Part of getting credit for an internship involves writing a paper at the end of the semester. But lo! I was already supposed to be writing a paper, so I thought I would submit the scientific paper I would already be writing as the completion paper for the internship “class.” When graduation rolled around and I hadn’t completed the paper, I knew I was in trouble. My advisor gave me an Incomplete instead of an F, allowing me extra time to finish writing. However, that “I” managed to initiate more problems than any single letter should be permitted to cause.

Graduation from UMBC starts a discrete process rather than an ongoing one. When I applied, they took a “snapshot” of my current standings (all classes complete except for one) and asked, “Does this meet the requirements?” No, because one class is incomplete. This immediately disqualifies me for spring graduation, which means my next “chance” was August. I wasn’t finished by that deadline either (only a few weeks later).

Friday I received word (O! Wondrous news!) that my advisor had accepted my current progress on my paper as sufficient and submitted the form requesting that my grade be changed from an I to a P. As of today, Wednesday, it still hasn’t been changed. Every day this doesn’t get changed is another day delaying my medical school applications, unless I want to send med schools a transcript with an Incomplete on it.

As far as actually getting my degree, that status is essentially irrelevant due to a penury of graduation “checkpoints.” My next opportunity to graduate is now at the close of the fall semester, even though I will have had my requirements completed for months. At this point, I’m just hoping I can get them to put “May 2009″ on my degree anyway.

It is my opinion that adult films are a perfectly legal form of entertainment, so if a group of students want to have a showing in a theater that is paid for by student funds, I think they have that right. Additionally, students who disagree have the right to protest such a showing.

The state legislature, however, has no power to limit constitutionally granted civil liberties, like free speech. Trying to force colleges to comply with their demands by threatening to pull all funding (a move that would effectively shut down an institution) is both disproportionate and ridiculous.

A constructive approach, and what I would like to see happen at UMBC, is an open discussion about adult films preceding the showing of the movie. That way students could express themselves and possibly learn something new. That’s what college is all about.