Quotations and Literature Forum

Morse Code for "I'm up the creek without a paddle." There was a statment made about all the BS one goes through during college. During the spring of 76 I was rooming with a Junior who was a pre-law major. During the afternoons after class we would sit in the dorm and talk about things. One day when I was complaining about how useless some of the courses seemed, my room mate went into a cynical dissertation that included an excerpt or quotation that he had once read (or heard). It went something like this:

"All that college is, is a very high wall of garbage that we must climb. When we begin our climb as Freshman we strive to cling to the wall as those above us are climbing higher. Those at the bottome get showered by all the dirty, smelly stuff that the ones above kick or pull loose as they are climbing. Some students get about half way up the wall and loose their footing or grip and slide all the way back to the bottom. Some will just give up and leave. Those of us who continue to climb find that the garbage stinks more toward the top. We see such things as coffee grinds, dead fish scraps, discarded tampons, and snot filled kleenex. We climb upward without a safety rope to hold us. Every now and then we look down and see all the people below us who are struggling and falling. When we reach the top of the wall we get a view of what is on the other side. There is medical school, law school, dental school, vet school and all sorts of other post graduate schools. These schools are surrounded by thick walls of garbage and one must burrow through the wall to reach the center. "

Jeez-that's quite a rant! The source may have been a recent graduate of Texas A&M University who went through the Corps (A&M was a big ROTC school in the 70s). Makes me glad I went to beauty college.

It reminds me, in tone, of a film from the 70s starring Elliot Gould about college administration BS and student revolts (or revolting students). I'm totally blanking on the title. The Gould character had several pithy speeches about "the American college system." My other guess was from the film "Paper Chase." Also, wonder if it could be from Hoffman or SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) literature of the day?

Thanks for volunteering a response and welcome to the forum. I will go back to see my buddy (who is now a lawyer) and ask him about that statement.

Best solution!
The Gould film was "Getting Straight", btw (w/Candice Bergen, too)