It is the first week of classes at a small college or university in the 1970s and 1980s in Midwest America. The professor stands in the auditorium with pride and asks the whole class of students to stand up. The professor tells the students to each look to their right side, then to their left side. The professor smiles and announces that one out of two of the students will not graduate from this institution. It is with a confident if not superior tone of voice that the professor says that 50% of the students will drop out of college.
