We are all familiar with the bell curve. Those taking statistics courses this semester have learned to draw it perfectly, even with their eyes closed. To many, it is a good friend in calculating solutions to various homework and examination problems.

But to most of us taking upper level courses, it is one of the most hated and feared aspects of academic life, short of involuntary withdrawal.

If you have ever written an A paper and still ended up with a C, then you may have experienced the destructive powers of the bell curve. Of course, you could just be an incredibly poor writer and not know it, but, for argument’s sake, I will pretend that such is not the case. So you have slaved away at your laptop for hours, but because some three or four people managed to write a better essay than you, you now have a C.

It hardly seems fair, yet many professors still use this technique.

Perhaps professors who utilize this approach to grading are trying to prepare their students for graduate school. Indeed, many graduate programs evaluate scholars by comparing them to their peers. This is especially true of any respectable medical, law and business schools, as well as of doctorate programs in mathematics and the natural sciences. Moreover, it is a popular argument that “in the real world,” college graduates will be thrust into an intensely competitive environment, where only those at the top of the bell curve will be given the best-paying jobs.

I, personally, disagree with the theory. Of all the organizations that I have worked, interned or volunteered for through the years, no company has evaluated its employees by peer comparison. It was a failed experiment at Enron (it goes without saying, among other things), and has no place in a healthy learning environment.

The bell curve grading method is turning the classroom into a stressful, hostile environment. Students are so worried about their precious grades that they completely refuse to cooperate with or help their friends and classmates. This is quite sad — especially in teamwork-oriented courses and those with hard-to-understand professors, where one’s peers may be one’s only hope of understanding the material.

Cheating, pill taking and perpetual lack of sleep have become the norm. In some cases, individuals have been driven to purposely sabotaging their fellow classmates’ grades in hopes of raising their own. After all, only by getting those coveted A’s will one have any chance of getting into the schools of one’s choice and making it “in the real world.”

Call me crazy, but I prefer a less hectic, more relaxed learning environment; one where effort and the love of learning are rewarded. I believe that the bell curve has no place in this kind of environment and that, if anything, it is harmful, not helpful. Oh, and everybody knows that sucking up is the only fail-proof way of getting a raise and/or a promotion.

Let’s turn the bell curve’s frown upside down and restore its reputation as that friendly squiggle that helped us get A’s on our statistics exams.

Polina Deryuga is a sophomore management major in the pre-law program. Unfortunately, she only specializes in treating Clingy Couple Syndrome. However, all you frustrated sex communists out there suffering from Lack Of Sex Syndrome can e-mail her at opinion@bupipedream.com and she will be more than happy to suggest a few phone numbers that may lead you to help.