Political science professor Dr. Mark Franklin caused quite a stir last Tuesday when he revealed his newest tattoo to his students.

The incident took place during a synchronous Zoom class session for Franklin’s PSCI-001-069 course, Introduction to Politics or Something. As Franklin covered the defining characteristics of American political culture, a student interrupted him mid-sentence in the Zoom chat. 

“All I did was ask him when the midterm was,” said Joseph O’Brien C’22. “That was when he flipped out.”

In a fit of fury, Franklin proceeded to tear his shirt off and stand up so that his back was facing the camera. A recording from Panopto shows the sentence, “IT’S ON THE SYLLABUS!” tattooed across Franklin’s upper back.

“Can you read it?!” Franklin can be heard screaming in the recording. “Can you read what it says?!”

The students, stunned into terrified silence, tentatively used the thumbs-up reaction feature.

“How many times have I gone over this?!” Franklin shouted as he tore the sheets off the bed behind him.

Franklin told The Pennsylvania Punch Bowl that the reveal went exactly as he planned. He said he got the tattoo 2 days into the Fall semester and has been waiting for just the right moment to show it off.

“Teaching from my guest bedroom–actually it’s my bedroom now–really sucks,” Franklin said. “But at least I can find ways to make class more interesting.”

Franklin’s only regret is revealing his tattoo before the drop deadline. Following the incident, PSCI-001-069 has gone from 110 students to just 20 students enrolled. Franklin plans to pre-record his lectures moving forward.