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ay, February 13, 2008
Dedlared resentment
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t's the question that's sure to
send any college student into a
self-analytic panic attack. The
question to which most liberal arts
students respond in form - shuf-
fling their feet uncomfortably,
staring at their toes and mumbling
something along the lines of "Well,
I'm figuring it out." It's also a rea-
son why just about everybody in
LSA resents the business school,
pre-med and kinesiology students.
You see, for those students, their
field of study serves as a protec-
tive bubble, saving them from the
plight of the lowly liberal arts stu-
dent who can only shrug in the
face of the ubiquitous inquiry: "So,
what's your major?"
Nothing in my three years at this
University has been as troubling or
time consuming as my attempts to
join the ranks of those who have
an answer to that question. I, like
many others, started to chastise
myself around the end of sopho-
more year for seemingly being too
lazy and indecisive to make the
one decision I came to this place to
make.
Fortunately, for my self-esteem
at least, I now realize that my inde-
cisiveness was completely justi-
fied. Like many a naive freshman,
I came to the cold, barren plains of
Michigan from the gray, desolate
hills of New Jersey with a plan - I
wanted to be in politics. Unfortu-
nately, when you get to college you
realize that political aspiration for
college freshmen is like wanting
to be an astronaut for 6-year-olds.
Once I realized that I wasn't the
only 18-year-old in the country
with eyes on the White House I
started to explore my alternatives.
History, sociology, communica-
tions, anthropology, political sci-
ence, ps
so little
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ychology. So many options, alternative of starting a major late
to base my decision on. like me, probably should. But col-
choose your life's direc- lege isn't about pigeonholing your-
ed on these one paragraph self or making sure to fit into one
ries and list of related class of the predefined boxes the Uni-
he course guide seems to versity has set up so nicely. Liberal
Of course, every friend arts students like choice and flex-
ibility. We like having the freedom
of examining a topic from the per-
spective of varying academic disci-
ommitted to plines. We like our history classes,
our psych classes and our commu-
)Ciology,but nication classes. We like the fact
that on a given day, we can discuss
jg a p both the alcoholism of our favorite
i and anthro authors and the genesis of contem-
porary American political theory.
And while a broad range of
interests drives the most animated
as already declared feels participants of classroom discus-
to give you the line that's sions, it's also at the heart of many
d as the one golden rule of students' fear of commitment in
g a major: "Pick what you declaring a concentration. It's a
shame that earning a general stud-
the assumption that some- ies degree is perceived as having
the strictly defined majors failed at college in some regard.
offers comprehensively It could be that the general stud-
r our student body's diverse ies option is so discounted because
e of interests is ridiculous. there's something infuriatingly
Cultural Anthropology! reasonable about it - an educa-
is exactly what I've been tion characterized by unfettered
ming about ever since that academic exploration. What is
to the Colosseum when I completing the set curriculum of
six!" students are supposed a major but proving that you can
y while perusing the course jump through whatever hoops the
e. From what I've seen, the department heads decide on? They
ive moment more often say it doesn't really matter what
s out like this: "... classic you major in, but perhaps that's
izations? I guess I have the because jumping through hoops
pre-requisites for that one, is the important part. Department
I hear the classes are pretty curriculums require you to com-
plete courses A, B and C so poten-
on't do this. I say this in tial employers know you'll do jobs
knowing that most of you D, E and F.
- and, in light of the likely With that in mind, and being
just a semester or two away from
graduation, I find myself on the
other side of the decided-unde-
cided dichotomy. Without so much
as an inkling of direction, I had to
declare a major, or face the conse-
quences. I declared about a month
ago, in the middle of my junior year.
Before deciding, I spent hours on
the concentration website looking
at requirements and distributions,
schedules and credit counts. What
did I finally select? Sociology.
Why? In addition to a slight, badly
feigned interest in the subject mat-
ter, I realized that if I didn't pick
something, I wasn't going to grad-
uate, and that's really the primary
objective of this rat race. Plus, I
was closer to a sociology degree
than just about anything else.
It feels unseemly to have made
my decision out of cold practical-
ity. I miss the semesters when
selecting a course schedule was
as carefree as going out to recess
on the University's intellectual
playground. Already, I find myself
romanticizing my comparative lit
professors, my political science
professors, and the others I've had
in classes ranging from anthropol-
ogy to statistics.
To those instructors: Know that
I probably enjoyed your classes
more than I do the average soci-
ology course. I probably learned
more about what you were teach-
ing because I took your class out
of interest rather than necessity.
And finally, I probably didn't sleep
through your lectures quite as
much.
-David Nadel is an LSA junior.
TELL US
HOW
TO LIVE.
E-mail your own submissions for
new rules on campus to
TheStatement@umich.edu