Maria S. Ho '03 was missing-in-action for more than a day last week.

For all her friends knew, Ho had left her Cabot House dorm for a 9:15 a.m. exam last Wednesday. But after she failed to return that afternoon, that evening or even the following morning, her sister started to wonder.

"My parents were a little worried," said Ho's sister, Diana M. Ho '01.

What her sister and her friends didn't know was that Ho had in fact arrived at her Chinese exam, but after complaining of flu-like symptoms, was whisked to University Health Services (UHS)--the start of a 26-hour ordeal.

Over the next day, Ho would be quarantined in her UHS room--stripped of her belongings and the telephone--where she would take the two exams that she had missed.

To Ho, the experience was almost as bad as jail. But for the University, which has to deal with students who become sick during exams every term, this was standard procedure.

"I couldn't even make my one phone call," Ho said.

According to Thurston A. Smith, senior associate registrar, a handful of students have their exams proctored in their UHS rooms each year.