Class selection for next year is officially over… another year of not getting any classes you actually need and getting stuck paying $85,000 for classes that will do nothing to better your academic and professional future.

I love Bucknell. We have intelligent professors, great class sizes and a beautiful campus. However, in times like these, it is hard to remember and appreciate all the good Bucknell offers because of every Bucknellian’s least favorite time of year: class selection.

As a rising junior, I figured getting classes would be a breeze. I had the second-best time slot for my year and planned on taking classes with plenty of seats (astronomy lab, I’m looking at you). I happily submitted my plan, unaware of all the “errors” and “section closed” messages I would soon see on my screen. To be frank, I was completely shocked. Half the classes I needed still had seats left, but a “reserve closed” would appear. This is extremely frustrating when you’ve been trying to take a lab science since freshman year. I am not too keen on taking a lab science, and it appears Bucknell doesn’t want me to take one either.

I have felt this frustration around campus; everyone’s energy is off. I could not tell you one person who is happy with their schedule. A big issue this year was getting higher-level electives. For instance, I am a political science major. Up until now, I have had no issue getting into political science classes. They offer several sections for the core classes, so there is no doubt you will get one each semester. However, after sophomore spring, you are mostly done with the core classes. You need electives, and they fill up in a fraction of a second. Worse, there are barely any electives offered. This is not just a political science issue but a problem across all majors.

For example, you may need a 300-level elective, yet the school offers only one section for 24 students. This is hardly adequate for a university with fewer than 4,000 students and tuition that costs an arm and a leg. Bucknell should be able to meet the academic needs of its students. We should not be getting screwed over each semester.

Bucknell needs to do better by offering the classes people need and want to take. It is stressful for students and, ultimately, unproductive. The classes we end up taking just to fill our schedules are often pointless to our majors and do not even meet a requirement. We should not be scrambling to find any class because the ones we need are full or not offered to our year. If Bucknell can raise our tuition, they can raise the number of classes they offer.

Bucknell, do better.