GWR

I’ve been waiting for over a day for the berlios.de svn repository to let me commit a patch to fluxbox. It appears I’ll be waiting for quite a while longer, so I guess I’ll take some time to write a blog entry.

On Wednesday evening, I took the WPE. In case my use of acronyms doesn’t properly label it as a waste of time, let me explain what this is. Fulfilling the Graduation Writing Requirement (yes, one of those) (GWR) is required in order to receive any Bachelor’s or Master’s degree at Cal Poly. The Writing Proficiency Exam (WPE) is a 2 hour exam where they stuff 200 people into a room with 150 seats, ask everybody to write a 500 word essay, and then eventually grade them and tell you whether or not you passed. This is the only way to fulfill the requirement without taking an English course (where you would be expected to do the same thing, only with fewer people in the room).

In case this doesn’t sound like a bureaucratic mess, allow me to describe the process for signing up to take the WPE. The flyer on the bulletin board outside my office says, “Complete a WPE Space Reservation Form at the Cashier’s Office in the Administration Building.” Naturally, I walked up the hill to the Admin building to fill out the form. I looked around and didn’t see any, so I talked to the cashier. She informed me that I needed to go back down the hill to building 10 in order to get the form. So, I did that. The “form” turns out to be a sheet of paper with instructions for the test and, notably, no spaces where a person might fill in personal information. A little confused, I took the “form” back up the hill to the Admin building. I was then allowed to pay the cashier the small fee of $25 (this is probably to cover the costs of 10 sheets of lined paper, one photocopy of the essay question, an envelope, and a stamp). She stapled my receipt to the “form” and told me to bring it with me to the exam.

It certainly wasn’t the greatest essay I’ve ever written, but I think it should be sufficient. Anyway, I’m glad it’s over.

Curse you, berlios.

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