(Bekcy Zhao)

While most students at Washington University know how to balance their classes with their social lives, some do not. It is for these few, who against their better judgment (or lack thereof) overwork themselves that I propose that Washington University lower its credit cap per semester to 18 credit hours. It would balance a student’s academics with his or her life and improve the community on campus.

I generally favor a bottom-up approach to solving social problems, as I hate a nanny government, but when that approach has failed, other methods should be tried. Just as the ban on sales of bottled water has succeeded where encouraging students to give up bottled water on campus failed, this cap will succeed as well.

Whether you agree with me or not, chances are that you have heard about someone who is taking 19, 20 or even 21 credit hours! With this many hours, there is no way that a student can effectively learn while still being a part of the community (a.k.a. having a social life).

I know people who are studying so much that I never see them. I was that person one semester, and I missed my friends. I did not hang out with my roommates or floor. I really just stagnated and backslid socially. Albeit, I did learn a lot.

Or I think I did. I knew what I had to know and what I didn’t have to know and at what times. I made it by on the razor’s edge in each class because if I tried to step off of that edge and onto surer ground, I would fall off the edge in another class. Put another way, I lurched from crisis to crisis. From exam, to exam, to paper, to work, to exam, to class…

In a car mechanic’s office one day, I read a kitschy piece of advice, “Don’t get so caught up making a living that you forget to make a life.” Everyone agrees that workaholics are bad, and I say that studyaholics are just as bad. By lowering the cap, students will be able to study a sane amount and still succeed in class.

Furthermore, the new cap would improve the community by allowing students the necessary free time to have a life. You will not remember that night you stayed up in Whispers until 5 a.m. to finish a project. You will remember that night you and your friends had a snowball fight on the Swamp. Think back to what you remember about high school and see if I am right.

The studyaholic, like the workaholic, is always the friend in absentia. Theirs is a selfish approach to life. They are a void that is missing from people’s lives. Studyaholics will protest that they really wished they did not have to study all of the time, but then they will sign up for just as many classes next semester as before.

Lastly, the studyaholic will also miss out on the extracurriculars that are just as important as the curriculum. By joining clubs, getting involved on and off campus and simply hanging out with friends, a student will grow as a person. Regardless of what any of us ends up doing, we should all be people who have lived a life outside of class.