AS WE COME to the end of classes for the semester, familiar rituals begin to take place. Students consume large quantities of caffeine. They send forwards complaining about or wishing good luck on final exams. People stop studying in the middle of the night to go outside and make deafening amounts of noise. Most of these rituals are as democratic as Mr. Jefferson could wish. Anyone with a couple of dollars can get a shot of espresso or sodas guaranteed to keep her up for a few more hours. The vast numbers of computers with email capabilities ensure that no one need go without learning the top ten ways to avoid studying for finals.
Unfortunately, a large portion of the University community is excluded from the traditional "primal scream." As dorms conduct the scream on an individual basis, residents of quiet dorms or off-Grounds housing do not take part in the rejuvenating practice. Professors and TAs, who have no less stress at this time of year than undergraduates, also suffer without the relief of banging pots together. Therefore, a primal scream should take place in Central Grounds during a class-changing period so all may participate.
Dorm-centered primal screams should still continue. They serve to unite residential communities, with whole suites and buildings trying to shout each other down or yelling at the guy who's still going five minutes after everyone else has gone back to work. However, strong housing communities tend to encourage students to feel more bonded to their co-residents than the University as a whole. After all, with everyone else around here also part of the University, introductions seldom need to include that information. So one starts identifying as a denizen of Rugby Road, or New Dorms, or Brown College, more than as a University student.
By engaging in a primal scream in the dining halls, or Bryan walkway, or the Lawn - wherever we may be at the appointed time - we reclaim our identities as members of the University. We'll be relieving our anxiety in the environs that have created it. As a side benefit, we get to give a little jolt to any visitors and prospective students who think the University is a quiet, conservative place.
Even more importantly, a primal scream in Central Grounds brings residents of quiet dorms and off-Grounds housing back into the University community. A student who was placed in Hereford her first year, then moved to an apartment on Brandon Ave., could graduate completely unaware of the existence of the primal scream. Students living in areas dedicated to the pursuit of peace and quiet, such as MGS, nonetheless should have an opportunity to be loud and obnoxious for a few minutes. We might be surprised by the lung capacities of residents of notoriously tranquil dorms.
Students are not the only people feeling pressure at the end of the semester. The makers and graders of exams are also part of the University. Allowing professors and TAs to participate in the primal scream would help eliminate the perception of finals as a wrong perpetrated by teachers against students. For a student to see his apparently despotic and heartless organic chemistry professor banging a desk reminds him that he too is a person - a person who has to deal with pleas for extensions, open-note tests, and better curves on grades from hordes of people who really, really want to go to medical school. By taking a moment to cry out together against the unjust gods of academe that have deemed final exams a necessity, professors, TAs and students all can reaffirm their common humanity and frustration.
Nearly any time in this next week would be appropriate for a University-wide primal scream. However, some time between classes in the morning on a Wednesday or Thursday might be best, to maximize the number of participants and minimize the likelihood of not hearing the scheduled time and place for the class review. This effort will increase school unity, decrease tension and make everyone feel better.
(Pallavi Guniganti's column appears Fridays in The Cavalier Daily.)
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