By JOHNATHAN DROZDA
Guest Columnist

While at UNK, I have been searching for a purpose. 

I was a pre-physician assistant with a comprehensive biology major, wishing to help the world through medicine. I then turned to psychology, and shortly thereafter, I settled on philosophy as my primary interest and pursuit. 

I found this through my own initiative. One of my advisers even told me not to take more philosophy courses because they would likely be detrimental to my GPA and could mean that I would be in undergrad longer with my other studies. I did not follow their instructions because there is a reason why philosophy students statistically score highest on both the LSAT and GRE; good things do not come easy.

Despite the obvious benefits of studying philosophy, the administration and some advisers do not encourage it. 

Dr. David Rozema, the philosophy department chair, alluded to this in the Inside Higher Ed article titled, “Pulling the Plug on Philosophy”:

“I feel like, on the one hand, our administration gives lip service to the value of philosophy and how it’s important for every student to have some exposure to philosophy, but on the other hand, in their actions, they’ve made it harder for students to take philosophy classes.”

In starting the UNK Philosophy Club, A Scholar Academy and leading the student-led petition this last semester to preserve the philosophy major, I feel that I have likely done more for the good of UNK’s education than many in administrative positions. 

Perhaps the administration would like to hire me as a poster boy for the courage and motivation that I have shown in support of UNK’s “mission statement” which deems the university as, “committed to be one of the nation’s premier undergraduate institutions.” This would prove the administrators are really interested in that mission statement. 

Because of their lack of action, I see this university to be more akin to a technical school. Soon, if not already, UNK will need to change its name to Central Nebraska Technical College if it is to be true to what it actually is. 

A friend who was with me at the Feb. 11 Board of Regents meeting said the following during public comment, “A good career that is successful and makes a lot of money is fun and nice, but there is more to life, and we all know that. And you know that if you are true with yourself.” 

Perhaps the administration would like to hire my friend as a poster boy as well.

There is hope for a good education in all of this, and it comes from self-initiative. 

Another friend of mine that is an extremely busy senior found a statistic that said one of the things undergraduates regret the most about their education is that they did not read many books as undergrads. After seeing this, this friend has taken it upon himself to start reading more for his own good, even as a senior.

It is still possible to get a phenomenal education at UNK, but the student has to know what it is because the administration does not encourage what it means to be truly educated. 

College if it is true to what it is.

A friend who was with me at the Feb. 11 Board of Regents meeting said the following during public comment, “A good career that is successful and makes a lot of money is fun and nice, but there is more to life, and we all know that. And you know that if you are true with yourself.” 

Perhaps the administration would like to hire my friend as a poster boy as well.

There is hope for a good education in all of this, and it comes from self-initiative. 

Another friend of mine that is an extremely busy senior found a statistic that said one of the things undergraduates regret the most about their education is that they did not read many books as undergrads. After seeing this, this friend has taken it upon himself to start reading more for his own good, even as a senior.

It is still possible to get a phenomenal education at UNK, but the student has to know what it is because the administration does not encourage what it means to be truly educated.