“Maybe you all should just learn faster,” said one professor.
Photo by Dylan Schmidt
Recently, UC San Diego’s One Midterm Only movement, took to Library Walk to protest the “egregious” middle-of-the-term examinations. “Even two is too many… No, even one is one two [sic] many!” exclaimed Rio T. Rev, the leader of the student-led movement, in the middle of Library Walk. According to Rev, the students initially wanted to make Geisel Library their base, but it closed before they could get in.
Undergraduate protesters spanned the length of Library Walk with signs iterating their demands. One sign read: “I don’t know calculus, but I know that nothing can have two middles,” with a drawing of a calendar being torn into pieces. Another sign, directed to TAs, read, “Come on, you don’t want to grade this many tests,” with a stock image of a student being chained to a table. Some students
set up booths on the side of Library Walk dubbed “Post-Test So Done” (PTSD), where people could discuss their midterm experiences with a support groups of their peers.
First-year Human Biology major, Jake Testz, shared his reasons for protesting, “Well, for my CHEM 6C class, we have three ‘quizzes’ and two ‘midterms.’ Oh, and of course — one final. But the thing is: the ‘quizzes’ and ‘midterms’ weigh the same in the final GPA and they literally look the same as well. So, we essentially have five midterms. That’s like one every two weeks!”
Emma Chit, another Human Biology major, added that her BILD 4 course only had one midterm, but the practice exams the professor provided “belong to a different species than the actual test.” According to her, “Nothing was the same, and nothing will ever be the same — because my grade dropped so hard I’m never getting up again. And this was my first winter quarter.”
Rev delivered a speech to students gathered in front of Geisel Library, proclaiming, “I’ve had an epiphany! Midterms are much like speed dating.” He then paused for applause, but was met with silence. He elaborated, saying, “See, every two to three weeks, you quickly get a superficial understanding of a new unit and then you’ll quickly know whether you guys can work it out or not. Usually, the two of you break up, but only you fail. Depressed and stressed, you move onto the next unit, already feeling defeated. Then, before you notice, the next midterm is already here, and the next one, and then the next one, and so on … We have to stop this tyranny on students’ mental health! One midterm only!” The speech was met with scattered applause from passersby.
The student protesters revealed they plan to stay on Library Walk until the end of the fifth midterm season this quarter. According to Rev, “There are only four seasons in a year, but UCSD students endure much more than those at UC Berkeley, who operate by semesters.” Rev added that the students will be going on hunger and sleep strikes: “Because it’s not like we don’t already live like this with the overabundance of midterms.”
Rev concluded his speech stating: “The One Midterm Only movement will be to students what UAW 4811 is to workers. All protesters’ voices should be valued and remembered.”
