Why?

He wore horn-rimmed spectacles, a two-buttoned jacket that was too tight across the front, and the intense look of a Freshman on advanced standing. "Professor," said he to the distinguished philosopher who had just finished addressing a group of two-score students, "Professor, I often sit up late at night thinking and I find that I'm able to visualize my universe only up to a certain point and after that," he continued, with his glasses in his hand, "I just cannot envision what is beyond. Sir, can you tell me what is out there?"

And then there was a girl with brown hair and bangs that dangled down to her intense brown eyes, who rose during the first meeting of her Humanities 4 course, Concepts of Good and Evil, to address her section man. "Sir," said she very earnestly, "I've come to the conclusion that there are two forces in this world." She paused a moment, then continued slowly, "Those forces are good and evil." Her section man looked intently at her and replied earnestly, "You have come to the very heart of this course."

And then there was a somewhat sophisticated, somewhat mid-western senior who faced a very distinguished professor with distinguished white hair, at his oral examination for honors in English. The professor peered intently at the young man, his voice resonant. "Young man," said he, "could you tell me what you believe to be the significance of the white whale in Moby Dick?" The young man seemed to ponder the question very earnestly and after a few moments he looked up at the professor and replied in a mid-western drawl, "Well, sir, it always struck me that it was just a plain whale."

And then there was the young girl with a pony tail and a green book-bag which was a little frayed at the seams, who had walked back from Widener at the closing hour with the young man with whom she had had a study date. At the steps in the shadows before her dormitory he kissed her very quickly and very tremulously on the lips. She stood in silence for a moment, then asked very earnestly, "Why did you do that?" He stood in the dark for a moment and answered very honestly, "I don't know. I just wanted to, I guess." She paused and asked, "Why?" He stood in the shadow for another moment and then shrugged his shoulders and walked slowly away.