Author: William Cain
 |
| Cover of Dead Man on Campus MTV films, 1998 |
An urban myth, or urban
legend, is an inaccurate story that is known by a wide spectrum of the
population. “One tell-tale sign
of an urban myth is that everyone seems to know someone who knows someone who
had the experience in question, but no one has any verifiable proof” (Rockler-Gladen).
A popular example of an urban legend, which is thought to have originated at
Vanderbilt University, is known as the “Legend of the 4.0.” The legend states
that if a student’s roommate dies, then they will receive straight A’s for the
academic semester. In 1998, the movie Dead
Man on Campus made this a popular tale for college campuses all over the
United States.
However, with this urban legend, and the same with
countless others, there is more than one version known. If you hear this legend
on more than one college campus, the odds that they will be different is high. Some
variations include an accidental death and death from a disease such as cancer
or AIDS. Other variations include less than a 4.0 average for the semester,
death of someone close to the student other than the roommate, like a family
member, or the occurrence of the death while the student is in the same room.
In 1997, a graduate from Vanderbilt University in
Nashville, named Charlie Kovas, recalls of the tragic event when the student,
who was on the football team, fell out of his dorm room window to his death
below after an agonizing fight with his girlfriend.
"People said, 'Oh, that's
awful,' " Kovas said. "Then they said, 'I wonder if his roommate will get straight A's?' We
heard that the girlfriend got all A's, and I can tell you with certainty that people
believed it" (Vigoda).
The
example of the football student falling from his window and a couple others
make people believe that the “Legend of the 4.0” actually does exist. One
semester when a young man at Alfred University in New York hung himself in the
bedrooms, a mother of one of the five other roommates called the school and
thought her son was eligible to receive a 4.0 for bereavement.
While it is believed that some schools will offer
consideration and time to grieve for students who come in contact with these
situations, there is no evidence that supports the “Legend of the 4.0” or that
states any university has a policy regarding it. There is no college that is
believed to give good grades to students for the death of a roommate or someone
close to them.
Works Cited:
Rockler-Gladen, Naomi. "Urban Legends about College
Life." Suite 101. N.p., 2 Nov. 2008. Web. 10 Oct. 2012.
<http://suite101.com/article/urban-myths-about-college-life-a75863>.
Vigoda, Ralph. "A College Myth Dies Hard/ Dead
Roommate = A's? Only in Hollywood." Philly.com. Philedelphia
Inquirer, 20 Sept. 1998. Web. 17 Oct. 2012.
Dead Man on Campus. 1998. Photograph. Dead
Man on Campus. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Web. 18 Oct. 2012.
Links for Further Research:
Vanderbilt.edu – This website gives information that leads to thoughts of
the legend being formed at Vanderbilt University.
Akorra.com –
This website shows the top 20 urban legends and gives some background
information on some of the variations that come about with the “Legend of the
4.0.”
Snopes.com –
Snopes.com is a website that gives information on many urban legends. It
highlights a good many variations of the legend.
No comments:
Post a Comment