Beat Boredom in Class: The Best Classes to Take at DePauw

Last week I wanted to hit my advisor on the head with a rubber chicken.  Why would I want to do that, you ask?  After all, he holds the golden ticket to my success here at DePauw—he wields the mysterious RAC number that gives me access to any class I could ever want to take on this campus—he keeps track of all 31 of my credits, ensuring that I graduate on time.  But therein lies the problem.  After three and three quarter years as a DePauw student, I’m finally enrolled in the classes that make my credit total 31.  The End.  No more classes necessary.  I’ve reached the limit.  After this semester I won’t be buying binders and labeling notebooks.  I will walk in a billowy black polyester robe with colorful cords like curtain ties hanging from my neck.  I’ll wear a square piece of cardboard on my head, and when I flip the stringy tassel from one side to the other I’ll be completely done.  

So why does he still send me advising emails?  Doesn’t he know that seniors who can’t wait to leave find them an obnoxious tether to the college world?  Or that seniors who will have to be dragged kicking and screaming off campus think they are a cruel reminder of the inevitable “g-word”?  (Graduation—gasp!)  My mind won’t wrap itself around this concept yet.  I still have homework assignments and papers to write, parties to attend and events to plan.  I can’t be a mere 5 weeks away from my departure from the DePauw bubble.  I should still be involved in the class selection process, shouldn’t I?  I should be responding to these emails, signing up for advising times, and plotting the best way to get into my top class choices.  Right?  Wrong.

My advisor has always enjoyed practical jokes: one year he tricked me into writing 50 numbers on a scrap sheet of paper before he finally stopped me and said my RAC number was only the first six of the sequence I had written.  I’ll never admit that this happened during my junior year, which made it that much funnier to him.  Later that week he got a freshman to write 90 numbers (the only thing that saved me from complete humiliation.)  I asked him if sending me advising emails was another joke—another way to jab a marshmallow roaster at unsuspecting students for a laugh.

“You’re still my advisee,” he said, “you’re still on my email list, and I send out those emails to everyone on the list.”

Thanks.  Thanks a lot.

Despite the slow torture of building anxiety, this experience produced something helpful for every other graduating class still at DePauw.  I began to think about all the classes I’ve taken, the one’s I haven’t, and the ones I wish I had.  So, classes of 2012, 2013, and 2014, below you’ll find some of the best classes I’ve ever taken in my tenure here, as well as some input from other DePauw students.  Your initial schedules have already been submitted, but there’s always time to switch!

For the Artist in You:

Intro to Drawing with John Berry.  This is no Etch-A-Sketch—it’s a legit class, and I loved it!  For three hours twice a week we met at Peeler and worked on various drawing techniques and styles.  John is a fabulous instructor, understanding the shaky nature of an introductory class, but still expecting that each of his students put forth an effort with their pieces.  After each class my hands looked black from charcoal and pencil shavings—I often had smudges all over my face—but my pieces improved daily. I learned to use techniques from other classes, like persistence, open-mindedness, and problem solving, to figure out how to create a successful composition.  I especially recommend this class to non-art students.  You’ll learn so much more than you thought you could, add variety to your class schedule, and feel a sense of accomplishment so much more rewarding than an A on a paper.

Music Senior Seminar with Dr. Hollander.  Senior Katherine Walker loves the discussion based class setting, and she appreciates the more intimate atmosphere than a 100 or 200 level course.  “Dr. Hollander met with each student in the class before the semester, then seems to have shaped the readings around what projects we are working on,” Walker said.  The care taken in planning the class is evident.  This class is empowering if only for the fact that the professor is as excited to learn something from the students as they are to learn something from the class.

For the Techie in You:

Computer Science with Khadija Stewart.  Seniors Alex Kriegshauser, Julia Rohm-Ensing, and David Dietz all loved their experiences in this class.  Kriegshauser is a biology major, but wanted to learn more about java/computer language and had so much fun in this class it quickly rose to the top of his list of favorites.

For the Bookworm in You:

Books and Film with Professor Samuel Autman.  Junior Holly Paris took this class a year later than I did, and I agree that it is definitely a top choice.  For anyone who wishes the movie version was as good as the book, or wonders why they didn’t include Chapter 16 in the screenplay—this class will help you answer those questions.  Not only is it fun to see how your favorite novels make it to the big screen, you learn a lot about the industry, too.  Students create a storyboard, analyze the screenplay process, and discuss the changes from novel, to screenplay, to storyboard, to movie. “There was a fusion between learning and doing which really made me understand the process–and allowed for people who aren’t good test-takers to benefit from the class,” Holly said.  Whether you prefer movies to books, or books to movies, this class is an interesting combination of knowledge from both fields.

Literature of Food with Debby Geis. Who doesn’t love a class that revolves around food?  Senior Emily Riggs says this is hands down her favorite class at DePauw. From the expected focus on food in literature and in the lives of students, this class expands to cover knife skills and recipes, too.  Get into this class quick before others gobble it up!

For your Inner Scientist:

Moons and Planets with Mary Kertzman.  According to junior Mike Harris, “The name may seem as if your 12 year-old brother should be taking the course instead of you, but if you are at all interested in Astronomy, this class is an unbelievably interesting adventure through the cosmos.”  As a communications major, this class didn’t do much for his list of major requirements, but Professor Kertzman’s enthusiasm for the topic made class fun, and he will never forget the interactive labs.  He remembers one in particular that involved shooting paintballs into layers of colored sand to replicate how impact craters are formed.  “As fun as the labs were to conduct, the nights which we were able to go to the observatory were by far the coolest aspect of the course,” Mike says.  “I looked through the telescope and saw Saturn and its rings so clearly, that it looked like a picture out of a National Geographic.”  If you haven’t obtained your science with a lab credit yet—or you just want to see Saturn’s rings—watch for openings in this one-of-a-kind class.

When you finally get the email that says courses have been released, take a look.  Are you in any of these classes?  If so, good for you, you’re in for an educational treat!  If not, better drop one quick and hope someone in the class you want hasn’t read about how great it is.