in any way, would you still include that person’s name on the project?

8 comments:

Emily R said...

After reading the full story, I honestly would have done the same, too. This is particularly the reason I dislike group projects because there is always that person who doesn't put in any effort. As someone who is more of a leader and likes to get things done, I think people take that advantage in group projects and hope that they are doing enough just by sitting in the corner. This story sadly sounds like something that would happen because people can be arrogant. I feel bad that the student had to do the project with one less player, but at least they aren't getting the grade for something they didn't even work on. I also think that holding a grudge with someone with whom you can even work together is a lot. Maybe there is some history the author didn't mention, but I would at least try and talk through it or simply just talk about the project. If I am ever in this situation, it may seem harsh, but I would remove the name.

Reigh Wilson said...

I’ve seen this group project crediting discourse circling online platforms for a few months now and I find it very interesting. Especially since the majority of it is within the collegiate level of academia. I, personally, think it is totally fair if a person doesn’t do any work for a group project nor respond to any communication when you are trying to get things done to not credit them in the project, as they have not done any work. I can understand how some may find this harsh or that there are extenuating circumstances, but when you are in college it is up to the individual to take it upon themselves to communicate with the professor what is going on rather than leave their group stranded. It is also so easy to not see or hear from any group members when in college even with a bunch of persistence, so if they don’t do any work and try to show up at the end to take credit, they don’t deserve it.

eva l said...

I really liked this article because it honestly felt like I was on a Facetime call with one of my friends and they were ranting about ‘A.’ I totally agree with what the group members decided to do and honestly, good for them. We all have participated in group projects. We all know an A. There have been so many instances where I’ve worked with someone so similar that didn’t contribute and yet still got the same grade as me in the end. However, I would be LIVID if someone I was working with stole money from the project that they were actively supposed to be helping with. I also don’t understand how A doesn’t feel bad in the slightest. I admit that I can procrastinate projects but I always feel like I put more effort and care into a group project because I know that in the end, it is going to affect someone that is (hopefully) trying their best.

Carolyn Burback said...

Nothing irritates me more than hearing there’s a group project because I am always afraid of landing in a group where people don’t participate or do anything useful. I think the two groupmates who worked on the project were correct in not adding the 3rd member’s names. On paper they can all be grouped together as a team, but on the real project why put the third member if they contributed to nothing within the packet. People who do this have often been enabled by hard workers who just ignore them and do it themselves so it’s satisfying to read these people treat the slack off like a slack off should be treated. It’s also rude that they did not respond because it puts the other members in an awkward spot. Occasionally I think group projects are good in that they reveal who amongst you do not care or choose to free load.

Maya K said...

I feel like most people can relate to this situation. I personally prefer group projects over solo projects because I think it is fun to share opinions and work toward the same goal together. However, people like “A” really irritate me. I don’t mind if someone doesn’t participate as long as they don’t ask for credit, but people who do nothing and still expect the same grade are just ignorant. Honestly, if I was in the same situation as the people in the story, I would have removed the name of that person too. I also think it is especially difficult for projects in big groups, where it’s harder to tell who is slacking off. I like small group projects where it’s easier to keep track of what’s going on. I personally believe that once you commit to a group, you have the responsibility to do your part. In the long run, those who contribute will benefit by building stronger relationships and teamwork skills, while those who only chase short-term benefits will struggle later on.

Arden said...

I absolutely support this persons choice to not include the last group member's name on the project. I think we've all been in a situation before where we had a collaborative project and then one person did absolutely nothing, and it really sucks when that happens. for this specific case, it seems like it was a very long term and important project, and the person who did no work should have had high stakes in making sure it was good. This person also has done something like this before, so they're already on their second chance, which is made so much worse by the fact that they stole money from the project the first time. I think there would be more debate about if this is okay if one group member did a little bit, but not their share of the project but in this case the person did literally nothing so it was totally justified to not include them.

Alex Reinard said...

I think there’s a surprising number of reddit posts that are written around this group project premise. All of the commenters always seem to agree that the poster is in the right and the person who didn’t do any work is in the wrong. On the surface, it kind of seems like the article is biased since it doesn’t offer a very substantial argument for the other direction, but on the other hand there isn’t much argument to be made anyways. I think that the most right thing to, and what I think I would do in this situation, is to just talk to the professor before taking action. Importantly, I think that what this poster did could be perceived as malicious against the lazy group member. Even if it is true, it might end up being a liability. But I’m sure it feels awesome to get that revenge against the lazy group member.

SapphireSkies said...

I believe that removing A's name here was perfectly justified. I think all of us have, at some point in our lives, been a part of a group we're not everyone puts in their fair share of the work. It's really frustrating, especially when you know that at the end of the day you'll all be getting the same grade/feedback for a very uneven work load.Although I haven't been in any situations where, like this one, a person has just plain ghosted, I've been in a lot of situations where I've felt frustrated because I've ended up with more work than what would have been my fair share. I sometimes wonder if it's worth telling someone that they did not do their fair share of the workload, or if it's just going to cause more problems than it's worth. because A did not make any sort of effort, and ignored all the deadlines, and never gave any sort of reasoning as to why they needed to not do the work, I think it's fair to consider them to not be a part of that group. I'm not sure if personally I would have done something as public as removing their names, if I would have just emailed the professor, but that's up to everyone's own individual preferences.