New Gen ed Class to include rolling own cigarettes

*The Backdoor is a “work” of “fiction” and “humor”

By Mackenzie Bath

Along with Exploration & Discovery (E&D), Lewis & Clark has decided to roll out a new General Education class for freshman. It’s main purpose, like E&D, is to get students acclimated to the college expectations. This new class is to be called Societé, as a pretentious embodiment of the LC motto. It will prepare students for the social situations they will come across at LC.

This course will be taught by unwilling professors, along with a senior TA who will receive up to three credits and an A for their transcript. TAs will be chosen by how many write-ups they have received from RAs.

Topics in this course will include (craft) beer pong, how to deal with people bringing guitars to parties, Uber/Lyft etiquette and rolling your own cigarettes. Each topic will occupy a week and a half of the semester. Students will be graded on skill mastery by the end of that time. All sections of Societé will be graded on a curve, which will not mean anything because one student will get a 100 percent anyway.

Some students are excited about this opportunity as well. Even though the school is only requiring the class for new freshman, they are also encouraging next year’s sophomores to take it.

“I’m so ready to learn how to roll my own cigarettes,” Hazel Nutt ’21 said. “Now that you have to be 21 to buy cigarettes in Oregon, this will be much easier. Tobacco pouches last so much longer!”

There is some skepticism about the new class. Rose Welsh ’19 was asked about being a TA next semester, as she is a regular at the DSAs.

“I don’t know if this class will be able to keep up with the times,” Welsh said. “Rolling is great, but a lot of people have Juuls now. I’m worried that everything they’re trying to teach will become uncool.”

Societé is attempting to give the students what they need, and they hope to be teaching things that are cool enough. Professor Joe King said that his goal with recruiting TAs was to keep the course fresh and connected to the student body.

King and his team are looking for students to help them create the curriculum more fully and become TAs. Emails should be sent to joeking@lclark.edu with suggestions.