THE BRUIN OPINION
SHOULD FINE ARTS COURSES BE REQUIRED? FINE ARTS SHOULD BE REQUIRED
OPINION BY LIZZY EDWARDS
S
tudents at Wadsworth High School have many different course requirements they must fill in order to graduate. One of these requirements is that each student must take one credit of fine arts courses. Although some people believe this is not necessary, fine arts classes are beneficial to students and should be required. Many people think of drawing sketches or painting portraits when they hear the term “fine arts.” In reality, fine arts consist of much more. Along with traditional art classes, fine arts courses at WHS also include things like newspaper and yearbook, band, choir, and speech. This gives students a wide range of options to choose from. “Most students find courses that satisfy [the fine arts credit] that they’re also interested in,” said Lauren Ross, a guidance counselor at WHS. Taking fine arts courses is a great way for students to go out of their comfort zone and try new things. For college-bound students, this can be beneficial in applications. Colleges like to see students that are wellrounded and have a wide range of interests. The most common criticism of this requirement is that it is not necessary for every student to take fine arts classes, especially if they are planning to go straight into a career after high
FINE ARTS SHOULD NOT BE REQUIRED OPINION BY LUKE HOUSER
school. However, the requirement is flexible. Accommodations can be made for students who have no feasible way of meeting it. “For students that are exploring a career technical pathway, those programs can actually exempt them from needing a fine art,” Ross said. Even students who have to follow the requirement shouldn’t worry Newspaper about not being able to meet it. One credit is only two semester-long Yearbook classes or one year-long class. This is only a small Art (2d, 3d, fraction of the Advanced, and AP) classes students take throughout their four years of Band high school. “I think just knowing that Choir there’s different options for students who don’t want to feel forced into something more traditional makes me absolutely feel like it’s a good requirement,” Ross said. Overall, the fine arts credit is a very reasonable requirement for students at WHS.
igh school is a time for students to learn general skills to help prepare them for college, trade school, or just life in general. However, some of the classes that students are required to take in order to graduate should not be mandatory. Classes Music Theory such as fine arts, for example, are usually an unnecessary Speech requirement for high school students. Architectural Most students Design take some type of art class through Engineering middle school. Graphics These art classes generally teach Intro to students the basics of drawing, Broadcasting painting, and basic types of art forms. However, students who are more artistically inclined will usually gravitate towards art based classes on their own. “I don’t think it should be required, but there should be an emphasis on it,” said Thor Nagel, freshmen. “I still
making every student take a test that may not help them. “Yeah, I think I’m probably gonna go to Ohio State,” said Rocky Clites. “If I don’t do well I’ll probably take it again. I personally believe it should be optional because there’s a lot of colleges that are going ACT optional now, so I really
adopting for years. The overall numbers show that only around 1.7 million students from 2022 took the ACT. Compared to 2019 and 2020, where it was around 2.2 million, it is clear that the ACT is losing popularity among students and schools. “Definitely not, just because schools
H
What classes count as fine arts?
would have gone into band if fine arts wasn’t required because I enjoy it.” Core classes, such as math and English should be required. With there being such a wide range of fine arts classes, students are more than likely to end up meeting the criteria anyways. But with them being required, students who really want to place a focus on a certain subject are forced to still set aside a portion of their time at high school for a class that may not help them. Juniors and seniors who put off taking an art class may have to take them in their junior or senior year, which could cause conflict with something like a CCP, AP, or compact class. This, paired along with other required classes, could be the cause of unnecessary stress for students. And with such a wide range of classes counting as a ‘fine art,’ it is hard to justify that these classes will provide the student with any real positive impact. Forcing students to take certain classes just to meet a criteria should not be how high schools are run. It is fine to require core classes, but since art classes are more similar to extracurriculars being that they are more ‘fun,’ it should be left up to each student to decide whether or not they want to take certain fine arts classes.
THE ACT SHOULD BE OPTIONAL OPINION BY LUKE HOUSER
T
he ACT has long been the golden standard when it comes to college admissions. For decades, students were required to turn in their ACT test scores to be admitted into any college or university. However, in recent years colleges have begun lessening the test requirements needed for their applications, instead more heavily basing it on their merits. Especially due to things like the COVID-19 pandemic, many schools are now test-optional. This is great for students who do not wish to upload their scores in their application. For these types of students, or for those who do not wish to go to college after high school, the ACT is not necessary for them and can be a waste of time and money. “Yes, I’m taking the ACT,” said Brad Bomgardner, junior. “But I don’t really know if I’m going to a college.” Many students in high school view the ACT as something that they must take if they ever hope to attend college. That might have been the case decades ago, but more colleges have dropped their ACT requirements as time goes on. Another lesser known fact about the ACT is that students can take it at any age. If someone decides they want to go to college later on in life, they can still apply and take the ACT then. There is no good reason for the peer pressure into
16 MARCH 2023
I was not happy with my first two scores. I did this because I wanted to have a better chance of getting into my first choice college. However, even with a score that I was comfortable with, I was still not accepted. Instead, I opted for a second choice school that I was still very interested in, but the other school was completely test optional, meaning I wouldn’t have had to take the ACT any of COLLEGE POLICY ON SAT/ACT APPLICATION REQUIREMENT those three times and I still could have TEST OPTIONAL (TEMPORARY) - 45.8% been accepted. Many students place more importance on the ACT than they should. This causes unnecessary stress on the students. It is TEST OPTIONAL (PERMANENT) - 42.2% hard to gauge the genuine knowledge of a student from just one test, but that’s exactly what colleges did for a while. TEST FREE (PERMANENT) - 6.2% Recently many colleges have realized this and have moved to a test-optional SAT/ACT REQUIRED - 3.6% format, and I believe it has helped students in their college application process. TEST FREE (TEMPORARY) - 2.2% For some students who have a lower GPA than their ACT score correlates with, it could actually be beneficial to submit In a study done by Compass Education Group, 416 colleges across the U.S. were evaluated regarding an ACT score alongside a transcript. their testing policy for the 2021-2022 school season. With half of the colleges permanently maintaining But for many others, their GPA, which a test optional or test free system, the ACT is often not necessary for the average student, even if reflects a much more long-term picture college is something they want to pursue. Infographic by Luke Houser. of their overall grades, submitting an think it should depend on the person- if nowadays are starting to understand ACT score could potentially lessen their they want to take it or not.” that grades aren’t everything,” said chances of being accepted. OSU, for example, has remained Dexter Bonds, junior. “You can’t just The ACT should still remain a tool that test optional for its 2022 and 2023 gauge a person’s intelligence with a students can optionally use to apply for applicants. At least for the time being, number, so I don’t think it’ll be nearly as college, but it should be a choice and they are continuing down the test important in the future.” not an expected prerequisite. optional trend that schools have been I took the ACT a total of three times, as
ACT
the