INQUIRING MINDS: Complaining is not a workload solution

The semester is finally in full swing-papers are piling up, reading deadlines are fast approaching and midterms are right around the corner.

The worst part is that the year does not get any less busy. Extracurricular involvment and the tuition that forces many of us to get paying jobs only further complicate our schedules.

The editorial staff understands the burden of a nearly impossible workload. But frankly, we are tired of hearing the daily complaints.

Though some have heavier workloads and far greater responsibilities than others, the truth is that everyone feels overwhelmed. Complaining does not make anyone feel better. Instead, it becomes a commitment competition for the prize of sympathy.

Not only is complaining pessimistic, but it also solves nothing. We blame stress and poor academic performance on professors, when all they are doing are their jobs. What do we propose that teachers do?

The editorial staff thought this question over and came up with a solution: interdepartmental communication.

Somehow, papers and tests seem to land on the same dates. However, if each major department compared syllabi with the others, they would be able to balance out the semester of work more evenly.

No sooner had we thought this up than we realized it was no solution at all. It would definitely be impossible for every professor to check every student’s class schedule and organize their syllabus around it.

Certain material must be read and learned before papers are written or tests are taken; this order of learning cannot be sped up or delayed.

So here is the sad truth that must be faced: there is no way around it. Work will always be a part of life; college is just an intense boot camp.

Our advice: buckle up and plow through. This boot camp only lasts a short while, so enjoy it what you can, while you can.

Pessimism about classes and workloads distorts our perceptions and causes us to forget why we are attending college in the first place-to learn and to be challenged and stretched so that we are better prepared for “real life.”

If we cannot make it through boot camp without kicking and screaming, how are we going to make it in the military life?

*”Inquiring Minds” is a biweekly editorial written by the editor-in-chief and managing editor. The opinion represented is that of the entire editorial staff.