With the current unbelievably rapid pace of development in AI technology, it is theoretically possible to go through your entire college experience without challenging yourself intellectually. However, if you choose to pursue education in this purely transactional fashion, you deny yourself the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for college to be a truly transformative experience.

If you knew me during my first year, you probably would’ve heard me claim that I was majoring in just about every program WashU offers at a different point in time. I did this for a couple of reasons. The first is that I loved so many of the classes I took in my first year that I could’ve seen myself taking more classes in every single department.

Welcome to WashU! This article is a primer for incoming first-years to make the most of their academic experience here.

Rather than taking on one mindset or the other, we should take a balanced approach. Instead of striving to be exceptional at everything, we should pick and choose our battles. We can do our best to prioritize our studies and work, but not so much that we sacrifice the things that sustain and inspire us. Working hard should not come at the expense of learning and trying new things.

I remember sitting down for the first Intro to Psychology exam, unable to control my pounding heartbeat or shaking hands. It continued for the rest of the day, bringing my anxiety beyond the exam room. I couldn’t sleep through the night and woke up multiple times in a sweat and was unable to return to sleep. 

People have fought for the right to learn about marginalized and minority identities, their cultures, and their histories at WashU. People are also actively fighting against that same right. It is imperative that students from all backgrounds take classes that involve identities other than their own. Unfortunately, this is not nearly as common as it should be.

Those of us whose relationships to power are more contingent, more conditional should wield those tools at our own risk or, perhaps, not at all. Instead, we should model for our students what it looks like to destabilize the truth claims made by those in positions of power — with deep respect, but rigorously.

Whatever other factors are affecting your decisions, don’t let the pressure to study STEM eliminate the possibility of studying another field that you might care about. 

Chancellor Andrew Martin sat down for an interview with Julia Robbins, the former Editor-in-Chief, on Tuesday, April 4 for his first Q&A with Student Life since 2018. Questions touched on the University’s investments in fossil fuels, how ChatGPT will affect the future of academia, and the University’s responses to sexual assault allegations. The Q&A has been edited for length and clarity. 

In this week’s episode of Editor’s Note, Multimedia Editor junior Jaden Satenstein talks to news reporter freshman Clara Richards and Senior News Editor junior Ted Moskal about what we know so far about the spring semester.