Writing this notebook was tough. Finding a topic was a struggle since the folks over at the Mueller Center have decided to actually respond to every complaint I’ve filed against them over the past year. It appears I’ve done all the damage I could do at the gym; the time has finally come to inspire another department.
Let me start with a disclaimer. As one of only roughly six communications majors on this campus, I thoroughly enjoy the education I’ve received from the school of Humanities and Social Sciences. There is not another department at RPI where the professors and advisors take a truly personal interest in their students’ interests, talents, and abilities.
The problem, and my complaint—although it might cost me a letter grade in my current courses—is that sometimes students need more than a friend.
H&SS professors need to challenge their students. They need to change the perception that humanities courses are “blow off” courses. Professors need to stop walking into their classes on the first day and saying, “I realize most of you are engineers and this is not your most important class.”
I have heard such statements every semester, and each time, they eat at me more and more. First off, professors should realize that there are more than just engineers in the class. EMAC and COMM students are the ones who fill the majority of these classes and care most about them. The classes need to be tailored to their needs, not those of the engineers, who could only stand to benefit from a more challenging H&SS curriculum.
The RPI administration should also encourage the H&SS department to raise the bar for its students. President Jackson has promoted diversity and the creation of a well-rounded Rensselaer student; she must realize, however, that this cannot be accomplished with just the construction of a building on the west end of campus, but with continued financial and verbal support from the top and more support services for students.
An improved H&SS department will attract stronger future students, improve the school and the Institute’s reputation worldwide, and ultimately and most importantly, improve the education of the student body.
EMPAC will aid in increasing the H&SS vision on campus. It will give the school a home to be proud of and a work area students will want to visit, but its looming physical presence cannot motivate or educate its users. The professors can and should.
The engineers, and even some of the H&SS students, may hate me for making these demands—I may hate myself at the end of the semester—but I’ll sacrifice my grade point average for a truly challenging classroom experience.
