Anya Cohen
I really like The College of Wooster, and clearly I am not the only person who feels this way. Slowly but surely Wooster’s name is gaining recognition, and with that, more and more prospective students apply. When it comes to increased size, I harbor no resentment. More people means, most likely, more attractive guys on campus. However, what really grinds my gears is the way that the College has adapted, or not adapted, to these changes. Grinding my gears, most specifically, when it comes to class registration.
This past semester, I have heard more complaints from students about not being able to register for the classes they want, or even need, than ever before. A class would close, and by the time you picked an alternate, the alternate would be closed. Hell broke loose. Students were banging down the doors of professors’ offices and sending copious emails to no avail.
After wearing my thinking cap for a few months, I think I have finally come up with two very palpable solutions.
My first solution is a two-parter. Part one is opening up more class sections. I am reasonable, and recognize that the College cannot just demand that professors teach more classes. The professors are already asked to do a lot; if we make them teach more, they might explode. Therefore, (part two) we need to hire some new professors. Sorry Wooster, I know a professor’s salary isn’t pocket change, but when a sophomore English major cannot even register for an English class without pleading with the professor, I would call it money well spent.
If adding more professors is unappealing to you, I have an alternate solution. Admittedly, this solution will be a pain in the butt to implement, but on the plus side, it will work. By the time the poor first-years get around to registering, there is nothing left. I know this because when the sophomores, such as myself, got around to registering there was nothing left also.
Call me too empathetic, but I feel as though every student on this campus deserves to be in at least two classes of their choice. In order to make sure that this happens, I propose that every student registers twice. Starting with the seniors, each student should pick two classes they are most eager to take, then the juniors and so on. Then, once every student, including the first-years, is happy with two of their classes, we pick again. Beginning again with the seniors, we will go through the motions once more. The seniors will probably still end up with all four classes that they want and at the least the first-years will have two. It’s a win-win-win-win.