Yet Lowell House Senior Tutor Christopher Jedry asserts that despite an increase in students with academic or emotional problems, this Reading Period seems milder than some. "There seems to be less tension in the dining hall," he says. "Usually, it's very jangly, a lot of nervous laughter, that sort of thing. But there are certainly more people coming in than the rest of the term--ours is a very seasonal business."

Some advisors note that Reading Period blues are often accompanied by physical ailments. "There's a lot of illness and some nervous behavior." Jones says, "Freshmen find reading period intimidating, especially because of its length--it makes you think you're really supposed to do a lot in two weeks." She pauses a moment, then adds. "They're testing it out--they just want to know they're going to do O.K."

The tense atmosphere of Reading Period stimulates a lot of conversation about "Why I do and don't want to be in school," says Jedrey it is during this time that a lot of students start thinking seriously about taking leaves of absence

Students aren't the only ones affected by the tense atmosphere of Reading Period. s Although exams come and go, twinges of exam anxiety can apparently recur indefinitely

"I have my own Reading Period anxieties," confesses Thomas A. Dingman '67, assistant dean of the College and Leverett House senior tutor. "I always begin to dream about being unprepared for an exam. I wake up in a cold sweat. And I haven't been a student for a number of years--I graduated in '67"

Catlin notes that students are encouraged to come to UHS and talk about their anxieties. "We like to stress that you don't have to be sick to come and talk about these concerns," he says. There should be no stigma attached 'O a-need to talk about exam anxieties. "It's an important part of the college experience, to learn to deal with anxiety," he says. After all--"all life will be filled with anxiety."

'Sometimes, something is presented as an exam problem, and [the exam] turns out to be the tip of the iceberg. It could be career anxieties, emotional problems, problems with their family or roommates.' Dr. Randolph Catlin