University of Virginia Library

1619710

I felt it coming on two
years ago when I had to share
Professor Graebner with 500
other students in HIUS 52. But
my psychiatrist told me that he
really cared, and that I wasn't
just another; parasite in a
mammoth institution. I felt a
glimmer of hope coming on
during University Tuesday, but
I lost her in the crowd to a
smooth-talking Young
Republican.

Then things went from bad
to worse. I had the distinct
feeling in Economics class that
year that Mr. Elzinga didn't see
me once, even though I
attended every class. My
psychiatrist explained that it
was just because my mother
didn't love me that I felt this
way. Even Happy Day was a
somber occasion for me, as I
was trampled by a mob racing
for the five-cent cokes, and
thrown in the mud three times
simply because I look a little
like Edgar Shannon. It wasn't
until last week that I felt
myself going under.

At the suggestion of my
psychiatrist, I took Psych 3,
and had already been
disappointed by the lack of
personal attention, and the fact
that the Professor couldn't
explain my strange affliction.
But when I saw the quiz, I
knew I was going to lose
control. An eerie chill I hadn't
felt since I took the SAT tests
ran up and down my spine.

Yes, in the University
which promised me a
meaningful, individualized
place in an academic
COMMUNITY of dedicated
scholars. I was being given a
COMPUTERIZED TEST A
medium lead sharp, No 2
pencil made an ideal weapon
for a crazed, frustrated
individualist I lost control, and
as soon as I had folded, bent,
spindled, and mutilated my
answer sheet. I ran to my
psychiatrist's office, raised the
pencil and ...

I hope that four years   at
an impersonal institution such
as U.Va. high school has
become does not have such an
effect on many others. And
yet, I still retain a measure of
faith in the humanity within.
Having heard that the
computer reads the D. I ask
that you withhold my name,
student status, and social
security number, and sign me.