The System is Pointless

If you are a Japanese student and your teacher assigns a paper as your final exam you must do these things.

1. Look up the course in the coursebook and see how long the paper should be and whether it should be written horizontally or vertically.
2. Write it.
3. Print it on B4 size paper, in two columns.
4. Fold the B4 size paper in half.
5. Attach the official bright orange cover sheet on which is written your name, class name, teacher's name, and paper title. Twice.
6. Stamp it with your hanko (name seal).
7. Turn it in between 1pm and 3pm on the designated day when everyone in the school is supposed to turn in their final papers.

Have you every heard of anything so ridiculous?

And what happens when I am asked by my professor to turn in a final paper, even though I don't get credit for it, and I will be in Okinawa on the "everyone hands in their paper" day? It was a question that had the Office running around like crazy trying to figure out.