In my junior year of college, I switched my major from Biochemistry to Government. [Harvard uses the term “Government” rather than “Political Science”.] My original plan was to work for a liberal, anti-war politician in Washington D.C. following college graduation. However, later that year, the federal government got rid of most methods to avoid being drafted into the army, unless one attended medical school. I convinced myself to attend medical school immediately following college.
I would have gotten an “A” in a college government course according to my professor, but was instead given a “pass” because that was my choice at the beginning of the senior semester. I did not appreciate that I was less interested in science (my future) and more interested in government (my major).
At the beginning of my college senior year I had to decide whether to write a Government thesis. I had decided to write one only if I truly cared and believed in it, since it would not affect my admission to a medical school. Only a few hours before the deadline, as I walked along the river, I suddenly decided to write a thesis. It was before the deadline at 5:00 p.m., and I ran to the office to announce my decision.
I wrote the thesis because, then and now, I cared deeply about the 1968 presidential election. My thesis involved whether favoring or opposing the War in Vietnam affected the presidential vote. I had supported the efforts by the United States to get out of the Vietnam War. The final presidential election was between Humphrey and Nixon. To write the exam, among other things, …
I read lots of newspapers and magazines about the election
I learned about the mathematical numbers relating to voting numbers
I traveled to Washington DC and interviewed some of the individuals who were politically involved in the election
My conclusion was that peoples’ feelings about the war did not affect their vote for either Humphrey or Nixon. It was not clear that Humphrey was against the war in Vietnam.
I wrote it intensely, and it was over 100 pages. Back then, there were no computers: just typewriters. I typed my thesis in the morning, afternoon, and evening for an entire week. I attended my classes and ate meals, but otherwise typed all day and evening. You could not easily make changes on a printed page, so if errors were made, pages had to be re-typed. I think I had to retype about 40 pages.
The thesis was so important to me for many reasons, including my realization that politicians were not making a crucial public decision about the most important event for our country. I concluded that I would be more helpful as a doctor than as a politically active person.
I got this done on time, and eventually graduated with high honors from college, not because of my grades, but because of the paper, which was very well received by the Government Department.
