DeepSpringsisanAmericancollege.Itisanunusualcollege.ItishighinthewhitemountainsinCalifornianotinacollegetown.Thecampusisacollectionofoldbuildingswithnobeautifulclassrooms.Theonlycollege-likethingaboutDeepSpringsisitslibrary.Studentscanstudyfromthe17,000books24hoursaday.Thelibraryisnevercrowdedasthereareonly24well-qualifiedmalestudentsatthecollege.Inaddition,thereareonlyfivefull-timeprofessors.Theseteachersbelieveintheideaofthiscollege.Theyneedtobelieveinit.Theydonotgetmuchmoney.Infact,theirsalariesareonlyabout9,000dollarsayearplusroomandmeals.Theschoolgivestheyoungteachersaswellasthestudentssomethingmoreimportantthanmoney."ThereisnoplacelikeDeepSprings,"saysasecond-yearstudentfromNewYorkState,"MostcollegestodayaremuchthesamebutDeepSpringsisnotafraidtobedifferent."Hesaysthatstudentsathiscollegeareinasituationquiteunlikeintheotherschool.Studentsaretheretolearnandtheycannotrunawayfromproblems.Thereisnoplacetoescapeto.Atmostcolleges,studentscanclosetheirbooksandgotoafilm.Theycangoouttorestaurantsortoparties.DeepSpringsstudentshavecompletelydifferentalternatives.Theycantalktoeachotherortotheirteachers.Anotherpossibleactivityistogotothelibrarytostudy.Theymightdecidetodosomework.Thestudentwhodoesn'twanttodoanyoftheseactivitiescangoforawalkinthedesert.DeepSpringsisfarfromtheworldofrestaurantsandcinemas.Thereisnotevenatelevisionsetoncampus.
