. . . . . One of our most successful graduate students---as both a researcher and a TA (he is an Instructor
at Princeton University and he won the Math Dept TA award in 1999)--- expressed his opinion that
every undergraduate should read the following unsolicited message sent to me by a former student.

The message, which is about the course I gave in Fall 1995 (with similar aspirations as I hold now),
made my day, my year, .... Receiving it was a great joy, as I hope the reader can understand.

--------------------

From __________ Tue Jun 20 17:47:29 2000
To: zucker@math.jhu.edu
Subject: individualism

Dr. Zucker,

A few months short of 5 years ago I sat in your Calculus II for engineers class as a
[first semester] freshman. Literally, it seems as though it was yesterday. I remember in
great detail the first few weeks of that course. I remember you confidently challenging
anyone's contention that the academic institution carried a responsibility to teach the
material to the student. I also remember this upset many students.

I followed this idea religiously throughout my undergraduate studies. It took me the
entire 4 years to truly understand, appreciate, and follow it. The ability, that is, to
free oneself from the mental slavery of any academic institution as a means for learning.
The institution, of course, has a profound importance. However, I believe your course
helped me realize that I had the roles reversed. The institution ceased to be an entity
that I passed through. Rather, it passed through me during my four years.

This last year I successfully completed my first year at law school. I was fortunate to
have been hired as a prestigious first year "Summer Associate" for a well-known law firm
in Los Angeles. After the first few weeks, this philosophy was reflected in everything
I did. Any client that has a specific technology that needs a legal analysis: "ask __________."
Anything you can't figure out: "he will get it in a heartbeat." I have a large number
of PhD level books on my shelf, on topics from DSP to fiber optics-- that I have the
confidence and ability to pick up and understand.

What I'm simply trying to say Dr. Zucker, is thank you.

Sincerely,

__________
JHU Class of 99
Juris Doctor candidate 2002

----------------------------

By the way, his grade in Calculus II was B+.

The first paragraph of the above letter refers to my one and only attempt to give a major
academic orientation show in my own course. That has obvious drawbacks. It was both
forceful and trying, and it risked alienating a large part of the class. I decided to accept the risk.

To me, the distinction involved in his treatment of the words "passed through" (at the end of the
second paragraph) is very powerful, and right on the mark. A student passing through the university
evokes an image of bumping into the furniture and meeting people at a casual level; the university
passing through the student suggests a rich atmosphere being absorbed by the student.

For another student's reaction to the show and the course that semester, see Letter from T.Y.