If the gods of the academic standing committee see fit to approve my numerous petitions, I will graduate, on time, this semester.
Before I pick up a brown paper bag, either to hyperventilate into or drink out of-I am not sure which yet, I’d like to share what I’ve learned at Mills.
Cognitive dissidence: What happens when one acts in a way contrary to their beliefs or the feeling of discomfort I get when I realize that I pay almost $20,000 a year for an education, but go out and drink, rather than study, every Wednesday night.
Immiserization: When a country’s economy tanks because of an over investment in cash crops whose market value has fallen or when you invest all of your time and energy into getting a job with one particular company and then, a week before graduation, it files for chapter 11. Immiserization makes everyone miserable.
Suboptimal outcomes: Occur when two people in a relationship think that winning is having the other be monogamous while they sleep around. But, because of mistrust, caused by the exposure of strategic vulnerabilities (i.e. “I hate it when people tell me I’m like my mother.”) the couple finds it impossible to communicate.
Free rider problem: This is when people who don’t pay for public good receive benefits from it or why smart women don’t show too much skin. Everyone enjoying the view will not pay for it with companionship, company or, at the very least, dinner.
Newspaper offices: These are places where time seems not to exist. Hours can be spent within their confines, and the paper will still not be error-free.
The Odyssey: Is the story of what was important in ancient times-family and friends. I’ve learned more about these people in college than almost anything else.
Scary statistics: One out of four men would rape a woman if they thought they could get away with it. Half of the single women between the ages of 18 and 35 are uninsured, most live below the poverty line and are forced into service industry jobs. Women are also more likely to contract HIV than our male counterparts.
Those facts make me not want to leave Mills. This is the safe place, where under the gentle guidance of faculty and staff and with the support of wonderful friends, I have grown intellectually and emotionally. Mills has prepared me for the real world-I am more than ready to take it on. But I will miss the academic community and people that I have grown to love here.
So, folks on the academic standing committee, it’s a scary world out there, but with your OK, I think I am ready to put what I’ve learned to use.
