| OCR Text |
Show The Daily Utah Chronicle, Tuesday, January 14, 19S6 Page Five FEATURE BUS degree lets students design their curriculum by Debbie Eldred ge Milne pre-me- Associate Editor You were probably a freshman at the time. You thumbed through the pages and pages of courses offered at the University like a kid in a candy store. All the departments had something to offer, and you wished you might sample them all. But at last you settled on just one major, leaving the other possibilities behind. At least that's what most students did. Fifty others, however, will take courses from at least four departments to earn a bachelor's degree of University Studies (BUS). Under this plan, students design their own interdisciplinary majors. The degree often appeals to students who want to prepare for graduate school or target themselves for specialized careers. Robert O. Feicrbach was a computer science student to begin with but "always had this incredible interest for languages and music," he says. "The U. had no program that combined anything like this, so I created it myself." He mixed courses in music and languages with computer science to create what he calls "Computer Science Applications to Sound Sciences." Now he is headed for Washington, D.C. to work for the U.S. government. He plans to develop a phoneme, synthesizer a machine that will talk in French and German, using the "little phrases, inflections and vowels that combine to produce those words," Feierbach said. The U. graduate sees himself as a high achiever. And that's exactly how Frank Shaw, chairman of the University Studies Committee, describes most BUS candidates. he said. "Students in this program are "They have to be to sit down and design their own curriculum." The BUS requires 85 hours, instead of 60, in courses from at least four different well-motivate- d," upper-divisi- on colleges. Some call it the toughest degree on campus. The difficulty was'what appealed to senior Breen Arntz, who designed a BUS called "International Studies." After checking with prestigious graduate schools, he learned that such a degree would pull a lot of weight. "It shows a law school that you've taken the initiative to make yourself a little more qualified," he said. Arntz, who will graduate in June, designed his degree with courses in political science, English, economics, philosophy and history. After law school, he plans a career in international relations. and The BUS, in fact, is most popular with pre-laPre-Lcg- al w majors, who have no undergraduate d requirement, says Shaw. Many choose the straight political science or chemistry degree, but the innovative take the opportunity to plan their own education. Jani Rollins, for example, created a degree called "Holistic Health." With medical school in mind; she combined courses in chemistry, educational psychology, health education, economics and philosophy. She added classes in medical anthropology and sociology, calculus and a holistic view of health. "Im not going to be an average doctor," she says. "I want to be someone who can communicate with patients effectively. They should have confidence in me, in themselves and in their ability to get well." Other students decide on a BUS because the degree they want is not offered at the U. Peter Johnson liked everything about the U. except its lack of a Japanese degree. He decided to design his own combining courses in Japanese language, political science, the geography and history of East Asia and many others which he calls "Asian Studies." Eventually he wants to have business dealings with the Japanese because he developed a bond with them while serving an LDS mission. Johnson adds that his degree should give him a boost when applying for graduate school. "Until the beginning of this year, I was a major. But after talking to a lot of counselors and people in the program, I found out MBA schools arc looking for diversity," he the prc-busin- top-not- Breen Arntz (above) and Robert Feierbach (below) have both participated in the University Studies program. ess ch said. a higher percentage of humanities business than majors majors." Johnson also believes the BUS degree is the most difficult at the U. because it is interdisciplinary. "As a major I was just taking courses in the College of Business. I pretty much knew what to expect, and it was all in the same style," he said. "Now I have to take courses in different departments, and they're all I just never know what to expect." have designed degrees called "The students Other History and Theory of Theatre," "Piano Accompanying," "Interior and Fiber Design," "Dramatic Writing for Theatre and Film," "International Business" and many others. About the only negative remark anyone has about the BUS is that it's Many students never hear about it until they're seniors almost finished with their degrees. Shaw says only 50 students have worked on a BUS at any given time, but there's room for many more. "They arc accepting pre-busine- upper-divisio- ss V . L - N - n. under-publicize- i ? . d. Chronicle phexm hy Tod J Otnliind Skiing may not make any sense, but it's fun Many tales have been told of students who chose the University of Utah solely for the nearby skiing. But it was still with some trepidation that I began taking part in this "essential" experience. My first lesson was in November after ski season opened. As we pulled into the Oklaparking lot, my in homa eyes took the strange scene of people adding layers of clothing and gear. putting on odd-looki- ng LIGHTER SIDE Dee Naquin The unfamiliarity of it all caused a sense of foreboding. I noticed what looked like a body bag on a sled coming downhill. Walking up from the parking lot made me gasp because of the higher altitude. I noticed the ski boots changed my center of balance and my usual walking ability, so I tried to imitate others' movements, swaggering from side to side and hunching shoulders forward. The ski instructor herded us novitiates to the bunny hill. After an exhausting lesson, we went into the lodge. A crowd was watching ski movies, and the scenes of descents looked impossibly and steep. I heard the crowd yell "yee-ha- " I while skiers the screen on "alright" to the sat wondering why anyone would even want to try that. . It was time to go back and learn more. The first and most important ski position to learn is the snow plow, which is stance. This will basically a pigeon-toe- d slow you, stop you and eventually enable you to learn to "parallel" ski. But if you too much, cross the ski tips and pigeon-to- e don't react in time, you fall over instead. Powder can be much deeper than it looks and when your skis get stuck in this devious substance, they fetl like they weigh 100 pounds each. It is said that skis have vanished completely in strategic powder banks. There was ski slang to learn too, mainly from the lift ride, which is long enough to make small talk. It seems almost everyone has been skiing for years and assumes everyone else has too, as they warned me of "edges" or "catching air." Another important term is "o.c," which means out of control. Sometimes being "o.c." is concluded by having to "wreck" or "eat it." After the fifth or sixth "wreck," it was time to head to the lodge for alcohol. Relaxing with a Moosehead or two, I wondered if skiing made any sense. What is it hasically? It's attaching narrow boards to your feet, holding two poles and fighting gravity. Finally I made my first run without having to "eat it." It changed my attitude. Of course, skiing still doesn't make any sense. But after all, name a sport that really does. Anyway, it's so much fun that it doesn't matter. |
