Kinesiology is a useless degree. A degree that creates physical education teachers and coaches doesn’t contribute anything to society. Why would anyone want to major in kinesiology?
That’s what many of y’all think, and it’s disgusting.
I love my major. A mix of rigorous science and health courses that allow students to accomplish an array of things. Want to be a doctor? You can do that with this degree. What about a physical therapist? This degree allows for that, too. How about creating policies for better health initiatives in public health? You can definitely do that.
Now, there’s many people in kinesiology that want to become coaches and P.E. teachers, but why is that looked down upon? Some of my favorite moments growing up were playing on sports teams, and the impact that coaches had on me were great. Why should others be put down because they want to have this impact on adolescents playing sports?
In fact, why is anyone made fun of for their major? What’s the difference between an aerospace engineering and gender studies major? If one is more important than the other, why do we have both?
Let’s look at gender studies. Considered in popular culture as a joke of a degree, why do we need it? If you’re going into law, you can use that degree to educate and create policy that helps represent women in areas such as healthcare.
At a White House health bill meeting, a room full of men are supposedly talking about women’s health. I would like to guess that none of them has a women and gender studies degree. Don’t you think that having someone who has a degree in gender studies would probably be better at making laws for women than men who know nothing about that topic?
People with this degree can also work in social programs that help expectant mothers through pregnancy or help women who have experienced sexual violence. Would someone with a computer science degree be more qualified to help with this than someone with a gender studies degree? Probably not.
Now, I’m not saying gender studies is the greatest degree in the world and that everyone should have it. What I am saying is that it’s important, just as important as those other degrees that are considered “important.”
Something that should be considered as well is that your major doesn’t necessarily define you.
Hell, I’m a kinesiology major who likes writing. That’s not supposed to happen. I’m supposed to be coaching children on how to throw a football — like the stereotypes my major says I should be — not writing about movies, campus life and politics. But the beauty about going to college is that you can explore your interests. Maybe you’ll come out of it with a different idea of what you want to do.
Major in computer science and open up a coffee shop. Get your degree in English and become a doctor. Become a civil engineer with a degree in anthropology. These are all possibilities because we aren’t confined to what our major is. Stop putting yourselves in a box and telling yourself to stay there. While our majors give us skills for the industries that we want to go into, they also give us a new perspective.
Look at what’s happening in the government right now. Diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives are being removed. Do you know why DEI was implemented in the first place? Because people were discriminating against individuals who had a different perspective than them.
You had DEI programs to allow for new perspectives. But now, you’re going to have people with the same ideas instead of fresh viewpoints again. That’s a problem.
So imagine if everyone was the same major — everyone learned the same things and had the same knowledge. You wouldn’t trust someone with a gender studies degree to build airplanes, but you probably wouldn’t trust an aerospace engineer to make laws on women’s bodies. You have to have these different majors for different aspects of our society.
Having the choice to learn different types of skills makes our society a conglomeration of ideas. Diversity allows for this, and it can start with different topics for us to learn.
All majors matter. What one student learns isn’t superior to another. It’s about what we do with our degrees that matters.
Just don’t major in those self-created NYU Gallatin majors — those contribute nothing to society.
Joshua Abraham is a kinesiology junior and opinion writer for The Battalion.