Editor, Daily Nexus:

As of today, I have been to eight classes in which I am not enrolled this week. Due to the severe overcrowding at this university, I have been forced to attempt to “crash” class after class in hope of gaining a seat that I know does not rightly belong to me. Students go through this every quarter and I for one am sick of it. To sit in class after class with nothing but the hope that you might get in if you’re lucky is demeaning, demoralizing and, worst of all, time-consuming. Now, I would not dream of writing to the Nexus with the sole intention of complaining about the problem (Lord knows you get enough of that), so I humbly submit what I consider to be a fair and sane solution.

Start with deciding whether it is the lecture hall or the labs that are overcrowded; if it’s both, then we’ll start with the lecture hall. At the end of the first lecture, role is taken, and anyone who has not shown is cut from the class. Cruel, yes, but since there are so many people trying to get in, those people who didn’t even bother to attend when they enrolled are insulting those on the floor waiting for a seat. The spaces now open are given to those on the waiting list, if there is one. The rest of the students are instructed to put their hands on the seats that are left. Now, it’s simple – whoever keeps his or her hands on the chair the longest gets that spot. I understand some students may feel they have priority and they do deserve an advantage. Any student who is a senior and needs the class to graduate will get an hour rest, which they can take whenever they want. Any students who are seniors but do not need the class, or any students who need the class but aren’t seniors, get 30 minutes. Any freshman will be asked to leave.

There are students, I am sure, that may find this idea degrading. I agree. It is, however, no worse than what we are forced to do already. The only difference is that this would be over in a few hours, whereas our current system can take weeks and forces students to waste time in classes they will not get into, while preventing them from trying to get into others they may have a better chance at. With this plan, the student would know within a few days at most whether he or she was in the class or not and could attempt to get into another class right away. What’s more, it would be fun. Students could pretend they were contestants on a game show or “Survivor.” IVTV could do a show about it; I know I’d watch. This could be great.

Now, I understand there may be some problems with scheduling, as being in one contest may prevent a student from going to classes they are actually enrolled in and it would be hard for the next class coming into the lecture hall to commence while this is going on. There may also be some legal obstacles to deal with, but I’m sure these can be worked out. I do vehemently believe in the basic nature of this idea, that it can work and that it can help so many students who are trying to crash classes. I hope you appreciate this proposal, especially when you consider I skipped a class to write it.

CRUZ FLORES

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