A Bushel and a Peek

No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it . . . under a light, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light. St. Luke, Chapter 11, Verse 33

It is not Fogg Large Room's peeling pink walls which attract the examgoer's attention, nor the tightly packed seats with their writing boards tilted at odd angles by long usage. It is the queer lighting arrangement, consisting of ceiling lamps with low wattage bulbs encased in cardboard sheaths.

The architect obviously wanted to construct a room for exhibitions, a purpose requiring a well-lit stage and just enough foot-candles scattered around the remaining area to permit a little note-taking. This is all very well for a fine arts course.

But it is not so good for those who must grind out three hours worth of knowledge because the light, inadequate to begin with, creates shadows that make it impossible to see what one is writing. Adding to the difficulty is the lit-up stage which forces the examgoer to squint every time he looks up.

Ideally, an examination tests not only knowledge, but the ability to organize the necessary facts and put them on paper; this is the logic of the time limit. This logic becomes less ironclad, however, when examgoers are forced to waste time and energy battling the eye-strain produced by Fogg's semi-darkness.

The best solution would be to stop giving exams in the Fogg Large Room; however, this may be impossible due to the lack of large auditoriums around the University. But at least the administration could remove the cardboard bushels and add a little more candle-power during exam period.