OPINION: WSU needs to create more opportunities for majors besides business and engineering

OPINION%3A+WSU+needs+to+create+more+opportunities+for+majors+besides+business+and+engineering

No one can argue that Wichita State University has some astounding programs, opportunities and organizations for students. However, we should continue to push for more opportunities for a variety of degrees.

Although Wichita State is known for engineering, it doesn’t mean it can’t expand and be known for a variety of programs. A diverse school filled with diverse and equal fields.

Coming into Wichita State, I was excited to use Handshake — a resource for students to gain internships, create resumes, and perfect the interview — as a way to find an internship with publishing.

I set up an appointment and came to find out there weren’t any around Wichita. While the advisor helped me find some that were remote, they didn’t know of any opportunities for me to find experience for my career.

I discovered The Sunflower, and am glad to have found it, however, my advisor never recommended it to me when I was looking for opportunities. I understand an advisor won’t know everything; I’m okay with doing some digging on my own. Still, I was disappointed with the lack of opportunities, resources, and information WSU and the advisor’s had. And even if there are opportunities, they are hard to find. They need to be more easily accessible.

With a new NetApp building being built on campus, the business building being redone, and the creation of the Innovation Campus, it leaves me thinking — what about liberal art accommodations?

While money was donated for the Innovation Campus, a campus that is only innovating for Engineering and Business majors, there was a push to receive that funding. The new business building was slated at around 60 million dollars to build — Where’s the push for funding for new humanity buildings?

Wichita State has a lot of resources for engineers and business school majors, but they lack the tools to support other majors. If they do have the tools, they’re harder to find and not promoted as heavily. When you go on to the Wichita State site, you can easily see the emphasis on engineering and it’s research.

I was in a seminar discussing research opportunities for science and engineering majors, and when I asked about humanity based research opportunities; they had none and didn’t know where I could find any.

Wichita State’s culture is centered around diversity and innovation and this should extend to different majors and create new opportunities for them as well.

The innovation campus was built to draw in more students and raise admissions, but it only added on more resources for the school’s most popular programs — engineering and business. While these are extremely important and I believe having the innovation campus is wonderful for those students — it leaves the rest of us out.

For something to truly be innovative, it should integrate all of the campus’s programs, and give rise to new opportunities for them as well.

If WSU truly wants to grow as a campus, it’s time to start building up other programs with internships, organizations and research. It should also promote opportunities it does have stronger.

I can’t see the reasoning behind not building up other majors; unless some things are easier and cheaper to ignore.

I truly admire Wichita State and it’s programs. I say all of this not to bash on the school, but because I want to see it thrive and cater to students within a variety of majors. I want Wichita State not to be innovative and grow in one field, but in all fields.