Fahrenheit 1600 (Victor Kozol) Read Free Page B

rather weak
statement of intent with a rundown of Victor’s even weaker grades the past
semester.
    “Victor, aptitude and potential are wonderful
things, but they have to translate into results. Did you know that sixty
percent of pre-med freshman end up doing something else?”
    Victor, not quite sure if this was a rhetorical
question, just nodded his head in acknowledgement.
    “Victor, the fact of the matter is that we have a
limited number of seats available in this department for pre-med. It’s a
competitive major. A lot of young people want to become doctors.”
    Again Victor nodded, feeling increasingly ill at
ease with the direction this talk was taking.
    “Look, I can’t justify allowing you to stay in the
program with these grades. I’m going to have to put you on academic probation
for next semester. Everything that is C has to come up to B, but the real
problem is the D’s and F’s. They have to come up to a C; and remember, no
medical college is going to look at you with a C average. You’ll have to have
at least a B average by your senior year.”
    “Okay.” Victor managed to say in a tone that was
much more optimistic than he felt. “I understand, Dr. Grant. I know I can do it
if I just focus.”
    “Yes, I’m sure you can,” said Dr. Grant, grateful to
have reached the end of the conversation.
    He would be able to write in his file that a warning
had been issued. Along with the letter Victor had already been sent, the
inevitable end of the young man’s pre-med aspirations was no longer his
concern.
    Victor left the handsome 19 th century
brick townhouse which housed the biology administration, with its high ceilings
and ornate moldings, the legacy of the town’s great coal barons, feeling oddly
relieved. Deep down he knew his current entertainment enterprise was at odds
with any chance of making it to medical school. Now that the prospect of
leaving the program was placed before him, he realized that he didn’t even
mind. Who wanted to be a doctor anyway? They worked crazy hours and were
confronted by the sick and dying. His father’s business seemed downright
pleasant in comparison. At least those people were dead, not gasping physical
wrecks looking at him to halt the inevitable. Perhaps he could become an
accountant or school teacher. The course work would be easier and the job much
more pleasant. By the time he reached his door, Victor was riding a new wave of
optimism.
    You’re only young once, and if you waste it now
you can’t come back later and retrieve these days of freedom and glory, he
mused to himself.
    And so Victor’s second semester at Wilkes wasn’t
really any better than the first. For one thing, he was forced to space out his
parties so as not to run afoul of Sophie’s narrowing tolerance. There was
always the nagging thought that maybe he should turn over a new leaf and
actually spend a couple hours some nights studying. But Victor fundamentally
lacked the ability to sacrifice for long term goals. Clever as he was, he was a
‘carpe diem’ sort of guy. Vic could lose himself in many ways. There was
television, listening to music, phone calls, a little pot, and yes dates with
some of the girls. Time passes quickly when you are having fun. Just as the
weather was breaking with sunny days and new life all around outside, Victor
had to face the end of the second semester. He still had no idea what he was
going to do with his life, but it seems others did.
    Dr. Grant, in an even shorter meeting than the last
time, told Victor matter-of-factly that he was out of biology and pre-med. He
could switch to another major, Dr. Grant suggested sociology or psychology, and
reapply to the program if his grade improved. In this scenario, Victor would be
unlikely to graduate within four years, but that wasn’t a problem for the
school.
    When Victor saw his father’s car out front to pick
him up for Easter break, he mentally reviewed how he would sell his change of
heart about going to