by Mary Lyle
Horizon Reporter
Every student in their college career will more than likely take a few classes that they have to force themselves to attend every day; where they lack interest in the subject matter, and struggle to grasp and understand the material. As a Whatcom student, you might want to take a more unusual, out of the box class for spring quarter along with your “not so fun” classes. Or just a class with something about it that at least strikes your interest.
For a creative side, Whatcom has a variety of art classes. You can take ceramics from levels I, II, or III and design and create pottery for a credit. Natasha Snowden, 18, plans on taking ceramics next quarter.
“It seems like you don’t really need to have talent in it to take the class,” said Snowden. “I don’t feel confident with drawing or painting, and ceramics is hands-on.”
Taylor Hower, 22, took Drawing I as his only class for summer quarter. He said he liked taking it over summer because “it’s not a stressful class at all.” Hower said he recommends other students taking art classes even for students who don’t feel confident in drawing or painting. “You can find out you’re actually capable of doing things you hadn’t thought before,” he said.
From intermediate painting, Drawing I, and figure drawing, Whatcom has a lot of art classes available for spring and summer quarter.
For students who love the outdoors, Historical Geology 212 takes a class field trip to the Sucia and Cypress Islands for two days over the quarter. They ride over in a charter boat and camp on the island for two nights. Bernie Dougan, the instructor, said the class does field geology, collects data, makes observations, and interprets the geological history of the islands. “We cook our own food and sleep in tents,” says Dougan. “Nothing is available to us, it’s real camping.”
Dougan also offers an introduction to hiking P.E. class. He takes the class hiking through Chuckanut Mountain and Blanchard Mountain three times throughout spring quarter.
Yoga and introduction to tai chi classes are also available at Whatcom. Yoga, a system of exercises practiced as part of the Hindu discipline, and tai chi, a Chinese system of physical exercise, promote relaxation, balance, and health, three valuable, and beneficial factors for a stressed out student.
Danny Ray, 20, a yoga student at Whatcom, says that yoga “gets you in tune with your real self. What’s on the inside.” He said that yoga opens you up and “unties the knots of stress.”
