Locked Doors
So this is another story where I didn’t even realize what was going on until years later, when harassers implicitly and indirectly told me what actually happened. So it was the second semester of my freshman year of college. I was taking calculus 2, which I had already taken in high school, but I figured taking the course a second time would ensure I have a solid understanding of the material. So this was a large class in a large classroom, although not the largest class or classroom. So before this class started, there was another class occupying the classroom, so students would wait outside the doors until the classroom was clear. One day as I was approaching the building, I didn’t see anybody waiting, and I figured it was because I was early. So I waited and waited, and the class before still hadn’t walked out of the doors. So I continued to wait on the steps and figured the class before was running late. Then this girl tells me that I have to go in through the side. I thought that was weird, so I tried to open the doors and, yeah, they were locked. So I walk to the side of the building, have to go through a couple of doorways to get to the classroom, and then I open the classroom side door, walk in and I see that the class has already started: student are quietly sitting taking notes because there are already notes on the chalkboard. I panic slightly because I’m late. So I rush to where I usually sit and start taking notes.
So then I start thinking how strange this was. Did the class before leave early? Why didn’t I see all these other students entering through the side? Class started and there were notes on the chalkboard already, and I wasn’t even that late. Was this intentional and targeted? No way! You can’t lock me out, you can’t keep me out… deny someone of an education… I took African American Studies, and I understand my civil rights and liberties, and this is Berkeley, so no way was this intentional or targeted, and if it was, then I’m the next Rosa Parks, or Ruby Bridges.
Then years later, I think it was even as recently as last year, my stalker harassers let me know that those doors were intentionally locked and this was targeted.
Luckily I followed up with those letters for engineering and mathematics programs, and I had the best TA. He was a Harvard University mathematician, going to Berkeley for his doctorate degree and he was super smart and a great teacher. His explanations were thorough, there were no gaps in his logic, he made no mistakes, and didn’t have to second guess the answers to any questions. The class was tough. I think there were two parts: multi variable calculus and infinite series. I didn’t do well on the first exam, which was weird because I had already taken this class in high school. Then my TA said that, theoretically, if you do every single problem in the book, then you would have seen every single problem, and so you won’t be thrown off by whatever is thrown at you during the test. So, I took this advice to heart, and did as many math problems as I could with whatever free time I had. It was this advice and other words of wisdom from this TA that really motivated me to do well. Then, I pretty much aced the second exam, and my TA was so happy for me that he wrote me an email, and I couldn’t find this email later on, but I still remember what he wrote. He wrote: “David, You rock! I have never in my (so many) years of teaching have ever seen someone pull the come back you made on your last exam. Congratulations! See you in class.”