Damon consulted Coles when he was considering leaving Harvard for Hollywood. The professor's advice?

"Harvard College isn't the only place in the world," Coles told the actor.

'Meditative Moment'

For students who love Gen Ed 105, loyalty to the class inspires extra effort.

Ozug, for example, took the class for credit last fall, but continues to attend lecture this semester--frequently hearing the same anecdotes for the second year in a row.

"It reminds me of a lot of things," he says. "It's still a good reminder, even if I'm not officially enrolled."

Colgan has had a similar experience. Unable to fit the class into her schedule during her first year, she began attending lectures anyway at the advice of her proctor.

"When I first came, I remember my proctor telling me, if you don't go to Gen. Ed 105 first semester, you're going to leave this place," she recalls.

She continued attending lectures her sophomore year and took the class for credit the next year. Now a senior, Colgan still attends the 10 a.m. course regularly.

"The lectures are different every year. Coles doesn't bring in notes--there's always something new," she says. "And more importantly, I'm always different. Each year something different resonates with me."

"It's almost like this meditative moment of grace for me," she added.

And she just can't seem to give it up. A paper Colgan wrote last year for the course might lead to a possible career path. She's taking next year off to expand the idea, which she describes as "very autobiographical," into a full-length novel.

It is not unusual for students to go beyond the call of duty for written assignments for the course.

Briones' final paper was supposed to be 10-15 pages, but ballooned into a 40-page exploration of his relationship with his best friend during high school.

"I bound it, and right after the class was over, I forwarded it to six of my friends," he says. "They have it to this day."