I started college at the University of Wisconsin in Madison in the fall of 1967. Student deferments were still being granted then, so I was able
to concentrate on my schooling. I was included in the first draft lottery, along with a few years worth of draft age men. The number drawn for me was 250. Because there were extra men included in the first lottery, my number was almost a guarantee that I would not be drafted that first year. At the next lottery, men that had not had their numbers drawn the first year were put at the end of the draw. This effectively ended my chances of ever being drafted. In the same year, 1969, I also sustained a major injury to my left knee. Even though it functioned fairly well after full knee surgery, my doctor said that it, too, would probably have kept me from the service.I went to school from 1967 to 1971, graduating with a B.S. in Zoology. Some noteworthy events that happened during my tenure at UW were the first TA strike, multiple demonstrations against the Viet Nam war (including call-ups of the National Guard), and the bombing of Sterling Hall (please remember Robert Fassnacht, the researcher that was killed in the bombing). I believe that Woodstock also took place in upstate New York during this time, but I was one of the few people in the country that did not attend, or at least did not claim to have attended.
