Classes worth cutting your break for

Intersession: A time when some people stay at home to sit back, relax and take in the first and last real break of their scholastic year while others return to Homewood campus to take some courses, fulfill those burdening distribution requirements and hang out with friends in a less stressful environment.

This year, winter break starts on Dec. 19, 2002 and doesn't end until Jan. 26, 2003. That's more than a whole month. Sophomore Emily Kaplan, says she decided to come back for Intersession last year because the hometown wasn't doing it for her.

"I didn't want to be at home for that long, I'd be bored." Kaplan indirectly speaks for many other students who feel that the vacation is excessively long. During last year's Intersession, she took ballroom dance lessons and picked up a job for the month. She decided not to take an academic class simply because "you need a break at some point." She describes Intersession as "more relaxed, a time when you can go out every night. Not to mention the fact that swing dance is the coolest!" Kaplan is planning on coming back for Intersession this year.

Sophomore Ravi Mody says he returns to the Hopkins campus during Intersession to enjoy Bloomberg's bricks once again because, "My friends at home have already gone back to school." The only reason not to return to campus, adds Ravi, is if you are going abroad, since Intersession is a good time for "long vacations outside of the country."

Sophomore Rushmi Ramakrishna, said that intersession's length allows for enough time to get a job or an internship that can benefit the student. Rushmi, for example, will be going to India this Intersession to participate in a "human rights internship with the U.N. human rights commissioner in India."

So, the key question is, when we all come back to jive in January, what should we look forward to doing or which classes should we be taking?

This past Monday, Nov. 18, was the first day for Intersession registration this year. Those who went early enough in the morning saw the rush of students trying to sign up for Unveiling the New World: Cartography and the Americas, offered through the Department of History and one of the few three-credit courses offered in the humanities.

Unfortunately, only 15 lucky students made it into the class. When the Intersession classes were first distributed amongst the students, the course on maps was considered a "cool course," one that everyone wanted to take. Can you blame students? Not only does the class seem interesting, but it is a three-credit class that requires six hours of your week and gives you humanities or social science credit.

Another popular course during intersession is Practicum in Communications, Journalism and the Arts, taught by Professor Tristan Davies of the Writing Seminars. This course required earlier registration, and since it is often over-subscribed, a lottery is used to decide who gets to take it.

The course is only one credit, but the school makes up for it by including a trip to New York City, special guest speakers and by providing outlets for networking with alumni. One would think that our tuition would pay for such a trip, but each student must dish out $250, which pays for transportation and a two-night hotel stay in Manhattan.

Upper classmen have raved about the courses offered by the Public Health department, due to their apparent easy requirements. However, the course has been redesigned to combine Issues in Public Health and International Health and requires 24 hours a week, making it quite intense. On the bright side, it is worth three credits and is a social science credit. Just make sure you're willing to put in the time required, since those long days in the lecture room can become tedious.

Lastly, none other than our own President William Brody is offering a one-credit course called "Uncommon sense: A practical approach to problem solving for your personal and professional life." According to its description, the course will use real-life case studies to evaluate what common sense is exactly. As most of you are aware, it doesn't always correspond with intelligence or education. It takes different forms in each person, either innate or acquired. For a rare opportunity to experience a small seminar type class with our president, be sure to sign up for this gem.