The classroom can be more than just a place to catch up on sleep and do a little Sudoku. It can be a source of both learning and entertainment if you know which classes to take. Luckily for you lovelies, my almost-three years of, uh, “hard work“ at this pop stand have led me to compile this list of awesome classes you should take in order to mix a little business with pleasure, whether your pass time is coming up or you‘re about to graduate and want to wallow in a little regret.
I got a head start in taking classes that deviate somewhat from the expected college curriculum. I hesitate not to say that aside from staying up late chatting with the other kiddies and whining that Davis is Lucifer‘s sauna in the summertime, I accomplished next to nothing at summer advising. I‘m not sure I even knew what was going on.
So I picked some classes that happened to sound cool and this is how it came to be that my first college class of all time was Charles Bamforth‘s Intro to Brewing and Beer. I would have taken Intro to Winemaking, but the words “pop quiz“ repelled me. To say that the man is a fan of his craft would be an understatement. He will almost have you believing that beer is the elixir of life. You get to learn about barley, hops and why it is that Keystone and Blue Moon just aren‘t the same.
Unfortunately I didn‘t have a “Save the Ales“ shirt to wear to class.
And no, you will not be drinking beer in class (unless you bring your own in a Martinelli‘s bottle – that‘s your business). You‘ll enjoy going to class.
Imagine walking into class, realizing that there‘s a quiz, and not having to worry about it. Welcome to MUS 106, otherwise known as the History of Rock Music. The quiz would be something like listening to a Jackson 5 song and having to name it, which should be easy because everyone should listen to the Jackson 5. Even though I wish the class could have lasted a year instead of a quarter, it crams in as much as it can, tracing the evolution of music pre-Elvis through whatever is flowing through your iPod earbuds now. Did you know that Mick Jagger was an accounting major, “Smoke on the Water“ is about a casino fire or that Blondie recorded one of the first rap songs? The cherry on top was having Peter Frampton for a guest speaker. You‘ll enjoy going to class.
Fairytales, Fables, and Parables is another enjoyable class that allows its students to soak in some very random bits of information. You get to find out that in alternative variations of certain tales, Sleeping Beauty gets woken up in a more X-rated fashion and the Little Mermaid offs herself.
“It makes you realize how rampantly sexual thoughts of the human mind are,“ says Coconut Paul, who took the class freshman year. It turns out that even fairytales aren‘t that innocent, so really, people should stop blaming Disney for everything. Reading Perrault beats reading the average textbook, and having story time in class two afternoons a week should be a throwback to the good old days. You‘ll enjoy going to class.
I haven‘t taken NUT 10, but everyone and their mother swears that “it will change the way you think about food.“
“It‘s a good class to change your perspective on how food fuels the body. The next time you‘re hungry, you‘ll think about more than just what tastes good,“ says Cassie Hanover.
Muffin Tyrella adds: “It‘s pretty easy, but it‘s also fun, entertaining and engaging. The diet project was actually kind of fun.“ It sounds like you‘ll enjoy going to class.
While we‘re on the topic of food, my friend Lipstick Athens also recommends Food, Folklore and Health. Says Lipstick, “Not only is lecture enjoyable, but I actually picked up a few facts and got a good grade. Did you know that microwaving a sponge will kill bacteria?” She enjoyed going to class.
Lasty but not leasty is the class I bank on taking before I graduate, the one that truly screams from the rooftops that I survived four years in Davis … ABT 49. Street name: Tractor Driving. You truly never know what crazy-ass future situations you may end up in that could benefit from use of these mad skills! I hope I enjoy going to class.
MICHELLE RICK wishes she could make her own major out of these classes. Send career path ideas to marick@ucdavis.edu.
