David Pope

I may be in the minority here, but I love the Liberal Arts Core. My education would not be nearly as eye-opening without it. As a political communication major, I have taken many courses seemingly unrelated to my studies as part of the LAC experience. As a student hungry to learn, though, they all impacted me immensely.

Introduction to women’s and gender studies opened my eyes to numerous levels of inequality existing both outside and inside the formal structures of governments and politics. How could I not reflect on the current class struggles and economic turmoil of the U.S. when learning about worker uprisings in ancient Rome as part of a humanities class? In Statistics, despite the fact that it was a class I detested, I learned above and beyond how malleable and suspect to manipulation data can be (political polls, anyone?).

In a liberal arts biology class, I learned about micro-organisms in the soil and gained a new appreciation for the complexity of Iowa’s agricultural issues and their impact on the environment. While taking a class on fossils and evolution to satisfy a science requirement, I was first introduced to the Jordan rock mass in Iowa and the commercial interests in mining it for the purpose of extracting frac sand, a looming political and environmental battle.

I can’t think of a single class that hasn’t widened my understanding, and prepared me to be a citizen of the world as well as a young political professional. Maybe we don’t need to improve the LAC so much as stop complaining about it and actually learn.

Madison McKone

As a senior at the University of Northern Iowa, I am just now finishing my last liberal arts core requirement. In total, UNI students must complete a minimum of 45 credit hours of liberal arts courses.

The university promotes the LAC by saying students will acquire skills, knowledge, perspectives and values that promote “life-long learning, enlarging the scope of their world to global issues and diverse cultures and increasing their strategies for solving complex problems they will encounter in the future.”

While I agree this diverse education can be beneficial, I also feel more personalized LAC requirements would be valuable for students. When I came to UNI, I knew I would like to focus on writing to some degree. If my LAC classes had been more focused around my interest in writing, I feel that I would have gained more experience in my area of interest, rather than putting time and energy into an area I would not utilize in the future.

To facilitate this sort of change, I encourage making more classes qualify for LAC requirements. This could be done by raising the number of hours needed in one of the six LAC categories of your choice and limiting the remaining five.

This change will maintain a student’s development in all areas while giving them access to classes that can be better applied to their future career. Students who do not have a major in mind can complete the current LAC requirements. It is a win-win situation for those who have their future already decided and for those who don’t.

Christopher Daniel

I found myself, a few weeks ago, in the strange position of explaining Einstein’s theory of relativity to a physics major.

I major in English.

It can be said that he was a freshman or sophomore or that he didn’t pay attention in class, and relativity is a complex subject. But a physics major ought to be familiar with the basics of Einstein’s theories. This should be taught in any beginning college physics course. This way, not only would those choosing to major in physics have a basic understanding of a fundamental part of modern physics, but non-major students who take physics as part of their Liberal Arts Core would understand the outlines of the theory. It’s like taking an introduction to English literature without learning about the structure of narratives.

To improve the Liberal Arts Core, we must first make sure we are hiring and maintaining professors who are outstanding in their field. They ought to have earned recognition for excellence in teaching. It would also be a good idea to hire those that have some practical (non-academic) experience related to their field.

Secondly, no multiple choice tests should be administered for major exams, such as midterms and finals. Instead, the test format should consist of short answers. Too many LAC courses at UNI take the easy route and offer multiple choice exams to test students’; knowledge of the course topics.

Finally, wellness should be disposed of. It should be replaced with a computer or digital technology course. We offer them. They ought to be integral to our education for a digital world.

Corey Cooling

The Liberal Arts Core is an integral part of a University of Northern Iowa education, and it is healthy to take a look at its strengths and where it can be improved. As it stands, the LAC requires a total of 45 hours. Considering the responsibilities students are increasingly taking on, 45 may seem like a reasonable number of hours to learn what it is to be an educated citizen. Therefore, any additions should be offset by reductions in other areas.

I’m sure there will be plenty of words regarding Personal Wellness, and I’d rather have all three Humanities classes required than requiring Personal Wellness.

One of the best things about the LAC is that it is flexible. With a few exceptions, students can choose between several classes to fill a requirement. This is good for empowering the student in their learning as well as allowing for flexibility when it comes to schedule conflicts.12