Letter: Columnist misses point of general ed. classes

I recently read a column in the Nov. 7 issue of The Spectrum that I found rather disturbing.

The article was titled, “General Education Classes are Dumb”, and argued the necessity of required courses by the University.

In case you did not get a chance to read this, the columnist, a journalism student, makes two general points about why general education classes are “dumb”.

The first point made was money. Taking general education courses is a waste of money.

The second point made was, as a journalism student, this columnist did not want to take anything unbeneficial to their field (“writing or something close to it”).

I was astonished to see how your columnist approached this argument.

I was surprised to see a journalism student argue the necessity of becoming a rounded student.

I would think if anyone argued for an opportunity for interdisciplinary studies, it would be a journalism student trying to enrich themselves to become better at what they do.

Looking through the edition of The Spectrum in which this article appeared is proof in of itself journalism spans many disciplines.

There was an article on Native American culture, respiratory flu, sports psychology, politics and genetics to name a few.

These are all topics covered in general education courses. This edition alone may dispel the notion of eliminating general education courses.

In closing, my suggestion to this columnist is to rewrite your column for a future edition of The Spectrum. Only, you will title this article, “Thank you NDSU!”

Your article will be about how your general education classes broadened your perspective as a journalist and led you to your first job.

In retrospect, you will see the benefits taking “Introduction to Art History, Geology and Genetics”.

Andrew Gress
Graduate Student
University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee