The resolution acknowledges 

the discrepancy between what 
the University prescribes for final 
exam scheduling and reality. 
The LSA Faculty Code exam 
protocol states “an instructor 
may not depart from the official 
schedule unless prior approval 
of the University Committee 
on Examinations is obtained.” 
However, 
many 
University 

students can attest to the fact 
that professors do, in fact, 
depart from their scheduled 
exam slot. They either hold 
exams during the last week of 
class, opting for a final paper 
or project, or hold a third, non-
cumulative exam in place of a 
cumulative final during their 
given two-hour finals slot.

The 
perceived 
problem, 

according to the resolution, 
is that exams before the 
scheduled 
exam 
week 

interfere 
with 
regular 

semester work. However, in 
large part, professors tend to 
ease up on coursework in the 
weeks or week before finals. 
As a result, having exams 
at the end of the semester 
instead of during the given 
exam time doesn’t interfere as 
much as one might imagine.

Every 
year, 
students 

anxiously hold their breath 
and check the dates of their 
last exams. Inevitably, there is 
always an exam which lingers at 
the end of the exam period. This 
year, the last day of exams is Dec. 
21. This presents a challenge for 
students who hope to go home 
earlier for winter break.

Graduate students are not 

exempt from this dilemma; 
GSIs must finish grading their 
exams before going home for 
the holidays. For those GSIs 
whose exams are held on Dec. 
21, the possibility exists that 
they would be unable to leave 
until Dec. 24, if at all.

There is also the added 

burden 
of 
finding 
flights 

during the holiday season; 
dorms close at 7:00 p.m. on 
the last day of exams and 
the cost of a flight home for 
such a short period of time 
is not necessarily a financial 
reality. Additionally, for some 
students — out-of-state and 
international 
students, 
for 

example — it may almost not 
be worth it to go home for such 
a short period of time. For 
these reasons, among others, 
many students and instructors 
welcome the option to have 
exams 
earlier 
(before 
the 

scheduled final exam slot).

Moreover, 
we 
challenge 

the efficacy of this resolution 
because it lacks a concrete 
mechanism for enforcement. 
There are countless loopholes 
that 
can 
prevent 
this 

resolution 
from 
effecting 

real 
change: 
Students 
can 

take classes outside of their 
academic program in LSA or 
professors can simply label 
their last exam “Exam three,” 
and continue to place it on the 
last day of class.

Students’ preferences for 

exam scheduling (spread out, 
all at once, early, late, etc.) are 
diverse, and finding a one-
size-fits-all policy would be 

an improbable task. LSA offers 
thousands of courses each 
semester and it is unlikely that 
there is a policy that can be 
evenly enforced. Furthermore, 
a good number of professors 
are bound to ignore the exam 
guidelines (as they already do). 
Though the LSA exam protocol 
does give specific dates for 
classes’ final exams, it still 
allows professors to schedule 
their final exams earlier. Even 
though the resolution attempts 
to fix this, we argue that there 
will still be loopholes and it is 
not the best way to approach 
final exams.

The Michigan Daily Editorial 

Board calls on the school 
of LSA to retain its current 
policy that gives professors 
the 
flexibility 
to 
schedule 

their final assignments before 
their designated final exam 
slot. The resolution passed 
by LSA Student Government 
overestimates 
the 
negative 

impacts 
of 
exams 
during 

regular class time, does not 
take into account the effects 
of late exams on students and 
instructors 
and 
ultimately 

lacks a means for implementing 
change 
on 
a 
broad 
scale. 

For many of us, thoughts of 
returning home have begun to 
swirl in our minds. And as we 
inch closer to Dec. 21, we urge 
LSA to consider scheduling 
exams earlier in the month. 
That way, students and staff 
can enjoy a relaxing winter 
break 
and 
can 
return 
in 

January feeling refreshed and 
ready for the semester ahead. 

T

en minutes. Twenty 
minutes. 
Thirty 

minutes. I don’t think 

I’ve ever stared at a blank 
Word document for so long. 
Is this why so many writers 
go crazy? I could be doing 
something productive right 
now 
— 
like 
sleeping. 
No 

matter what I do, I just can’t 
seem to think of anything to 
write about. Every little thing 
is distracting. Swiveling in 
this chair sure is fun. Oh, look, 
a bird. How fast can I say “toy 
boat?” Before I know it, an 
hour has passed. 

Welcome to the life of an 

English major. I agonize about 
writing on a weekly basis. Over 
time, it doesn’t become hard 
to relate with Jack Nicholson 
from “The Shining,” beating 
away the same sentence on a 
typewriter. But that doesn’t 
change the fact that I love my 
major. Writing is a passion of 
mine, and I enjoy every second 
of self-induced insanity. So 
when people ask me my major, 
why am I reluctant to tell 
them that it’s English?

I think it has something 

to do with also being pre-
med. Before I continue, let me 
clarify that “pre-med” is not a 
major. It simply means that I’m 
taking a set of classes — organic 
chemistry, 
biochemistry, 

physics, etc. — necessary to 
succeed on the MCAT and in 
medical school. That’s why 
when I tell my fellow pre-med 
students that I’m majoring in 
English, I’m usually met with 
blank stares and confusion. 
I feel a bit like Billy Elliot 
admitting his love for ballet in 
an unwelcoming environment.

Once 
they 
process 
my 

seriousness, 
they 
usually 

say 
something 
blunt 
like, 

“Why?” Whether it’s asked 
in disgust or awe depends on 

the person. But no matter the 
tone, I always give the same 
response: “Because I like it.” 
It’s as simple as that.

I think that a lot of students 

in college — especially pre-
meds — major in subjects by 
default 
without 
exploring 

other interests. For example, I 
would guess that a lot of people 
majoring 
in 
biomolecular 

science 
aren’t 
doing 
it 

because they have a yearning 
passion for biomolecules. The 
more likely reason is that 
the required classes for the 
major line up conveniently 
with the prerequisites for 
medical 
school. 
But 
who 

am I to judge? I was once a 
neuroscience 
major 
before 

I 
realized 
that 
learning 

unnecessarily 
detailed 

information about synapses 
wasn’t how I wanted to spend 
my college career. Following 
the 15 advising appointments 
and two existential crises that 
resulted from this realization, 
I learned that a major wouldn’t 
define my future.

Especially 
for 
those 

planning to attend graduate 
school, 
majors 
aren’t 
as 

important as they seem. While 
some may provide slightly 
better 
preparation 
— 
for 

example, a political science 
major may be more suited 
for the LSAT than a physics 
major — it’s ultimately GPA, 
test scores, extracurricular 
activities 
and 
others 
that 

matter. In other words, a 
physics major can get into 
Harvard Law School as long 
as they perform well in each 
of the previously mentioned 
areas and demonstrate that 
they’re a qualified applicant.

Even if a student doesn’t 

have plans to attend graduate 
school, their major doesn’t 
necessarily have to align with 

their intended career path. 
According to one study, only 
about 27 percent of college 
graduates are working in a job 
that relates to their major. As 
reported in Forbes — maybe 
this will humble the Ross kids 
— those who majored in history 
go on to earn just as much in 
the business field as those who 
majored in it. Hear that, Ross 
rejects? There’s still hope! 
The same goes for law and 
medicine. Those who major 
in topics that aren’t typical of 
these fields still achieve the 
same success in their futures.

College 
is 
a 
time 
for 

exploration 
and 
pursuing 

one’s 
interests. 
Therefore, 

I encourage other students 
to find passions outside of 
their intended career track. 
Students 
should 
major 
in 

topics that they genuinely 
want to pursue instead of 
topics they feel pressured to 
pursue. After all, it probably 
won’t have much effect on 
the future, and will result in a 
much happier time at college.

I switched my major three 

times before I decided to 
major in a subject I enjoyed 
rather than in a subject that 
followed the pre-med status 
quo. Yes, because classes such 
as organic chemistry don’t 
count 
toward 
the 
English 

major, I have to take an extra 
eight to 10 English classes on 
top of the prerequisites for 
medical school. But to me the 
workload is worth it. I have 
another 15 years of schooling 
to 
learn 
about 
synapses. 

For now, I want to stick to 
Fitzgerald, Hemingway and 
Faulkner; when people ask me 
my major, I want to proudly 
tell them that it’s English.

Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4A — Monday, November 13, 2017

REBECCA LERNER

Managing Editor

420 Maynard St. 

Ann Arbor, MI 48109

 tothedaily@michigandaily.com

Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890.

EMMA KINERY

Editor in Chief

ANNA POLUMBO-LEVY 

and REBECCA TARNOPOL 

Editorial Page Editors

Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s Editorial Board. 

All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.

EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS

Pursue what interests you in college

EVAN SIRLS | COLUMN

Carolyn Ayaub
Megan Burns

Samantha Goldstein

Emily Huhman
Jeremy Kaplan

Sarah Khan

Max Lubell

Lucas Maiman

Madeline Nowicki
Anna Polumbo-Levy 

Jason Rowland

Anu Roy-Chaudhury

Ali Safawi

Sarah Salman
Kevin Sweitzer

Rebecca Tarnopol

Stephanie Trierweiler

Ashley Zhang

Evan Sirls can be reached at 

esirls@umich.edu.

T

hat’s 
gay!” 
was 

probably 
the 
most 

common 
phrase 

heard in the halls of my 
elementary or middle school. 
After hearing it so often, I 
remember a point where I, too, 
would utter it whenever extra 
homework was assigned, the 
teacher cancelled our recess 
or one of the boys was acting 
“sensitive” or “emotional.” 
It was what all the cool kids 
did, and I — the nerdy girl 
with 
wire-framed 
glasses 

who wore pigtails until 6th 
grade — desperately needed 
to be cool.

The funniest part about 

it was, for the longest time 
I didn’t know what “gay” 
meant. In the context that 
my peers and I used it in, 
I understood that it meant 
something bad or negative. I 
knew it was something that 
you didn’t want to be, or 
that you weren’t supposed 
to be. It made you different, 
and not different like having 
your ears pierced or hair 
dyed. Different like having 
a disease or a sickness that 
could not be cured. However, 
I had absolutely no clue what 
“gay” meant outside of what 
my knucklehead elementary 
school friends told me it was.

In 
high 
school, 
my 

perception of things changed. 
It had become taboo and 
insensitive 
to 
say 
things 

like “that’s gay.” The stigma 
around 
homosexuality 

decreased as LGBT issues 
became more popular and 
visible in mainstream media. 
Popular TV shows like Glee, 
American 
Horror 
Story, 

Orange is the New Black and 
The Fosters began depicting 
same-sex 
relationships 
or 

“out” homosexual characters 
more explicitly. Around my 
sophomore year, Macklemore 
and Ryan Lewis released their 
heavy-hitting single “Same 
Love,” which advocated for 
the legalization of same-sex 
marriage. 

Buzzwords 
like 
“gender 

inclusive,” “trans,” “queer,” 
“pangender,” 
“genderfluid” 

and “intersex” all came into 
the mainstream at once. I 
became 
overwhelmed 
by 

these new definitions, terms 
and 
identities, 
something 

that just a few years prior had 
been totally under the radar in 
heterosexual communities. I 
had no clue what these things 
meant, and honestly had no 
intention of learning what 
they meant because it did 
not impact my heterosexual 
lifestyle. I reverted back to the 
ignorance of my elementary 
school 
ways, 
throwing 

any part of the non-hetero 
identity under the umbrella of 
“gay.” Meaning that anything 
that was different, or outside 
of heteronormativity in my 
eyes was just … gay. “It’s just 
too much!” I would often say 
in defense of the lack of my 
awareness.

In college, I knew that I 

would have to make a change. 
I was forced into seminars 
and guest speaker lectures 
that explained these terms at 
length, and pried my narrow 
mind open to the perspectives 
and experiences of others 
outside of the heterosexual 
community. 
It 
was 
then 

that I accepted the fact that 
just because I wasn’t part 
of the LGBTQ community 
didn’t mean I had to ignore 
it, remain ignorant or stay 
stubborn.

Things 
are 
constantly 

changing, and it was time for 
me to keep up. My mother is 
the most important person in 
my life, and she raised me on 
the notion that everybody has 
their own bag. Even if their 

bag doesn’t match what’s in 
yours, you still respect it; if 
you don’t understand the slang 
metaphor 
here, 
essentially 

it means that everyone is 
different. No one person is 
going to be exactly alike, yet 
despite this we should respect 
one another and honor each 
other’s differences. I was 
embarrassed 
that 
I 
had 

strayed from this.

I am now embarrassed for 

others who have seemingly 
not 
been 
instilled 
with 

my 
mother’s 
wisdom. 
As 

of a week ago, a few more 
members 
of 
the 
LGBTQ 

community were elected as 
government officials across 
the 
nation. 
But 
here 
on 

campus, students are still 
attacked for disclosing such 
identities to their peers.

Last week a business junior 

revealed he was harassed 
by his roommates after he 
announced his sexuality on 
social media for “National 
Coming Out Day.” This story 
has now been picked up by 
other local media outlets and 
has become somewhat of a hot 
topic on campus, in the wake 
of statistics reporting that 1 in 
6 students feel discriminated 
against on campus. It is 
important to remember that 
discrimination on campus is 
not only racial. Still, even I 
have occasionally succumbed 
to this sort of thinking as 
well. Discrimination, as I 
have learned all too well 
after being on this campus for 
several years, can come in all 
sorts of shades.

Now, you may think — who 

am I to comment on any of 
this, 
especially 
following 

the confession of my prior 
problematic 
outlooks 

regarding 
these 
topics? 

However, I think it is the 
story of my personal growth, 
learning 
experience 
and 

enlightenment that serves as 
a perfect connection to my 
argument. We each have the 
ability to educate ourselves 
and in turn promote more 
progressive, respectful and 
productive ways of thinking 
about ourselves and others. 
So why not do it?

STEPHANIE MULLINGS | COLUMN

What’s normal anyway?

FROM THE DAILY

Keep final exams policy as is
I

t’s that time of year again: Football season is coming to a close, the 
temperature is falling faster than the leaves and the sun is setting 
before most of us eat dinner. Final exam season is on the horizon. 

On Oct. 28, 2017, LSA Student Government passed a resolution that aims 
to decrease the stress imposed on students during the last few weeks of 
the semester. One key provision of the resolution implores the College 
of Literature, Science and the Arts to hold professors accountable for 
administering exams during the time slot assigned by the Registrar’s 
Office. The Michigan Daily calls on the school of LSA to maintain its 
current policy, which gives professors the ability to have all final 
assignments and exams due before the scheduled exam times even begin.

Maybe later

Stephanie Mullings can be reached 

at srmulli@umich.edu.

NIA LEE | CONTACT NIA AT LEENIA@UMICH.EDU

I was forced 
into seminars 

and guest 

speaker lectures 
that... pried my 
narrow mind 
open to the 
perspectives 

and experiences 

of others. 

