Finals...

Well, here we are. Those two weeks of the semester that everyone dreads - finals period. An ominous quiet falls over Vassar, as all the students seem to disappear and the campus becomes suddenly silent and completely still. Everyone packs into the Thompson Memorial Library, parking themselves at a computer, furiously trying to complete that last bit of research, read that one last chapter, write that one last paragraph. Vassar students are nothing if not studious, and nothing proves that more than the energy and vigor that everyone puts into their final exams and papers.

As for me, I'm juggling five different exams and term papers in the next couple weeks. Right now, I'm sitting in the Class of 1951 Reading Room of the Library (one of my favorite rooms because of its arched, imposing mahogany ceiling). My project for today is to make some headway on papers for each of my Political Science courses. For one class, "Congress," I'm writing about the ways in which the personal experiences and values of Pennsylvania Senators Arlen Spector and Rick Santorum have influenced their past decisions on roll call votes. For the other class, "Law, Justice and Politics," I'm writing about the shift from institutional to modern racism in sentencing decisions in the criminal justice process.

So I still have a lot of work ahead of me :( The good news is that yesterday, I handed in my enormous term paper for my Revolutionary America, 1750-1830 history course. That class - with Professor James Merrell - is definitely one of the best I've taken at Vassar, but it's also one of the most difficult. I spent hours and hours in the Library trying to find original diaries from the wives of congressmen between 1800 and 1820 in Washington D.C. Narrow topic, much? Oh yes. But it was so rewarding to finally hand in that paper, which I had been working on for months.

Clearly, final exam period can get really stressful. Thankfully, though, the atmosphere is not competitive, and once its over, everyone goes back to being normal and stress-free just in time for summer!