Per the instructions of the registrar, I recently examined a DARS report, pen in hand, checking down the boxes. According to university records, I am on track to fulfill the demands of the Board of Regents and be deemed sufficiently educated as to be granted passage from academia to become a college educated member of society. More appropriately though, I jumped the requisite hoops.

But striking more than what the records indicate I had accomplished is all which they indicated I had not had to accomplish in four years at UW. One can breeze across the diamond of a liberal arts education at UW-Madison without really touching the bases. And that is a shame.

I am in the throes of my 3-credit Ethnic Studies requirement, enjoying the class, though its requirement is lip service to a problem few students take seriously. The requirement grew out of former UW Chancellor Donna Shalala's efforts to cleanse the campus of all poor judgment. It has become more an excuse to pacify political elements on campus than to broaden undergraduate horizons.

And unbroadened they are. Or perhaps simply unburdened.

Another bane of the undergraduate existence, Quantitative 'B' courses, I eliminated as a first semester freshman with Economics 111, principles of macro and micro economics. Entering this university considering a major in economics, I never took another class in the department. Econ 111 was the best BC I'll ever earn, it was one of the best courses of my four years.

Sadly, UW sends thousands of graduates into the world who didn't struggle with Laffer curves and other fundamental understandings of market economics and their basic metrics. I struggled mightily with the logic and vocabulary of economic thought. But I've also struggled through far too many political science and history discussions where otherwise reasoned students threw "the quest for markets and wealth" around as underlying motivation for great events in human history; everything from the Crusades to the Cold War. These assertions might have some weight; but if the almighty dollar is in fact so powerful, and the capitalistic behemoth indeed so imposing as to imprint (and, ostensibly, oppress) humanity so deeply, shouldn't the curious mind seek a basic understanding of how markets are arranged? It seems the deans of academia think not, preferring students graduate from this fine institution convinced ever increasing levels of government pandering will solve social ills, no matter the cost.

But facts and numbers are unstubborn things in the post-modern academy.

This campus doesn't even require a basic survey course in American History. That's fine that you think Bush is a Nazi and Ashcroft is the next McCarthy… So what can you tell me about Joe McCarthy? Why did our grandparents die fighting the Nazis? And by the way, when was the U.S. involved in World War II?

Unfortunately, most American history taught here emphasizes "race," "gender" and "class" more than basic chronological understanding of such matters as economics, political thought and religion. Every History TA I've had in about a dozen courses has told me "I won't test you on a name or a date or the difference between what dead white guys said a few hundred years ago." They all kept their word, and hundreds of history majors are worse off because of it.

And this is to say nothing of the fact about dead white guys a few thousand years ago. The ideas of Abraham, Mohammed and yes, Jesus of Nazareth had a lot to say about the world that affects each of us today, regardless of individual faith. One cannot properly understand the human condition or the world today without knowing the basic tenets of major religious and metaphysical thought; no matter how much the predominant academic culture would wash it from our "rational" brains. Too much faith is tied to action in the world. The academy cannot simply ignore or decry religion as a force in human history, if not the force in human history.

An early dose of Western religious, political and philosophical thought, from Genesis through Aristotle and Machiavelli to Mill and yes, even Marx would make those later discussion sections far more productive. So Iraq and the Middle East can't be calmed because Islamic religious fundamentalism is anathema to democracy? Tell me about the difference between Sunni's and Shi'ites… So Bush is an evil Christian fundamentalist who uses code words to rile his cult-like supporters? Did you get that from Matt, Luke, Mark or John? No, not your roommates.

Of course, exceptions to each of the above charges abound on campus; students can find a rich liberal education here if they seek it out. But a more "dogmatic" approach to stubborn facts in the liberal arts would improve the quality of education, the pedigree and roundness of UW graduates and the market value of a UW degree. But let's not trifle with mere economics, lest we free some minds from dependence on the virtues of the state…

Eric B. Cullen ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in history. He thanks the several professors who got it right over the past four years.