Honestly, what is the point of general requirement classes?

Let me start this off by saying I give approximately zero to one or two fucks about fluorescent minerals and rocks as displayed in the geology museum — not to bash anyone who gives many fucks, but personally, I don’t whatsoever. The irony of this is that I’m writing about how much I hate these fucking rocks while I’m supposed to be paying attention to the slideshow about them in my Planet Earth class, because Rutgers says I have to.

I’m a Communications student here at Rutgers with a minor in Digital Communication, Information, and Media, which means I have to fulfill class requirements for the Communication major, the DCIM minor, and not to mention the requirements for the School of Arts and Sciences. Now, with these general requirement classes, there are a few I can understand. I’m kind of a nerd so I do think that we have to understand history to not repeat mistakes made in the past, so I get having to take a historical analysis class.

But as a 21^st Century Challenges or Natural Sciences requirements go, you’re not really able to take many classes that pertain to your major. In hopes I could shed these credits as quickly as possible I’ve taken Transforming Global Environment and Planet Earth because the encompass both.

Both of these classes suck almost as bad as trying to get on an LX bus at 1:30 at Scott Hall. Needless to say, they suck lots of dicks if you have no interest in them at all.

At least my teacher relates the study of minerals to lil Wayne

Let me tell you something about Calculus by saying if my potential employer one day at whatever production company or media outlet I hope to work for tells me that I can only get the job if I can recite the quadratic formula, I will sort of go into a Vietnam flashback-type episode and go absolutely ape shit. Now, we’re all expected to believe that we somehow need these pointless class requirements to be able to be a functioning member of society and to join the workforce, but is that really true? Survey says, fuck no.

I relate these classes to getting a physical at the doctors office and the inevitable statement, “Ok now I’m gonna have to ask you to drop your pants”. Similar to my experience in Planet Earth, I try to look away and act like it’s not happening, and I don’t want to be there at all, but whether you like it or not, it’s happening and you have to get it done, so…

There’s not much of a point, at least to me, with learning about volcanoes, integrals, formulas, etc., when my major has to do with how people communicate. College is supposed to be the place where we explore our interests and delve deep into our chosen career path, but “they” force you to take classes that are pretty fucking pointless for some people.

As a final statement to the powers that be, can we please, as students, just start taking classes that we have actual interest in, or that will at least pertain to our major?