Something was not right about the way Brandeis handled the administration of the Wabash National Study, which investigates the impact of liberal arts education on first-year students. No, not just the questions it offers (though changing those would be nice, too) but rather the way Brandeis advertised it to us. Instead of just rudely pushing us to take the survey, those who managed it should have either made it mandatory or guaranteed students a real incentive to take it.When I first came to Brandeis back in August, one of the first people who I ran into was a Wabash promoter. I admit that at the time, I was a na've, impressionable recent high school graduate who had not yet fully grasped the fact that he was in college. Also, I had the chance to get Bruce Springsteen tickets, Red Sox tickets and other items of that nature. So I said, "Why not?" and signed up to participate.

What awaited me was painful to the say the least. First was the fact that I had to wake up at the unprecedented time (at least for college) of 8:30 in the morning. But what was more annoying was the survey itself. It included two hours of headache-inducing, mind-numbing questions concerning abstract hypothetical situations and philosophical quandaries that left me thinking, "What did I just take?"

I did not gain anything from it, and at the time I wondered whether the school did either. But most importantly, I felt taken advantage of. Here was an innocent first-year who felt as if he'd been essentially used and tricked by manipulative test administrators. This was not fair.

So I became a tad irritated when I saw a Wabash promoter again when I was selecting my housing for next year. Again, it seemed as if I had to take it. I was directed to the desk of yet another Wabash promoter along with everyone else immediately after checking into room selection, no questions asked. I tried to get around signing up for it, but the representative was adamant, so I grudgingly acquiesced to her demands.

Because I remembered in full detail how agonizing the Wabash survey was last time, I skipped its second administration. But regardless, I was incensed by the way in which this test was presented to students. After waiting for over an hour to hear my lottery number called at room selection, the last thing I wanted was to be reminded of this cruel assessment. And the fact that I couldn't simply say, "Sorry, I just don't want to take it again," was unacceptable.

Now, I understand why the University has participated in the Wabash National Study and why it promotes it so heavily. After all, it would like to assess how our college experience has changed us with regard to such things as our ethics, morality and critical reasoning. So although I would like Wabash to disappear, I realize why it is here to stay. It has just been advertised incorrectly.

Therefore, the school needs to change the way it promotes the survey. It can make the test mandatory for graduation, although chances are that this would not go over very well with the student body.

A more reasonable alternative is to promise every student who participates in it something in return, instead of the slim chance to get some random items that some students might not even want. The school can give these individuals free food, or, if they're feeling generous, even a cash reward.

If the school does not change the survey in these regards, administrators should be aware that students will not take the survey seriously. The way the survey is currently administered seems to take advantage of students: Shoving the Wabash survey in the faces of innocent first-years simply does not seem right.