The campus has experienced dramatic changes over the past few days.
As we approach examination days, more serious looks on student faces predominate, replacing the horseplay and laughter. There are fewer groups throwing Frisbees on Copley lawn. Every available study space seems filled at almost all hours of the day and night. (I even see tables occupied at 6:00 a.m. in Lau.) There is an intensity in the air that’s quite distinct. Serious work is afoot. It is that time of the semester when almost all attention is focused on finishing up and polishing off the course material.
Among the students I see walking across campus in the last few days, there seem to be two types–blurry-eyed, fatigued bodies delivering a final paper to a faculty office and sleepy-eyed, but beaming students pulling their roller bags to shuttle buses and cabs.
The latter group evokes in my mind long distant memories–a pure feeling of completion, knowing that no next thing has to be completed. It is a sense of freedom that never really occurs in one’s work career, in which there always seems to be another thing to do, even after large projects are completed.
There are reasons for the smiles on those roller-bag pullers. A trip to good home cooking, hugs from the family, reconnections with hometown friends, and sleep (lots of it for the first two days). A chance to display newly developed sophistication and knowledge.
The faculty scene is almost a mirror image of the students. For the past few days, the faculty have had a respite from classes. But the day of the final examination brings boatloads of work. There is a very small window to read final papers, grade examinations, and assign final grades. Sometimes they’re spending their own all-nighters just like the students did days earlier.
The whole event is a completion of a cycle that began in late August with first meetings of a faculty member and a student. At that time, students were presented with a list of readings and exercises that might have seemed daunting to some. Now, the work has been completed and, for some, they’ve surprised themselves at how much they learned. For freshmen, a quiet confidence emerges; they can make it here. For the faculty, they quietly revel in the success of a student that initially struggled, and they grieve those who didn’t perform well.
For the students, it’s a fully completed cycle. The break between semesters, therefore, is a real break. For the days before the start of the January semester, they have total freedom to refresh and reflect and recharge. On the other hand, while faculty have a few days of rest, they must quickly turn to making sure all the last minute preparations are in line for the next semester. Their refreshment is shorter; there’s still work to be done.
This cycle, the basic building block of Georgetown’s educational process, has been ongoing for over 225 years, but each iteration seems uniquely fresh.