Welcome to the Good Place

**If you want to watch the show The Good Place, do not read this blog post as there are spoilers throughout the post.**

We have been watching The Good Place on Netflix and have realized that you really don’t need to die to experience the phenomenon in this show, it is all around us.  Everyone has heard the saying that college is the best 4 years of your life.  Let’s just say that we don’t agree with this statement. The person that came up with college is the best four years of your life was not trying to get through an accelerated medical program while managing multiple disabilities.

When you tour a college and look at a school they talk about the opportunities found on campus. There are many degrees, beautiful buildings, and organizations for students to engage in and become well rounded leaders. Similarly, the brochure is diverse and always shows students studying on a sunny lawn. I have never once seen a student studying on the lawn at this school (I have seen people sleeping, and watching Netflix, but never studying). Similarly, the website talks about all the wonderful accommodations that are available for students with disabilities. The reality is that there is one person in the disability office, there is no wheelchair accessible single room, and even if there was a wheelchair accessible single that student would not be able to get to any of the classrooms. That is NOWHERE on the school’s website. They show images of students smiling in while having a discussion with a professor who is smiling next to them.  It’s not all smiles when you are called in to a professor’s office to talk about your grades, or what was wrong with your paper.  More often than not, when a student is called to talk to a professor they are terrified. Also, the dining hall food looks amazing online, and during the tours you think it is amazing.  In reality, we are eating the same 3 mediocre meals, and let me tell you it gets old really fast.

The campus is beautiful, there is no denying that. This is why we call our school the fake good place. In a picture when everybody is on the lawn or walking to class they all look happy, but that is not the case. When you start talking to people in the pictures you find out their story. You are likely to hear things like ….

“I am exhausted, I only got four hours of sleep last night”

“I am behind on my homework because I have a full time job to help pay for school”

“I am close to failing my class”

“I don’t have time to go to a study group because I commute two hours a day because    I can’t afford to live on campus”

“The professor doesn’t understand that I am trying”

“I am too ashamed to ask for help, the professor thinks this material is easy, and my classmates understand it”

“I am never going to be able to get a job”

“How am I going to pay back my student loans?”

The list goes on and on

Now, if you have seen the show The Good Place, you know that there is something few know about the neighborhood.  While is looks sunny, and happy, it is actually something else entirely.  It is The Bad Place in disguise, where everything beautiful causes the residents pain and suffering.  While you may now be thinking we are overly dramatic for comparing our college campus to essentially hell, we would like to show some similarities.  

1.     Students are told that everyone is supported in their learning, however, students are constantly academically put against each other for things like graduation cords, honors society, and even a spot to remain in the program.

2.     Students are told that being different is okay, but are failed immediately if they are not good at taking multiple choice tests, or cannot do an essay exam.

3.     Students are told that it is okay to have a disability, but if a student is in a wheelchair they can not get anywhere on campus.  Forget going to certain floors of the building, or visiting friends in the dorms, but technically they are welcome so this is all forgivable in the eyes of the school.

4.     Students are told that their dorm room is going to be amazing, but in reality it is a small room with a broken heater, a leaky sink, and stained curtains.  Forget being able to use the bathroom when you want, because the people you share with are always in there.

5.     Students are told that it is important to find a balance and space out their studying, yet teachers do things like put three midterms all on the same day. Forget balance, when you have to save your GPA. That is when students chug coffee, stay up all night, and in some cases even abuse drugs like adderall. This is because we are told our grades are the most important thing in the world.

6.     Students are ranked by GPA and rewarded when they are at the top, but the reality is that the students on the top have anxiety disorders and go to great lengths to be the best because they think if they get a C the sky will fall. This encourages dangerous habits, and in reality leads in to why college students have such a high rate of mental illness. While teachers say anxiety is bad, their actions are rewarding the students willing to abuse their bodies to succeed in school.

7.     Students are told it is okay to make mistakes, but when they do make mistakes they get punished. For example, many college students drink before they are 21. On some college campuses there is a get home safe rule where students are given amnesty for being drunk as long as they get home safe. This is to encourage students to talk to authority if they friend needs medical attention and to try and prevent assault. At this campus if a student is drunk before they are 21 they have to face the conduct board get written up, and can face further punishment. This leads students to try to hide their friends when they are drunk, even if their friend needs immediate medical attention. This is dangerous because students can die from alcohol poisoning because they were to afraid to get in trouble with the school

            While college looks all happy, in reality there is something darker underlying.  We immediately started drawing comparisons between the “fake” Good Place, and our campus.  This is because as students we are oftentimes not told the whole truth, both when applying and after we get in. I (Nemo) was so excited to go to college, but the stress and competition has made me much sicker than I could have ever imagined.  At first, we both believed that we were in this happy, and exciting place, however overtime we discovered that it was all a facade.  What we thought was something great, and amazing, was actually the opposite.  Now, you may not be in college, but the idea is universal.  There might be something, or somewhere that you think is much more evil than it looks, but no one else sees it.  Know that you are not alone.  Also, if we are still talking about the show, if we have to be in the fake good place, can we please get a Good Janet here, because that would definitely be a appreciated.