The DonaldDear Reader: This article appears as part of Student Life’s annual April Fool’s issue. Please don’t think anything in it is true. It’s all made up.
In an announcement on Tuesday by Dean Mahendra Gupta of the Olin School of Business, the newest concentration available to business school students will be in the field of Children’s Studies.
“We wanted to put the “preschool back in the B-school” said Gupta. “Students in other colleges such as Engineering and Arts and Sciences are working much too hard. Look at those pre-med students packed in the library all day! We wanted to give our business students a more ‘real world’ opportunity in life.”
Some of the potential classes include “Playing Fair 101” and “Coloring Between the Lines 300.” While the business school still does not hold any classes on Fridays, students can choose between a.m. and p.m. sessions of the new concentration so that the maximum number of students can participate.
“I think it’s awesome,” said Junior Jeff Sheboygan of the new minor. “I mean, now I get a 4 day weekend, every weekend. They do say that everything I need to know, I learned in kindergarten. It’s completely applicable.”
Jill Carnaghi, associate vice chancellor for students, was optimistic about the minor stating, “Students need to know real skills out there in the workforce. It’s more important that we learn about sharing and effective communication through the use of show-and-tell methods rather than managing hedge funds or looking at price/earnings ratios.”
According to Kathy Alimoni, counselor for the Career Center, there are several career applications of the Children’s Studies minor, such as video game developers, Toys ‘R Us business managers and babysitters.
Future plans for the business school include integrating other minors into the traditional business curriculum such as Interpretive Dance and General Studies.
Gupta remained confident that the Children’s Studies Minor would be beneficial in recruiting more students to the Olin School.
“We have several independent study and mentorship opportunities available in conjunction with Wydown Middle School and University City schools,” said Gupta. “Our students can interact with their students and show them that college doesn’t have to be all work, no play. Playtime is extremely important for all of our students.”