There are courses in college which are useful and worthwhile. These are typically classes that for most people will involve learning new things. Then, there are courses in college which are often referred to as 'a joke.' These are usually the classes that for most people involve topics they have heard since junior high or prior. The communication modules that UD makes its students take are the latter.

Let me start off with the most pointless of this group, CMM 110: Group Decision Making. Wow, what a class. If you haven't learned to work in groups by this stage of the academic game then the American educational system has failed you. The fact that this is even offered is astounding, let alone it being a requirement. Before I came to college, I used to think that all classes in higher education would be rigorous and enlightening. Then I took a communication module and was proved very wrong.

Any kid who ever wanted anything in life is great at persuasive speaking, yet UD requires CMM 112: Persuasive Public Speaking for all students or CMM 111: Informative Public Speaking. With the holidays just behind us, think back to the Christmas of 1995. You had to persuade Mom, Dad, Grandpa or even Uncle Ned that yes you did in fact need a new bike and it needed to have pegs on both the front and the back. If you're around the age of 20 and lack the skill of persuasion, your life has probably been pretty difficult thus far and I feel bad for you.

The informative public speaking course, CMM 111, centers around letting your audience know what it is you want them to know, successfully. Think fifth grade oral book reports. I'll leave it at that.

CMM 113: Interviewing may be the only course among these that has a smidgen of merit. Many of us haven't had much experience with this and therefore there is some point to it. But, this should be incorporated into a class such as 'Life After College 101' which would focus on managing personal finances responsibly. Living below your means and the foolishness of running up debt, with the exception of college loans, could be the building block ideas for this class. But, apparently, coming up with a course that crosses academic disciplines is like trying to get a Miami student not to wear J. Crew; it just isn't going to happen. It would be nice if the different departments could stop their petty squabbling and do what's right for the students as a whole on this issue.

Perhaps I have been too brash, but I think these classes bother me so much because they are a waste of resources. The instructors who teach these courses are the best and brightest and their talents would best be utilized elsewhere. The money spent on the credit hours by the student would best be spent on a class like the aforementioned 'Life After College 101.' Even the student's time could best be used otherwise.

While I'm at it, a close second in the useless category of classes is the wine tasting elective . It falls in second place only because it is an elective, not a requirement. Want to learn about wine? Spend $50 on a subscription to Wine Spectator and go to a wine shop once a week. You'll save a ton of cash and have the satisfaction of knowing that you didn't get hustled by the overpriced private college education machine.