The kingly duo that rules The Collegian and the political science department answers the question plaguing colleges everywhere.
Point (Kyle):
Why would I do my homework? To satiate the bottomless pit of need seen in the repeated assignments by professors? I think not. These professors are never satisfied with essays. My theory is they love grading student papers and therefore assign them endlessly. Just because they love reading my lousy papers does not mean I need to satisfy this desire. If you want to read shitty papers just ask chat GPT to write them and grade away, you masochists!
Technology also is getting rid of the need for education or humanity in general. When I told Chat GPT, “Say a funny joke for a satire article about homework” it responded, “Sure, here’s one: ‘Why did the math book look sad? Because it had too many problems.’” Who even needs me to satirize anything anymore? That is so funny and smart.
Some might say as a political scientist I have to submit my own ideas to fully understand the concepts of the field. This is incorrect. Why should I write political theory essays? Marx and Weber have already said everything of value and it is not like my essays make political change. Everything goes to shit no matter how many essays with communist undertones I submit.
I am better suited by spending my time with other activities. By watching “Seinfeld” instead of doing my homework, I work on self care while also becoming even more neurotic than I already am. I can also get inebriated and play “Mario Party 2” (the best one). I am much more competent at that than essay writing anyways. I also sometimes play solitaire like a geriatric Florida resident because why the fuck not? I am not harming anyone. Trying saying that about the aforementioned geriatric Florida residents. You can’t.
In conclusion, according to the Oxford definition of “education” (put your pitchforks down professors, this isn’t an essay), the process involves developing skills. What skills am I going to need when society inevitably collapses in 2025? I cannot tell you the answer to that question but I am pretty sure it isn’t related to whether I “have a thesis” or “a brain.” I plan on continuing my intentional incompetence outside of college anyways so you could say that is a skill to be developed.
Counterpoint (Zach):
Doing your homework is good. The question of whether to do or not to do one’s homework focuses on how we value our homework. On the one hand, we can say that we appreciate where we’ve spent our money, the classes in which we have enrolled, and the material that we can learn. On the other hand, we can discredit the value of the education itself and focus entirely on getting grades with the least amount of work possible for the sole purpose of getting the degree and not to learn. In this sense, we recognize that the college degree has devolved to nothing more than a ticket to the middle-class. If we have to go to college to get a job and that’s the only value of the degree, then we accept that the price of a white-collar job is thousands of dollars and a few years of our life. College in this sense serves as a barrier, reserving such employment to those who can afford the time and money. It maintains a division between the middle and working classes, restricting social mobility through artificial means. If you’re only here for the degree and the ensuing employment, you’ve acknowledged the class basis of higher education.
Or, alternatively, you could learn about the subjects that interest you and take advantage of the resources available to help you learn.
