"Harry, would you like to
continue the questioning," asked Carl of Dr. Stillwell, who was seated to
the left of Dr. Munster .
"Yes, thank you, Carl."
Then, turning to the student, Dr. Stillwell asked, "Mr. Park, as a
Pathologist, I’m always interested in the contribution of basic research to an
understanding of human disease. What relevance might your research project have
to the diagnosis, prognosis or management of human disease--for example,
neoplasia?"
The question was a fair one, even
an easy one, and there were a couple of fairly obvious answers to it. Carl
looked expectantly at Sung. Whether Sung Lee Park was still in a state of shock
from his prior embarrassment, whether he did not understand the question and
did not dare risk having it clarified, whether he was no longer willing to
commit himself on any issue, whether he had decided that all was lost and had
given up—whatever the reason, Sung glanced quickly toward Dr. Stillwell, looked
back up at the wall and mumbled in a low tone, "I don't know."
"Well then, why the hell
are you doing it," boomed Stillwell. Then, with a shrug, he muttered,
"I pass."
The exam was by this time clearly
an irredeemable disaster, but for some reason, all present felt compelled to
carry out the structure of the examination format like a mindless minuet. Or
perhaps no one knew what to do to prevent its inexorable progression. Like
machines, around the conference table, each professor asked his prepared
questions and, like a robot, swaying slightly back and forth, his arms crossed
over his chest, Sung responded either monosyllabically or else said, "I
don't know." Only once did he begin a sentence in response to one of the
questions, but then stopped in confusion and neither finished the sentence nor
offered any other answer or explanation.
Dr. Vanadian, when his turn came,
declined to question the hapless candidate. When the prescribed ordeal was
finished, Carl asked Sung to leave the room, scarcely looking at him as he
walked out. The examination had lasted just less than one hour.
The first to speak, after Sung was
out the door, was Dr. Davidson. "That was the worst exam I have ever
attended!"
Carl had been mortified by his
student's performance, and his chairman's pointed comment made it that much more
excruciating.
"The boy was obviously
suffering from panic," offered Vanadian, who spoke with an accent,
although his grammar and syntax were flawless.
"Nonetheless, he can't be
passed if he can't answer a few simple questions," put in Munster, with a
tone of sarcasm.
Carl did not feel like defending
his student and wouldn't have known how, had he been so inclined. He said,
"The issue we have to decide today is whether he should be failed outright
or be allowed to retake the examination."
"I really wonder if he is
Ph.D. material," mused Dr. Bock, echoing Carl's previously expressed fears.
"I've sometimes worried
about that, myself," agreed Carl.
"He's been here almost too
long to flunk him out just like that, without recourse," said Dr. Karesh.
"Would it be possible to
recommend that he pursue the Master's degree rather than the Ph.D.?" asked Vanadian.
"We could," said Carl,
then added, "It would take at least another year's work to tie up loose
ends and write the thesis."
"It would be only fair to give
him that option at least," said Karesh.
"Well, all right, how many are
in favor of giving Sung the option of pursuing a Master's degree?" asked
Carl.
Drs. Vanadian and Karesh raised
their hands.
"How many are in favor of
failing him outright?"
Dr. Munster raised his hand.
"Harry, do you wish to
vote?" Carl asked Dr. Stillwell.
"No," came the reply.
"Then I will tell him that he
has failed his Ph.D. comprehensives, but that he does have the option of
finishing a Master's degree if he chooses to," said Carl by way of summary
and conclusion.
With that, the august group rose
from their chairs around the conference table and recessed from the room: all silent, all engaged in private analyses
and justifications. Carl felt an especially heavy mental and emotional burden,
a major component of which was resentment against this student with whom he had
spent so much time, in whom he had invested so much effort, and who had
performed so poorly—who had, in fact, never seemed to understand the WHY of
anything.
________________
For the final installment of this story, click here.
________________
For the final installment of this story, click here.
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