the ethicist

Author: Amanda Greene

I'm always amazed by the transformation that Midd students undergo during exam time. The environmental activist who has no problem organizing a multi-state protest is suddenly thrown off her game by a ten-page research paper and a macrotheory exam. The athlete who never loses his cool during intercollegiate play is petrified of his Spanish 305 oral. What is it about exams that causes Middlebury students to forget what it is that got them here in the first place, and to abandon many of the social norms that, if followed, make exam period a much more enjoyable few weeks?

It's important to remember that exams are only tests. A bio exam won't get you into med school, and a lit essay is not going to make or break next year's Fulbright application. Midd-terms come and Midd-terms go, and what's left at the end of the exam cycle is your peer's recollections of how you handled the work that couldn't have gotten done even if there had been 72 hours in every day.

Exam week is not the time to abandon your sense of social propriety. Don't stop taking your friends' phone calls, don't skip meals and please don't "forget" to shower. You're not making a statement by wearing the same sweatpants and coffee-stained t-shirt for three days. We get that you're overwhelmed - so is the girl sleeping next to you at the library and the boy at the salad bar who has dropped the tongs three times in the past fifteen seconds. Take solace in the fact that we're all in this together, think about parents as a reminder of the bigger picture, and instead of scowling at your neighbor, why not smile? Fall break is next week!

And now for this week's question:



Q: I find that the best place to study is the carrels on the second floor of the library. The ability to have a desk, and a quiet area reserved for work is indispensable for my study habits. Yet I'm often reading and writing at the library when my neighbor has a visitor and a long, loud conversation. I feel, because I am in the library, that I am entitled to a quiet environment, yet I don't want to offend my peer by asking her to be quiet in a way that implies unfriendliness. After what duration of time can I ask my neighbor to shift his library rendezvous elsewhere?



A: Study areas in the library are designated as quiet spaces. As such, it is not unreasonable for a student to expect minimal noise in such areas. But a quiet study area is not an isolated place. People are bound to sneeze, or cough, an occasional cell phone will ring, and it's not unreasonable for students to say hello to one another, or to stop briefly to gossip, or discuss a project. That said, brevity is necessary. "Hellos" in the library should be short and sweet, and any significant tÍte-‡-tÍte demands the relocation to a non-quiet domain. If your neighbor's conversation exceeds a casual exchange, then you are entitled to politely request that she be quiet. Ask with a smile and a clean outfit, and you might even get a lunch date out of the situation.

Want to consult The Ethicist? Send submissions to amgreene@middlebury.edu.