Double major double take

Last semester, my fellow op-ed columnist John Brown penned an article aptly titled “Stop major proliferation.”

Throughout this finely crafted tirade, he poked fun at those who constantly and consistently asked him about his majors and who he was very quick to tell he had only one.

I admire people like that, I really do. To have such a singular focus for so many years of concerted study is truly inspiring.

Unfortunately, we live in a world where very few can be satisfied by such an undertaking. There’s simply far too much to see and do and learn. I have two majors, and you probably do too.

Multiple concentrations, typically exemplified in the double major, are a great benefit to you as a student. You don’t have to be confined to a single field of study, receiving only elective credit for your other interests. You should be able to study whatever you want, as often as you want.

If you decide to obtain a double major simply because it’s “only a few more classes,” good for you. You’ll still be learning in those classes, and there’s no telling what you might glean from them. If nothing else, you’ll get a degree.

I know it might sound crass and unromantic, but isn’t a degree your main goal anyway?A lot of people downplay the bachelor’s degree these days, saying it’s not nearly as impressive as it has been in the past. This may be true, but I certainly feel better knowing I’ll finally have that piece of paper in less than a month.

You see, there’s a really nasty trick played on every single one of us. Parents, professors and the like will constantly ramble on about our “potential.”

They throw the word around as if it’s the end-all-be-all of human endeavor, using phrases like “living up to your potential” and — more apropos for my case — “not living up to your potential.”

The problem lies in the fact that college is the last place where your potential really counts for something. During your time here, you’re supposed to take those abilities and talents and refine them into a viable skill set that you can repeat over and over. I guess I missed the memo.

I’m not advocating that every English or philosophy major should quit what they’re doing and switch to business. In fact, that kind of move would be a disservice to the entire world.

The last thing we need is another business major roaming the streets. What I urge all of you to remember is that after graduation, all you’ll leave IU with are a handful of memories and a piece of paper that says you were here.

You might as well have that piece of paper say as much as possible. “Prudent” is a word I truly hate. Ambition, however, has nothing to do with prudence. Go out there and get everything you can, while you can. Nobody ever mocked the Renaissance Man.
 

E-mail: erbcox@indiana.edu