I can't get into Comedy Writing, and at this point, I don't find it particularly funny. I have often referred to myself as an "economics-by-default" major. I started out as a typical Hopkins pre-med. Then I tried history, IR and Writing Seminars before settling on economics.
The reason I dismissed Writing Seminars is because of the course selection within the department. I have little interest in reading or writing fiction and poetry, but have a strong inclination towards non-fiction and opinion writing.
In any given semester, I am lucky if there is more than one available course offering that suits my specific interest. I can deal with that. I can deal with being an econ major, even it's by default.
What I cannot deal with is what transpired this past week. Imagine my elation when the course book listed five different writing classes within the department that took my interest. I had taken two of the five already, and had a conflict with another. That left two classes; Opinion Writing and Comedy Writing.
I figured that by the spring semester of my junior year, I would be able to get into whatever classes I wanted. Obviously, I figured wrong.
On Monday, November 17, two full days before registration for juniors officially began, I went to the Writing Seminars office in Gilman to enroll in both classes. Since it was before the official registration period, I was denied entrance. The reason? The classes were already filled to capacity.
The advice I got from the Writing Seminars office was to show up for class the first day and try my luck at either persuading the professor to let me in, or hope that the very same people who registered before registration would not show up.
As promising as that sounds, I think I'd have a better shot at getting to class in the rain without stepping in at least one Olympic swimming pool sized puddle.
I'm sorry for ranting, but I'm fairly certain I'm not the only student who has been left out to dry in this manner. The information provided to students across campus is far from uniform. Writing Seminars majors can register before registration during pre-registration.
Some of us just don't have the time to deal with the Hopkins brass about trivial issues such as scheduling. Some of us might be working at internships or jobs where we have to tell our bosses our schedules in advance.
We cannot all afford to show up the first week of class and sit through a two hour period only to find out that the fifteen person limit in the course catalog really means twelve Writing Seminars majors and the three freshmen who a month from now won't be Writing Seminars majors.
Even default economists can understand the opportunity cost inherent in this flawed plan. While attending one class, I certainly can't be present in another. Therefore, if I can't get into that first class, I will certainly be behind in the other.
(Unless of course I simply start by enrolling in seven or eight different classes that are not full before registration and that all happen to meet at different times, and fit them around my internship schedule).
I accept that I will not always get into every class I want. I accept that sometimes I will have to settle for an alternative class or a different major. What I cannot accept is being forced into this position based on the fact that one department in the school has chosen to set its own policy in conflict with that of the University.
Hopkins clearly gives preference based on seniority. The Writing Seminars department works on a first come first serve basis, regardless of seniority and university protocol.
The registration process at this school has become a joke, and I'm not just saying that because I can't get into Comedy Writing.
Aron Davidowitz is a junior economics major from Great Neck, NY.
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