Opinion Georgetown without languages is just school
Issue 2
By COLLIN SMITH Photo Editor Hello. I’m your typical Georgetown College student. I came in my freshman year planning my path to pharmacy school. I was enrolled in Chemistry 111 with the required lab, the newly required Foundations 111, the questionably essential English 115 and a slew of music classes required for my minor. I survived. Second semester, I continued taking chemistry and added biology. I soon realized that pursuing a career within the sciences was not for me. Following this revelation, I embarked on my journey from department to department at Georgetown hoping to find a place for me to settle down. I started in my home turf. I kept pursuing a music minor think-
January 29, 2014 Page 11
ing that it could turn into a major area of study. I had the great opportunity to participate in both band and choir, which challenged me in unique ways unlike any other discipline. I was able to build relationships with faculty and staff who encouraged me to pursue my passions whatever they may be. Despite not being a major focus of my academic career, my involvement in the music department has allowed me to participate in many clubs and organizations with various leadership roles throughout my four years here. I made a pit stop in mathematics, which challenged me to learn how to be an effective and successful student. Essentially, the lessons I learned in these classes are some of the most important of my college
career. Still unsure of where my academic journey was going, I began to focus on my Foundation and Core Requirements. I took English 296 to fulfill my Literature requirement, and found one of my favorite Georgetown professors. Dr. Barbaccia challenged me to grow as a reader of literature. I found this to be one of the most rewarding classes I’ve ever taken. I realized the value of these skills and will probably pick up an English minor. One of the other Foundation and Core Requirements is a foreign language. The most popular language is Spanish, which is the language I studied in high school. But I decided to follow a different course of study for my college language. I decided to take German. I mostly took German
because my vocal teacher requires her students to sing in the foreign language they study. As I cannot roll my r’s, Spanish and French were out of the running. Thus, my study of German began. It started out as something that was interesting and different, and I quickly realized that German was a subject that I was really passionate about. I gained a new appreciation for other cultures around the world as well as a new lens in which to view our own culture. I have a new knowledge of how the world has developed and how it all fits together. German history is long and diverse. My classes range from the study of medieval tales of knights and ladies to contemporary rap music. If Georgetown College did
not have these departments, my Georgetown experience would be vastly different. I would not have the opportunities to discover my various talents and passions. I was opened up to new ideas and challenged to try things that I never would have tried before. The relationships I’ve made with my professors are lasting and worthwhile. To imagine Georgetown College without languages or music is to imagine a Georgetown where students like me won’t be able to discover something they enjoy, but never even considered. Georgetown College, by being a liberal arts institution, allows students to explore new avenues of study that they never knew possible. No one is constrained by what their major “should be.”
worth it?” There were several summers where I would be sitting in class due to making up snow days, wondering if it was worth getting to stay home and sleep late and to go out and make a snowman. The struggle of having to go to school and stare out the window into the sun–warmed earth always made me wish that I hadn’t gotten out of school when it did snow. At the time that it snowed, I was all for missing school, and even though staying in school during the summer sucks, I’d rather be warm in bed during the cold days.
But I’m at an impasse when it comes to whether the recent events of snow should have kept Scott County schools out of session. There were a few days where the roads were initially bad, but as far
as I could see the salt trucks did a good job of keeping the roads as ice free as possible. The county I went to had bank days, which were a set number of times we could miss school without having to make it up; however that is not the case for this county. I feel bad the Scott County kids will have to be in school for so long, and I feel like some of the days they were given off weren’t exactly necessary. On the other hand though, I have checked my email more times within the last few weeks than I have in six months, hoping that any of my classes would be canceled because I
didn’t want to have to walk around in the cold and to deal with a runny nose and coughs. I can understand that the cold weather can cause health issues and being out of school could help keep kids safe. Scott County has had reasonable cause to miss some days of school; however I think some of the days could have been avoided. If it is dangerous and too cold, kids should stay home, if there is snow on the ground but driving conditions are fine, go ahead and keep kids in school so they can have a longer summer.
Are snow days worth it?
By BRENNA JEWELL Staff Writer
In the last two to three weeks, the weather has brought a lot of snow to Georgetown, layering the town with a picturesque feel. Children have stayed snuggled within their homes due to school cancellations, braving just a few hours to go play out in the snow. It’s a wonderful feeling knowing that you get to wake up late and sit around in your pajamas all day long, one that I long for again, but as the school calendar starts lengthening into June the one question that everyone has is, “Is it
Source: newstimes.com
Kentucky has seen a rough winter so far.