Charles Platt – Editor at Large

He stares at the screen.

An impossible choice.

Does he take his commercial remedies class on Monday at 6:30pm, making the first day of the week even rougher? Not arriving home until well gone 10pm with almost the whole working week ahead of him? Or Tuesday at first light (10am)? Meaning he’ll have to send his boss at least a few groveling emails to convince him to shift his schedule around, and maybe even sacrifice his jealously guarded Friday off.

It is a choice that no self-respecting student should have to make.

His mind wanders, the number of options dizzying, but none particularly enticing.

And thanks to the new preference-based registration system, he has to pick five now?

His mind wanders; the hazy memory of federal senate ballot papers fills his mind.

Dozens of choices, hundreds of candidates, most of whom he has never heard of and never intends on paying heed to again.

He recalls agonizing over his lowest preferences, spending treasured, finite, precious time shifting thepencil from the Medical Freedom Party to Family First, unsure of who deserved his contempt more.

“Medical Freedom or Family First, Monday nights or probably working Fridays, Medical Freedom or Family First, Monday nights or probably working Fridays, Medical Freedom or Family First, Monday nights or probably working Fridays”.

He gets up and decides to put on Ted Lasso instead; at least it’s not the old registration system I guess.