I recently came across an article in the Huffington Post that depicted an unemployed law school graduate. This person-who I believe should remain nameless because of his poor judgment-is so fed up with the current job market that he decided to go on a hunger strike. That's right, no food or water until he gets paid. He was quoted in the article as saying, "Successful hunger strikes have gone on for nearly 50 days without death. I don't know if I can go that long, but I am willing to try."No doubt: Times are tough. And this fairly ambitious law school student, unfortunately, is not the only one coming up with certifiably stupid ways of making money. Just a few weeks ago, the Huffington Post published a link to a website called "skipclasscalculator.com." The website was created by Jim Filbert, who in 2010 received his bachelor's degree in Telecommunications Management.

The website does exactly what its name implies. Students who-for whatever reason-just don't feel like going to class, are encouraged to use the calculator in order to see if skipping this class would really hurt them. The website asks a series of ten questions, such as "How many times a week do you have this class?" and "What is your current average?" At the end, there is a "submit" button, and the page reloads with your fortune: Either a "Yes, you can skip this class," a "Probably" or a "No, do not skip this class."

Jim must have had a tremendous amount of time on his hands to even think of creating this pathetic website. How did this idea even occur to him? He tells us himself in his bio on the website: "I woke up one cold morning and debated whether or not I wanted to get out of bed to go to class. I ran the risk in my head. Then I pondered. I was wondering if there might already be a tool on the interwebs which would run that risk for me. After a few minutes of searching I found nothing-so I decided it was up to me to create. I ended up skipping class that day because I was too excited about the idea."

After analyzing this website, I was quite frustrated. No, not because someone actually had the nerve to create such a "calculator," but because Jim forgot one crucial criterion: financial cost.

According to the Brandeis University website, estimated tuition is $53,986 (including room, board and textbooks. I've included room and board in this calculation because they are necessary at Brandeis; no student who goes here avoids paying for them somehow). Let's assume that a class meets for approximately 40 hours per semester (a class meets for around 2.5 hours a week for 15 weeks). Let's also assume that the average student takes eight classes every year. That's a total of 320 class hours a year. With some simple long division, we get our shocking answer: Every hour you spend in class at Brandeis University is worth approximately $168.

What if this were an element in the "skipping class calculator?" Every single person at Brandeis is paid for in one way or another-whether it be through scholarships, our own pockets or Mom and Dad. I am convinced that if people realized the amount of money they waste when they cut class, they would be much less willing to press the snooze button.

None of us is perfect, and it is really hard to get out of bed sometimes. But can we really justify wasting that much money every time we skip class? Is the activity we are doing instead of class worth $168? Would you pay $168 to sleep for an hour? Would you pay $168 to watch Youtube videos? Would you pay $168 to talk to your mother? The list goes on. Sometimes the answer may be yes. But more often than not, it is no.

As Brandeis ushers in a new semester, look at your education as an investment game. The only people who can maximize that $53,986 are the students. If they make good use of the money, then they are in business. If not, they cannot be taken seriously.

I am sure that this coming year, Brandeis students will find myriad things about which to complain. The campus is ugly. There is no pool. The budget is being cut. Critiquing our university is important; if we do not do so, there will be no mechanism for change. But here's the message for future critics: No one likes a hypocrite. And someone who wastes thousands of dollars by cutting classes but then still feels entitled to complain about how Brandeis uses its money is being just that. Before we do anything, let's first allow ourselves to be taken seriously. Let's not be hypocrites. Let's get the most bang for our buck.