As we enter the post-midterm haze, I think it is imperative to begin to have a conversation about the stress that is put students on students to excel on all these exams, essays, projects, etc. that come with the time of year, in addition to the (seeming) joy that some professors seem to have in seeing students panic.

Like most Hamilton students, I like to study with my friends — even if it usually winds up as a session of sharing memes and songs at full volume while “reading” or “taking notes.” However, more frequently as of late, these places have become an impromptu counseling center. Three of my friends have been moved to tears in the past three weeks, seeking solace in the arms of fellow students in the aftermath of midterms. The most common phrase, uttered between sobs?

“I’m so fucking stupid.”

It goes without saying that Hamilton is not an easy school to get into. We, as Hamilton students, have consistently expected the best from ourselves, in all of our pursuits, be it academic, athletic, or extra-curricular. But we continue to attribute our personal worth to academic success, a practice that is heightened in times of stress.

Why does this reality exist, especially when there is an inconsistency between the words of the professors and the work put out by the students?

Several times, friends of mine have mentioned that the comments they receive in class or during office hours are contradictory to the comments they receive on their work. Another frequent complaint is the idea of grading students harder when the class is doing well. In the wake of high grades across the board, some professors will, by their own accord or the demand of the department, start to make assessments harder or grade with a more critical eye.

I know that I have felt frustration in my classes during my time here on the Hill. I have had professors insinuate that I was doing good work during office hours yet when I receive assignments back, the grade falls short of both what the professor said and of my own expectations. Some classes assign four hours of homework for every hour of class, and if every class did that (and it often feels like they do), that averages out to 60 hours of classwork per week, not to mention clubs, sports, eating, or sleeping, which are now apparently optional in the realm of the professors.

It can be hard to find a steady approach to take to our schoolwork when the form midterms take varies widely. Some are papers, some are sit down exams, and yet others are presentations or other performances. Different types of work require different levels of preparation and execution. Furthermore, different classes assign different weight to your performance on the midterm, which can seem to incentivize putting in extra work in classes where the midterm counts for more than it does in others. The result is a system where we are not able to focus on what we are most interested in and are instead bogged down by trying to figure out how to succeed in a wide variety of ways in different classes.

I want to be a professor, but I am worried that my experiences in undergraduate — and graduate — school are going to change how I view teaching. I worry that the pressures of being a professor are going to override the pressures of being a student.

How can I honestly say that my dream of being a college professor is making the world a better place if, by the time I get there, I am forced to replicate the practices that made me miserable when I was an undergrad? What am I supposed to do when the pressure of trying to keep my job results in me having to become the presence in some student’s life that causes so many problems?

We have a campus full of people who identify their own worth through their academic success and then turn towards bartering with their own mental health to finish a paper so they do not get a “bad” grade. Something has to change on this campus because, right now, it is students’ lives, well being, and physical safety that is being compromised.

With that being said, I can only hope that there will be some proposals for amending the stressful nature of this time in the future. For the health of students — and professors — it is sorely needed.