What Is K's Plan?

Why has Kalamazoo College traditionally been viewed as a liberal arts college? The liberal arts used to be considered the education that denoted a free man (liber meaning Latin for free), because a free man was supposed to have a diverse knowledge comprised of art, history, literature, languages, philosophy, politics, mathematics, and science.

K’s old curriculum (current curriculum for some of us) not only required a major and a language requirement, but encouraged students to try numerous areas of study. Many students came to the college without knowing what to major in, and many who did know often added another major or minor based on their new experiences when fulfilling philosophy or natural science requirements.

The school’s new curriculum ensures some competency in a second language and still has the infamous SIP, but somehow it doesn’t feel like the same K plan. The gym requirement stays, and you still don’t get gym credit for a taking a class more than two times, gauranteeing that students are going to have to break out of their normal activities and give Tai Chi, Racquetball, or even Beach Body Boot Camp a try.

I want the same variety among the actual classes I take. General education requirements give students a gentle nudge to choose classes that intrigue them rather than just selecting from within one’s own major.

While the alterations to the curriculum will certainly streamline a student’s time spent at K, they will also remove much of what makes K unique amidst the myriad of colleges in the United States. High school seniors across the country will still read 40 Colleges that Change Lives, and they will still see pictures of smiling students in exotic locales around the globe, but I worry that they’re being sold a Ferrari body without knowing about the Mustang engine.

Most of what counts will stay the same at K—the professors, the class sizes, the buildings, and the students. But as much as I like being an English major and taking classes in Humphrey House and the library, my K experience would be vastly different if I had never had an 8 A.M. Biology lab (if only for just a quarter). If some majors seem cliquey now, I can only imagine the academic agoraphobia that will ensue if there’s no incentive to branch out into other departments.

I’m sure that no one will protest when U.S. News and World Report continues to rank Kalamazoo College as a liberal arts college. However, I worry that K is losing part of what got it ranked among the top liberal arts schools in the country. K should continue to provide the balanced education that has been keeping minds free since 1833.