What I'm Listening To: Joy-Newsboys
I was officially accepted into the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at UW-Madison this morning. My parents read me the acceptance letter when they received it in the mail. Now all I have to do is take a 6-credit course that will completely revolutionize the way that I write/think--or so they tell me--in order to get out of the university where I have enough standing, credit-wise to graduate.
I'm definitely pleased to be accepted, but it brings to mind an issue that I'm pretty sure isn't just at UW-Madison. It's the question of false advertising. Not of the Journalism School, but of universities in general. When people say that their school is a 4-year university, that should mean that you can graduate in four years with every major, or at least that there is an opportunity to graduate in four years. Some majors in many schools or the way that the system is set simply do not provide that. Many school say that they are four year universities, but in actuality they produce fifth year seniors. Being a fifth year senior is not a bad thing and should not be looked down upon. The question needs to be asked if the rate of fifth year seniors is growing because students actually need this time to graduate or because something in the system isn't working or *ahem* corruptformonetarygain.
Either way, the upside is that I'll graduate with two degrees and hopefully everything that I learn through the J-School will prepare me for the job market and make me marketable to get a job which in any case, is all that I can ask for out of a system.
