Technician
friday february
17 2012
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
Students differ in opinion on major change process N.C. State’s unique application process requires students to declare a major before their first day, a choice which results in many major transfers. Shawn Thompson Staff Writer
While most schools admit students to their university, N.C. State admits students to a particular college, asking them to declare a course of study before their first day. With this is mind, the University is open to students who seek to switch majors, though certain colleges carry different transfer requirements. When incoming freshmen apply to N.C. State, they apply directly to their chosen fields. This strategy is used to introduce students to major-specific courses at an early stage, while also giving them more time to switch majors after test-driving their original choices. Freshmen who don’t select a major have the option to enter either the First Year College or the Transition Program. The practice of declaring a major before admission is not a common one, and it’s one that could have serious repercussions for students who aren’t giving their decisions enough thought. “I think students should think very well before deciding on a major. It’s very serious. But if they decide to change majors, the decision should be made as early as possible.” Sami Ben Rejeb, international doctoral student, said. If a student wishes to switch majors, depending on the college into which they want to transfer, they may or may not be admitted. Many factors could determine why a student may not be accepted into the degree program of their choice. Some students who are denied access to a new major often decide to transfer to another university. “The system should be more forgiving to younger people, because they have not had as much time to make such important decisions. It should be more flexible, just for younger students.” Ben Rejeb said. From 2008 to 2009, approximately 1,000 students left N.C. State University while in good academic standing, according to University data. Accord-
ing to this data, many of those students were not accepted as transfers into other majors and opted for alternatives. “I do think in special cases there should be some leniency for students who want to transfer into another major, to avoid them having to transfer to another school,” Erik Rehm, community assistant in the First Year College, said. Regulations for transferring into majors outside of a student’s current college are department specific, in addition to having campus wide qualifications. Some general requirements for transferring to another curriculum involve credit hours. For instance, students who have attempted fewer than 12 credit hours at N.C. State may transfer to another program if the student meets the admission requirements of the intended new curriculum. “I think it should depend on the major, because of the difficulty of some of the classes,” Rehm said. Most colleges on campus have a fairly straightforward criteria for switching in: students must have a GPA of 3.0 or better and have completed 12 hours at N.C. State for automatic acceptance. Students who fall below the 3.0 mark have to pursue their new curriculum by following the guidelines of that particular department. “The process was easy for me to change majors, because I was switching within my department. I switched early on, and it reflected in the ease of getting into my desired major. The restrictions didn’t really complicate my changing majors like other students may have experienced.” Andrew Kyriakoulis, senior in design, said. Many of the University’s academic disciplines require specific coursework, often times not translating to other areas of study. Students who decide to switch into a major outside of their college essentially have to start over building credits for their new major. “For instance, with design you have to know from the beginning it’s something you want to major
majors continued page 2
Oliver Sholder/Technician
Senior in international studies Laura Wilkinson teaches Psychology 200 in Poe Hall. Wilkinson took the place of Jeffery Braden, the dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, who normally teaches the class. Wilkinson covered the topic of operant conditioning.
Editor, dean switch places Technician editor-in-chief becomes CHASS dean for a day. Will Brooks Deputy News Editor
If you are a student of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, chances are you have received encouragement to participate in ‘Dean for a Day,’ in which a students can switch places with the dean for an entire day. Laura Wilkinson, editor-in-chief of the Technician and senior in international studies, switched places with Dean Jeffery Braden, of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, yesterday. Wilkinson said the experience helped her see a different side of campus life. “I got to talk to a lot of professors and administrators I wouldn’t normally get to interact with,” Wilkinson said. “I had no idea what they do.” Although Wilkinson’s experience was new, she recognized the similarities between being a leader of the college and being in charge of the
Obsidian showcases talent, new and old In their first spoken word competition, The Obsidian invited students and authors to honor Africana studies through literature. Staff Writer
Obsidian continued page 3
“Doing this allows me the privilege of seeing how this University and my department looks for a student.”
Women’s Center relocates After a move to an office space by Hillsborough Street, the Wake County Women’s Center seeks student involvement.
Jatin Bhatia The Obsidian: Literature in the African Diaspora, the Africana Studies Program, the African American Cultural Center, and the department of English sponsored and hosted N.C. State’s first spoken word competition at their “Straight to the Mic” event on Wednesday. The event involved prose and poetry readings by renowned North Carolina writers such as L. Teresa Church, Anjail Rashida Ahmad, Darreli “SCIPOET” Stover and many more. These readings were followed by a spoken word competition between N.C. State students who read aloud their own literary pieces. The winner of the competition was selected by audience vote. The four finalists in the competition included Carley Miller, Norman Johnson, Marissa Morgan and Alexis Teasdell. Johnson received the most number of votes and was thus chosen as winner. “This is a part of the Obsidian reading series. [In] one of our past issues, we published a double issue featuring
Braden said during one of his faTechnician. “I was also able to make some par- vorite dean for a day experiences, a allels between being a student leader, student had a specific schedule laid like dealing with the budget, manag- out for him. “One student had a very carefully ing staff, listening to peoples ideas,” scripted day for me. She had this whole Wilkinson said. While the ‘dean for a day’ experi- day mapped out,” Braden said. Another student told Braden to walk ence was occupied largely by meetings for Wilkinson, Dean Braden got through the gardens past Holladay Hall and ref lect on to experience life as a his day. student as well. “It was a gift to me, “It’s certainly [inthat she invited me teresting] to me beto do that,” Braden cause I get to see the said. “Truly, that was college from a very the most memorable different perspecpart of the day.” tive,” Braden said. Braden said his Braden has had an e x p e r i e n c e f i l lexperience stepping ing in Wilkinson’s foot in the shoes shoes was an interof several CHASS esting one as well, students, many of Jeffery Braden, dean of CHASS as he came to help which have provided the Technician hold very different expetheir daily budget meeting, in which riences for the dean. “It has been fabulous. Doing this they discuss the next day’s scheduled allows me the privilege of seeing how articles. this University and my department looks for a student,” Braden said, “Every year is an experience.” dean continued page 2
insidetechnician
Whale death justifies animal love See page 5.
Juliana Deitsch Staff Writer
katherine hoke/Technician
Norman Johnson, a Junior in Africana Studies, delivers his humerous spoken word piece that won the “Straight to the Mic” competition on Wednesday. Johnson has been writing since third grade and is very influenced by hip-hop.
The Women’s Center of Wake County, whose mission is to prevent and end homelessness for women and families, moved to its new location on Cox Avenue off of Hillsborough Street three weeks ago. The Women’s Center provides services for low income and homeless women and children. It moved from its old location under Cafe Luna downtown, where it had been for 20 years. “We had outgrown the space, and there were things we wanted to do that we just couldn’t in that space,” executive director Jean Williams said about the move. “N.C. State being our backyard was a plus—we have a lot of student interns. We also think going forward there could be a lot of po-
relocates continued page 3
student thesis & research projects novels & poetry collections autobiographies & memoires children’s books, genealogies cookbooks, comic books compilation of student essays
Rembrandt in America story. See page 6.
Cameron choking story. See page 8.
viewpoint features classifieds sports
4 5 7 8
Located at Atrium Food Court