The Fabled Philosophy Final Exam - Urban Legend or Fact?

I was informed of a Philosophy professor, teaching a course in Existentialism, who made it clear on the first day of class that the final grade would be solely based upon the final exam, and that it would be graded simply as pass/fail. There would be no homework, no quizzes, no tests, and no mid-term; only the final exam.

The class let out a collective sigh of relief! The professor, in their eyes, was Instructor of the Year, and the semester had only just began. Class after class the professor held the students interest with thoughtful lectures, moving readings, and dynamic classroom discussions. The complete works of Camus, Kafka, and Kierkegaard explored. Woody Allen was once quoted as saying that he took an exam in Existentialism and left all the questions unanswered, yielding him a grade of 100%. Would any student be so bold as to turn in a completely blank final?

During the last week of class the professor reminded the students that the final would be an essay, addressed from a single question, and a two-hour time limit to complete. "Do not forget your Blue Books and pens!" he exclaimed as the students left the classroom.

On the day of the final, as the students took their seats they noticed a map of the world lowered from its mount, seemingly hiding written content on the chalkboard. It must be the final exam question! The professor reminded the class that they had a full two hours to complete the exam, and that as far as he was concerned, they'd need every bit of the 120 minutes allotted. Suddenly deep breaths were being taken, and more than one student felt a rush of uneasiness and queasiness. The professor, requesting that the class prepare to begin, walks over to the map and draws it back up into its base revealing the question.

Total silence filled the classroom as the students stared at a single word on the chalkboard, the word "Why", followed by a question mark. Blue Books opened and writing began. Several students were lost in thought, composing a summary in their heads before putting it to paper. Others were writing quickly, while others were pacing themselves and the two hour time limit.

Two students, a male sitting in the very front, and a female sitting to the far left of the room near a window, appeared to be aggravated by the test. The male kept bouncing his pen in disgust against the empty page one of his Blue Book, and the female was making intermittent noises indicating total and complete dissatisfaction and, no doubt, failure. Not five minutes apart, both students scribbled something quick in their Blue Books, walked to the front of the class, dropped their final on the professor's desk, and exited the campus nauseated from their lack of preparation. Over the next two hours, the remainder of the class diligently wrote their hearts out.

To the question of "Why," 30 students took the exam, and only two passed. The two were the students who left in a huff five minutes apart, early into the exam. While students exhibiting thorough analysis, deep thought, and provocative inquiry failed the class, the two that passed simply wrote "Why Not" and "Because" respectively.

Jean-Paul Sarte and Simone de Beauvoir couldn't have said it better, or perhaps............................