"I do think that most people go through periods of `burnout' or of simply wishing to escape from other people's expectations for a while," says Marlyn McGrath Lewis '70, director of admissions for Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges.

Lewis says she recognizes that the kings and queens of extracurriculars in high school may demote themselves in college.

So while John E. Dough '02 may be accepted to Harvard after his moist deluxe walnut brownies win the Betty Crocker Bake-Off three years in a row, the admissions process realizes that Dough may get fed up with his baking sheets once on campus.

"No admissions decision rests on one exceptional talent because we need to be certain there are a variety [of] ways a student might contribute," Lewis said.

If the weight of a thick envelope in April manages to crush any semblance of extracurricular prowess, Epps says a support network of "kindred spirits" does exist within Yard gates.

"Slackers don't want [the Faculty] to see them sweat, and so they avoid contact with us at all," Epps says. "They'd be surprised to find that we have ways to avoid work too."

Ultimately, most University officials cling to the hope that students will snap out of their slacker spells.

"Most people who have loved something well enough to do it very well find other things to love," Lewis says.

Sleep, perhaps?

Slacker Central

Despite their reputation, slackers are not always easily accessible. One undergraduate slacker, who agreed only to be identified as Lays E. Bones '99, rescheduled her Crimson "confessions" interview three separate times.

"I am a lazy, lazy girl who woke up at 1:53 [p.m.] very hungover. I set both of my alarm clocks for 11 [a.m.] so I don't know how this happened," Bones writes in an e-mail to a stood-up reporter.

But once any signs of late night jaunts to the Grille clear up, Bones provides more than enough insight into the life of a slacker:

* Bones on grade inflation: "They don't want you to do that badly," Bones says, explaining she doesn't fear reprisal for her lax study habits.

* Bones on time management: "I spent more hours at the Grille last year than in class."