WIBTAH If I refuse to go to a college club meeting on my birthday

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So, I have been an active member in a college club for two years. I was supposed to be in the Core group and head a department this academic year but the Prof incharge didn't like me. I've been told that it's because I don't speak her mother tongue (the language). So she didn't let me get in the core group this year.

The academic year is about to end and they wanted a new core committee. I got picked and I agreed to join. I was told that there's a meeting this week and I already told my department in-charge that it's my birthday on Monday and I won't make it on that day. (It takes me 1.5 hours just to get there, plus the meeting for 1.5 - 2 ish hours plus a mandatory lunch for 2 ish hours and then another 1.5 hours to get back to my town)

I got a text about the meeting being on my birthday and it's in the middle of the day. so I can't make plans for morning or noon or early evening. When I texted my department in-charge about it, I was told to get over it and show up because it's a part of being in the core committee and the prof is resigning soon so she wants it on that day. I would've considered going but the Prof hates me for a very petty reason. My incharge went on talking about how she had to clean and orgnize stuff on her birthday which was right after the event. She lied about the cleaning part. Because me and my fellow volunteers cleaned right on the event day itself in the evening. This might be a bitchy thing to say but, It's not my fault that she did it to herself. Just because she went to the college to work on her birthday doesn't mean i have to too. She mentioned that the meeting was just a pass time and is nothing important. Yet keeps telling me that I HAVE to show up. I told her that my birthday comes just once a year.

I worked hard last year and this year. I worked my ass off this year. I was working for them even when I was sick and in bed for a few days this semester. The club work had marks this year and I still got awful marks. I was working in three of their departments, I was working from home, heck I missed out on a lot of classes too. Guess what that got me? 35 marks. I did pass yes but 35 is bad considering how much I had to work.

I missed my parents' wedding anniversary plans because they had their event on the same day. I missed valentine's too. Now they want me to skip my birthday too. I feel like this isn't fair. I had a breakdown over it earlier. This academic year, I'm not getting any marks. This will be completely voluntary. Which I'm willing to do but I don't want to miss important events from my personal life.

I've had a lot of bad birthdays. I had stopped looking forward to it. My friends had to hype me up for it this year and I did get hyped up a lil. Now they spring this on me. What do I do?

What do I do?

Tl:dr: I’ve been working in my college club for 2 years and put in a lot of effort (even worked while sick, missed personal events, etc.) but got poor marks and was treated unfairly (prof doesn’t like me, possibly due to language bias). Now I’ve been selected for the core committee, but they scheduled a long, non-important meeting on my birthday and are pressuring me to attend even after I said I can’t. I feel unappreciated and don’t think it’s fair to sacrifice my birthday again for them. Should I skip it?

Posted Apr 5, 2026, 3:14 PM UTC

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