When people ask me what my major is, two options for a response pop into my mind. I can tell them I am a Social Sciences major with a concentration in Law and Society or I can mumble something indistinct and make an excuse to leave before I suffer any embarrassment. When I glanced at the latest enrollment statistics for Spring 2010, I felt very alone. Only 38 students share my major; just a handful share my concentration. Not having mathematics or science in my curriculum is a challenge at Michigan Tech, one I expect to keep confronting until graduation.
The most common accusation I face from engineers is having a “fake major”. Unless my tuition bill and countless hours spent writing papers are a figment of my math-deprived imagination, I am fairly certain my major is indeed real. Some say that my major is easy and is only in place for those who find engineering too difficult. Judging by the spelling and grammar on friends’ Facebook stati and the scrawling on whiteboards, I have serious doubts as to whether some would fulfill the expectations of my major without some difficulty.
Without going into the depths of the various types of learning and ways of measuring academic success, I believe many students at Michigan Tech have a very fixed idea of what constitutes a difficult or easy major. Usually if a bubble sheet can accurately measure it, a subject is worth studying. If, however, the measurement is a bit more abstract or subjective, the subject becomes simple and obsolete.
I assure you, I do not believe this prejudice is directed only one way. I have seen many humanities majors turn up their nose at calculus or engineering and bury themselves in Milton, pausing only to sip their latté or green tea, believing that they are in pursuit of “what really matters”.
Surprisingly, the constant testing of my major’s worth has actually been beneficial. Being barraged with negative criticism has caused me to question the validity of my subject many times and constantly have I reaffirmed my belief in the importance and legitimacy of my major. Had I gone to a small, liberal arts college, I would be bombarded with positive feedback and collegial propaganda, which would never tempt me to explore studies outside my own. It is important to be tested; the more faith is shaken, the stronger its foundations become.
I will say that as frustrating and difficult as Algebra and Calculus have been for me, my most challenging class has been without a doubt Creative Writing.
I am sure many people choose the class looking for an easy A. If one fills their journal with nonsense and completes the assignments on time, an A wouldn’t be too difficult to achieve. But to do well in the subject is an entirely different matter.
Academia is ill-equipped to judge success of students who pursue less measurable forms of study, such as Creative Writing. Throughout the semester I have been continually frustrated, not with the grade that appears on the computer, but with the merit of my work.
To be one of only 38 students in my major, which is large for non-technical students, can make one rethink choice of schools. But I have always had full confidence in the curriculum and faculty in my department. Michigan Tech provides a quality education, whther you’re an engineer or an artist.
Additionally, my program is small enough that class sizes are kept to a minimum. Professors and advisors are also extrememly accessible. Although my computer lab is the smallest on campus, I’ve found comfort in old-house smell and piles of unwanted books mounded around the computers. The maze of offices (known affectionately as the “rat warren”) in the Academic Office Building has become as familiar to me as the faces within the cramped rooms.
There is certainly no supremacy of one subject over another. Engineers and authors alike change the world, who is to say which is superior? I would like, however, to be able to tell people my major without them having to suppress a smirk or a giggle.