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University Days
"University politics are the most vicious politics of all—because the stakes are so low."-- Anonymous, sometimes falsely attributed to Henry Kissinger

October 11, 2002
I'm sure some of you have read James Thurber's1 essay "University Days", a reminiscence of his years attending Ohio State University in the early part of the twentieth century. Thurber humorously relates the difficulties his extreme myopia caused him when he tried to use a microscope in biology class, how he and his fellow students did everything possible to help the dim-witted star fullback stay academically eligible for the big game against Illinois, and how he accidentally was the only ROTC cadet who performed the correct maneuver during a parade. If Thurber and his classmates never achieved academic superstardom, at least their time in college seemed to have been beneficial. At least a college education back then never seemed to do anyone any lasting damage, given that most prof...