So it seems that spring semester is just arriving, but Access is already eager to usher in the fall. As of Monday, Access opened its friendly doors for students to begin registering for more fun-filled and intellectually stimulating fall classes.

Every semester, whether we want to or not, there are those darn electives and general curriculum requirements that must be fulfilled. However, it is the university which arbitrarily regulates what electives are offered and in which semester they are offered.

And what do most students believe “electives” are? Simply stated, an almost guaranteed A, easy blow off class that you rarely show up to and get out of the way. In other words, it’s a birdie course that you just glide your way through.

With the last day to drop without serious consequence just a couple of days away, a number of students are contemplating whether to sacrifice their immaculate GPAs or suffer through another semester of rigorous work in a class they can hardly stand that’s not even a part of their major.

These required classes must be completed by all undergraduates before being rewarded with that $100,000+ degree. Heck, it’s money well spent when you choose your major, but is it necessary for each department to mandate the “birdies” as well? It’s as if the university is putting its stamp of approval on these specially selected classes, and we should be so honored to fit them into our already hectic schedules.

Let us also address those professors who seem to have a grudge against the university, for lack of tenure or pay or whatever, whichever is of more relative importance to them. Sure, a professor may be bummed out because class attendance is not what he expects, but are the students really to blame? If you ask Ed Board, you have the university to thank. Students get sick of being told what to do, which classes to take and when to take them.

Ed Board is not saying that a liberal arts education is a waste of time, because we do want well-rounded individuals graduating from this school, but should our GPA suffer at the expense of a few professors’ misdirected frustrations?

So to vent their frustrations, some professors take their elective’s level of difficulty to the highest plateau, causing a number of students to either earn a disappointing “C,” or drop the class altogether to save their GPAs. Don’t punish the students because you’re upset that not enough of them treat your class as a top priority.

So are general curriculum classes supposedly designed to help us in deepening our intellect, a minor lesson in our course of study or just another curse on the college psyche? When you take the time to log onto Access this semester to plan your future, think about that elective you’re choosing. It may very well be the difference between a GPA in the 3.0s and the 2.0s.