The OPUS Manifesto

On Tuesday, March 19, the Fall 2014 Course Atlas was released on Emory University's website, officially beginning the transition from the Spring 2014 semester. While some students carefully choose how to structure their academic schedule for the approaching term many days to weeks in advance, the majority of the student population relishes the opportunity to regress into an irritable, hermetic state as they begin their hunt for courses minutes before their registration time. I am the latter Emory student who savors this opportunity to procrastinate.

I willfully embrace the fretful panic of finding courses to take, followed by the identity crisis when I question the validity of my major(s), followed by the temper tantrum when I notice that three out of the four courses that I need to fulfill at this particular point in my undergraduate career are at capacity. All of these crises' occur within a 15-minute time frame prior to my registration appointment. Nevertheless, after a slew of profanities, a boxer's fracture and a sacrificed dorm room chair, my registration is complete and I have forged a new path in academia.

However, I cannot accommodate this lifestyle any longer. I recognize that my previous course registration methods are detrimental to my physical and mental well being, and from this next registration onwards, I intend to live my life in accordance with The OPUS Manifesto:

i. Pre-registration

1. I will peruse the Fall 2014 Course Atlas more than one day prior to my registration time so that I will have allocated enough time to create a mock schedule that accounts for my major and general education requirements that I need to fulfill.

2. I will abandon my major and career path if any of my major requirements are only offered at 8:30 a.m. on any given day of the week.

3. I will consult my academic advisor if the courses I have selected will earn me enough credit to successfully enable me to take only two classes during the second semester of my senior year.

4. If I have enough course credit, I will enroll in one course that generally interests me and has no relevance to my major in order to satisfy my insatiable hunger for the liberal arts.

5. I will create three separate backup course schedules as well as identify two alternative majors if enrollment does not pan out as I had intended.

ii. Post-registration

6. In the event that I do not receive all of my top course choices for enrollment, I will channel my determination to enroll in these courses into Add / Drop / Swap: the bane of every Emory student's registration experience.

7. If I am required to Add / Drop / Swap, I will successfully perform an Interception. This entails aggressively prowling any Emory class' Facebook group to see when two individuals coordinate to drop and swap their respective courses at a specific time and inconspicuously intercepting my desired course during the exchange.

8. At the conclusion of registration, I will upload photos of my schedule to the various social media I partake in in order to validate the time and effort that I put into constructing a pristine schedule.

In fulfilling the items listed above, I will cautiously embrace my enrollment time and experience the emotional highs and lows of course registration to the fullest potential. This is how I have decided to live my Emory experience. How will you live yours?

– By Casey Horowitz