People wonder all the time what the best feeling in the world is. I personally think that one of the best feelings is the feeling of being accepted. Acceptance can lead to happiness and a feeling of worthiness. It can lead to improvement as well as a feeling of unity. If someone is accepted, then he/she is a part of something. Acceptance can come in many forms as simple as being accepted into a college.
For these two best friends, it was not the easiest being accepted. Bartleby Gaines and Sherman Schrader are best friends who went to the same high school and stuck together no matter what. However, all of that changed when college came around the corner. Schrader was accepted into Harmon College, a prestigious university while Bartleby was rejected from every single school he applied to.
Instead of accepting the fact that he was rejected, Bartleby decides to create his own college. He gathers a group of friends who are also in the same boat as him and they rebuild an abandoned institute into a "college." Even though he is "accepted" into a college now, he still is going through the crisis of finding who he is. He does not understand what he is going to do in life nor does he understand what the future has for him. He is constantly being nagged by his parents to make something of himself. Bartleby is also envious of his best friend for being accepted into a well-known college. What he doesn't know is that Schrader is having his own acceptance issues as well.
Although he was accepted into college and is sure he is going to have a future, Schrader is having a difficult time finding out who he is too. When he arrived at Harmon College, he was sure he was going to be having the time of his life. He was going to enjoy being in college and join a fraternity. Boy, was he wrong. Rather than feeling comfort and acceptance, Schrader is ridiculed and taken advantage of by his fraternity brothers. They make Schrader wear a hot dog suit saying that all of the "great legends" that attended Harmon did the same. Even though deep down Schrader understands the real reason for doing the task, he is compelled to go through with it. He is misguided by the jokes and bullying and doesn't fully understand his purpose.
Throughout the movie, both Bartleby and Schrader are conflicted with who they are and what they really want to get out of college. Both of them are going down different paths trying to find and figure out what is it is that is truly important; an education or to look and be the way society wants them to be.
Bartley decides to create a curriculum that allows students to choose what they want to learn about. Students are free to take any classes they want and explore their interests.
In the end, Bartleby comes out on top understanding what his purpose is. At this point, Schrader has brought himself to drop out of Harmon College and follow Bartleby at the South Harmon Institute of Technology. The both of them don't want to conform and be like students at Harmon College, but rather individuals with their own interests and aspirations. Bartleby argues with the court to not shut down the South Harmon Institute of Technology and wins the opportunity to continue to attend the university that he created.
What scares students the most is the idea of rejection. These sheets of paper are considered to "hold the future" of students. However, little do they know that this is only the beginning.
Many students get accepted to Rutgers each year and choose this university for a college education. Although a student has technically been accepted to the college, the real feeling of acceptance finally settles in when a student understands why he/she is attending the university in the first place. It is common among many first year students to feel confused and nervous when entering a completely different environment especially Rutgers because of its large diversity. It becomes hard for anyone to figure out what it is they want to do. A lot of the times students come in feeling that college is when they are supposed to find their purpose and to figure out their future.
However, college is more than that. It is accepting who you are and using your identity to get you through the next couple of years.
Congratulations!
WELCOME TO THE UNIVERSITY OF ACCEPTANCE
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