The Paper Chase Discussion Questions

Chapter 1: In the first chapter Robbins introduces the students she followed along with the overachiever culture that has rearranged high schools only purpose into getting students into the most prestigious Colleges and Universities rather than the school that would be the best fit for each student.

(40) With this in mind, Lawrence B. Schlack uses his status effectively, by referring to high school graduates as a destructive force. “The go-to-college tsunami,” in other words, Schlack is trying to convey that students have this perception that they must attend college. And with that said, students place themselves into a situation they don’t know how to handle. Despite the shortage of credibility, Schlack makes up for it with the amount of pathos he provides in the

Zinsser addresses his argument using pathos, which plays on the reader’s emotions. Zinsser states, “Mainly I try to remind them that the road ahead is a long one and that it will have more unexpected turns than they think. There will be plenty of time to change jobs, change careers, change whole attitudes and approaches”. This states that the students should calm down and explore more for their lives in the future. Zinsser draws attention of the readers by starting with the notes that the students sent to their dean, Carlos Hortas, showing the anxieties of the students trying to figure out their uncertain future; this allows the readers to show sympathy and concern towards the students as they relate to their feelings of pressure. For example, Zinsser recalls a story that the dean told him about the typical questions he would receive from students in the 1960’s. The questions were about why the world was suffering and how they would contribute to improve it. The typical questions from students nowadays are about what major they should be in or what class they should take in order to get into either law school or medical

Then the time finally came for her to leave England, she made the decision to continue with her education at Yale law school. This move to a different culture and away from Jones was one that sent her spiraling. The voices, evil thoughts, and hallucinations became worse than ever before. Once she arrived at Yale trouble was already knocking at her doorstep, it was there that she had her first psychotic break in front of other people. She began too say wild things while studying with two of her classmates in the library, “let’s all go out on the roof. It’s OK. It’s safe.” (136) This behavior was enough to scare her classmates out of associating with her.

Maya Angelou once said, “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive….” The idea that “survival is insufficient” is portrayed through the actions of the characters of “Station Eleven” as well as the journey of the college student and my own. In the book, many characters will go through major life changes and conflicts that will help them develop their reason for surviving. In college, students will learn that to survive life, they must not have only go to college to survive but also to find their purpose as well. I, as a person, must find the reason why college is so important to me and why I’m so determined to get a degree. Why am I so college bound? Although each will face different obstacles in their own time, all must realize that surviving isn’t the purpose of life but happiness.

Vance never realized he was “different” until he moved to New Haven, Connecticut and attended Yale. Stating, “I am a tall, white, straight male. I have never felt out of place in my entire life. But I did at Yale” (chapter 12). He expressed he was never told or taught what to wear to a Job interview and didn’t know what was considered appropriate or not. At a dinner party when asked if he wanted tap or sparkling water, he didn’t know the difference and insistently spit the sparkling water back into the cup. He called his girlfriend to ask about the placement of the silverware and why there was so many. For many of us, we were not born into this lifestyle either but Yale opened that door for him.

Scene one occurs in Swarthmore College, a private college located in Pennsylvania. The main protagonist Elliot is wearing a subway uniform. It seems that Elliot does not care about how others view him, or else he would’ve dressed up when going to an expensive college. Elliot seems anxious and is having second thoughts whether to stay and wait for Professor Aman or Leave and go to work. He brings up that, his “shift starts in fifteen”(14). Even though he works at Subway, he prefers being on time than staying and finding the translation of the phrase. When Professor Aman started asking Elliot about his past, Elliot seems very annoyed when answering the questions. When Professor Aman wanted to get into details, Elliot pushed him off by saying “I did enough Q&As about the service”(18). Although Professor Aman was steeping over his boundary in asking Elliot about his time in the marine, Elliot should have responded in a nicer way since the Professor was going to do a favor for Elliot. Professor was trying to dig deeper into Elliot’s time in the marine, in order to give him an offer. He offered him a position in a movie, but Elliot pushes it off. “If I have a minute, I’ll dial the digits”(18).

When asked about her time so far at UM she stated, “I don’t like it here. I just don’t like school and I think the people here are too different then back home.” Further expressing a concern that she feels very isolated while at UM, a contribution to Sarah’s poor grades may derive from the fact that she was too preoccupied with adjusting to an environment that is so new to her that it is a shock. The oddity of Sarah’s comment though is that she has already built strong relationships with many people at the university, including her roommate. Sarah states her roommate is most influential in making her feel as if she is not alone as she is always there to talk to and comfort her. This scenario is not uncommon among many college students, but it is especially prevalent among first generation college students because of the strong ties to family that are often seen with these type of students.

Anna Quindlen strongly urges the graduates to not follow after the worldly standards and desires of being “perfect,” but rather to be whom they truly are. Quindlen points out that each graduate is different from any other person in the entire world and she calls them to live that out as opposed to following the popular opinion. She uses reasoning from past experiences to encourage the graduates to not only stop following the beaten path but to also teach their future kids the same thing in order to impact the next generation.

If Liz Murray's considerably difficult life was caused by an epidemic failure of standard institutions, then her amazing recovery is also caused by an institutional support system that she was able to take advantage of. The paradoxical nature of Murray's existence is detailed in sharp, vivid focus in her autobiographical accounting, Breaking Night. The author was able to surmount the failure of her family, of social institutions, and of the education system by resuming her faith, and her efforts, in education to eventually graduate from Harvard in a tradition of success that is as undeniably American as it is triumphant. However, it is highly interesting to note the role that institutions played in Murray's tale, which ends with a moral that suggests conventional American institutions are only as good as one decides to make them.

“College Should Be An Adventure”, Roush’s work in this piece seemed to promote motivation to persevere and enjoy life, all while getting to a goal. A key quote from the piece, “Prepare not for your first job but for your last job.” promotes the same ideology of perseverance and meeting goals as needed.

Formed at Indiana University in Bloomington in 1996, Straight No Chaser has become one of the biggest selling professional Acappella groups of the 21st century. Beginning their career in 1967, the group’s first debut was at a 36-hour dance where they performed at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, Comiskey Park and Navy Pier. The original group managed to stay together from 1996 to 1999 when new students were selected to substitute the graduated members and continued to exist as a collegiate group. The collegiate group continued to exist under the name Straight No Chaser until April 2012 where they changed their name to Another Round. In April 2006 the Acapella group posted their 1998 video recording of "The 12 Days of Christmas" on

The primary inquiry question for this study was, “What can studies of pornography, prostitutes, and seedy truck stops contribute to society?” Within addressing these questions, many secondary questions arose, including: “How do networks of people –in particular, long-haul truck drivers- work together to accelerate the spread of an epidemic, even when some of them don’t know one another?” Other questions that arose were: “What is the scientific value of delving into the forbidden?”

The speech is made by an American writer and universe professor, George Saunders. In his speech he talks about how we have become so unkind and that we are aware of this situation, but it’s not always enough. He tries to convince the graduates to include kindness in their journey to success, because it will bring the far in life. The commencement speaker tries to persuade the graduates to take action, instead of restraining from any problems. He uses relatable examples of his life, to make the George Saunders seem reliable and trustworthy, by making it relating for the graduates. Being a professor, you are automatically granted reliability, but even more because he is an adult and have been through it

While the 400 plus students were getting disciplined in the dean’s off Jack Weinberg, got arrested for sitting behind the CORE table by campus police, after he refused to give his name or show his id, even though he didn’t even go to the school anymore. (Freeman, Jo) Since he had a long record before this arrest with civil rights movements the spring before the FSM movement, he had more experience with the law he was more likely to do something dramatic for the cause he was fighting for. (Freeman, Jo) When the police were called he went limp and