Get the most from what USP can offer

Column by Wesley Robinson

Most college students complain about the requirements that you have to take in order to graduate, usually citing their uselessness for future ventures. What good is a foreign language or a cross-cultural class if you want to be a dentist? How are you benefitted by a basic writing class if you want to crunch numbers?

As I slowly inch toward graduation, I am finding the answers to these questions.

I have finally had to knock out all of the pre-major/University Studies Program requirements that I have put off for so long. This semester, I have a few 100-level courses which will give me my last “easy” semester. It’s not as easy as Matt Leinart and ballroom dancing or Deion Sanders not going to class for a year, but it is a lot less work than I am used to.

Interestingly enough, these “easy” classes have been my most useful and enjoyable classes of my collegiate experience. I say this because I am looking at the courses for the full value and not what is just on the course description.

For example, in my logic class we work to figure out the validity and soundness of arguments through truth tables. Applying these principles to everyday life, I have been able to become a more reasonable person in all aspects of life.

It is really easy to jump to conclusions and not fully think about things without assessing all of the preconditions and terms of a situation, but with such logical methods fresh on my mind, I have found it easy to quickly and critically deal with the stress of college life.

In English, the focus of the course is civil disobedience and how the “rule” of law oppresses people. We have reviewed situations where civil disobedience is necessary and studied the preconditions necessary for it, which is much different than the rebellion that college students are used to. From that I have taken a sense of obligation to see both sides of the issue and consider why things are the way they are, if they warrant change and how to go about bringing about that change in a way that benefits both sides.

Finally, in biology lab and lecture, we are looking at things scientifically. We have to have reasons and thoroughly think out issues before we get started on the problems. For the lab, we have to use the scientific method and cannot blindly proceed into a problem or an observation without taking the necessary steps to make sure we are tackling the problem as best we can.

We also have learned about pet theories — the kind that get people into trouble. The way I interpreted a pet hypothesis is that when a scientist has a hypothesis, they have to objectively look at a problem and assess all options. If this does not occur, then testing the situation will be flawed and will most likely skew results.

Not to get too political, but if the current administration wasn’t in love with the theory that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, we may not have gotten ourselves into the mess that over half the country didn’t want in the first place.

That said, an invasion could have been the right strategy, but if the ideas that shaped these decisions were not fully weighed, then the hypothesis isn’t sound.

Had it not been for the extenuating circumstances that caused me to have to register at the last minute, I would not have been taking these classes — all of which teach students more than just what you see on the surface.

I think USP’s work is much better than we give it credit for, provided we enter in with the proper mindset and recognize that we can learn more than what is listed in the course description.