Dead Man's Curve Essay

Dead Man's Curve--College Roommate's Death Boosts GPA

Introduction and Background

The legend I collected was one that I had heard before, although this version differed a little from the way I remember it. The storyteller was a 19 year-old male first year student at the University. He’s from Columbia, and his dad works in business while his mother is a homemaker. The telling of this story took place at the diner after we had finished eating:

Well, my brother told me one his first summer back from attending University. He had heard the story one late night just before finals were supposed to begin. He was with a small group of friends and he had told him that he was worried about his grades. That was when a friend joked, “Well,

This new attitude towards mental health and suicide are reflected in this urban legend. New fears have developed towards the mental state of someone who has suffered the loss of someone undeniably close to him. With this new outlook, someone could not expect a person to be able to focus on their studies while facing such a sudden and tragic loss. This idea is supported by several cases in which colleges are more lenient on students in such positions, or allow them more time to make up their work (Reisberg). However, no college has been found that has or will allow a student to simply receive a 4.0 (for any number of semesters) because their roommate committed suicide or died in some other

I would not be surprised if it existed in other countries in some form, although I was not able to find any information in my research to support this. The legend of that I label “Dead Man’s Curve,” is an interesting legend not only because of its popularity, but also because of the significance of the time period of its creation. Two social movements, the general acceptance of practicing mental health and the increase in suicides, contributed to this legend’s