Spring Break
The Daily OrangeNewhouse curriculums too similar to permit double majors
By Melissa Valliant
Posted: 10/19/07, 12:30 AM EST Section: Opinion
As a typical senior, I whine and moan about my 15 credits that bring me extensive time in the computer lab, papers, exams, projects, blah, blah, blah. But as an incoming freshman, choosing my classes and majors felt like drooling over chocolate bars in a candy shop and attempting to decide between the best 10. Advertising, public relations, magazine, newspaper, graphic arts and television, radio and film - I could choose any of them.
When I realized that dual majoring within the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications was not even an option, my heart broke. Minoring in Newhouse was even prohibited if I wanted a communications major as well. I was forced to choose only one subject within the communications school.
My fascination with the many types of communication studies grew throughout the next couple of years. So did my bitterness for the lousy jerks in undergraduate studies who were obviously tearing apart my dreams just for kicks.
Just as we once all complained that Johnny and Sally's parents let them go to the party, I recently approached the undergraduate student affairs office with the objection that other schools allowed dual majoring within their school. If I were a Management student, I could major in marketing and accounting. An Arts and Sciences student could major in both psychology and English. It is only right that Newhouse does the same, right?
Wrong, according to Rosanna Grassi, associate dean for Student Affairs for Newhouse.
The first reason, she said, deals with the fact that most of the Newhouse majors overlap in classes. For example, magazine, newspaper, broadcast and graphic arts majors all must take COM 505, Communications Law for Journalists. All Newhouse students take COM 107, Communications and Society. Many majors require GRA 217, Introduction to Graphics. If one were to double major within Newhouse, there would not be enough course requirements because of the overlap.
As it turns out, even the Martin J. Whitman School of Management and The College of Arts and Sciences have restrictions on double majoring because of the same problem.
Grassi's second reason involves academic philosophy. Though there are universities that allow a double major in communications studies, Syracuse University seeks to professionally educate students in liberal arts. This is the reason you took that monotonous, brain-numbing science course, as well as a combination of studies in humanities, social sciences, mathematics and foreign language.
While a couple of these courses may not have been so invigorating, Grassi mentions an important point.
"Communication touches so much of our lives that we need to educate our communicators," Grassi said. "If our journalists can't explain the problem to the general public, how are we going to hope to solve any of it?"
A liberal arts curriculum allows our future communicators to be well-rounded so that they can communicate a plethora of topics. My frustration over Newhouse's restrictions distracted me from the big picture.
"Sometimes it's not even a matter of how useful it's going to be in your job," Grassi said. "Education is learning and being productive in your life."
Touché, Dean Grassi, touché.
Melissa Valliant is a weekly columnist for The Daily Orange. She can be reached at melissa.valliant@gmail.com.
When I realized that dual majoring within the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications was not even an option, my heart broke. Minoring in Newhouse was even prohibited if I wanted a communications major as well. I was forced to choose only one subject within the communications school.
My fascination with the many types of communication studies grew throughout the next couple of years. So did my bitterness for the lousy jerks in undergraduate studies who were obviously tearing apart my dreams just for kicks.
Just as we once all complained that Johnny and Sally's parents let them go to the party, I recently approached the undergraduate student affairs office with the objection that other schools allowed dual majoring within their school. If I were a Management student, I could major in marketing and accounting. An Arts and Sciences student could major in both psychology and English. It is only right that Newhouse does the same, right?
Wrong, according to Rosanna Grassi, associate dean for Student Affairs for Newhouse.
The first reason, she said, deals with the fact that most of the Newhouse majors overlap in classes. For example, magazine, newspaper, broadcast and graphic arts majors all must take COM 505, Communications Law for Journalists. All Newhouse students take COM 107, Communications and Society. Many majors require GRA 217, Introduction to Graphics. If one were to double major within Newhouse, there would not be enough course requirements because of the overlap.
As it turns out, even the Martin J. Whitman School of Management and The College of Arts and Sciences have restrictions on double majoring because of the same problem.
Grassi's second reason involves academic philosophy. Though there are universities that allow a double major in communications studies, Syracuse University seeks to professionally educate students in liberal arts. This is the reason you took that monotonous, brain-numbing science course, as well as a combination of studies in humanities, social sciences, mathematics and foreign language.
While a couple of these courses may not have been so invigorating, Grassi mentions an important point.
"Communication touches so much of our lives that we need to educate our communicators," Grassi said. "If our journalists can't explain the problem to the general public, how are we going to hope to solve any of it?"
A liberal arts curriculum allows our future communicators to be well-rounded so that they can communicate a plethora of topics. My frustration over Newhouse's restrictions distracted me from the big picture.
"Sometimes it's not even a matter of how useful it's going to be in your job," Grassi said. "Education is learning and being productive in your life."
Touché, Dean Grassi, touché.
Melissa Valliant is a weekly columnist for The Daily Orange. She can be reached at melissa.valliant@gmail.com.
Be the first to comment on this story