A few days ago, I was having a conversation with one of my friends when they asked me “What major are you, again?” I answered I was a double major in Arts and Sciences, to which I was immediately interrupted by “Oh! You mean Arts and Crafts? Hahaha!” Though I laughed along, I’ve had this exact conversation with the same response hundreds of times at Lehigh, since I first got here two years ago.
This comment stems from the core of Lehigh’s culture. Non-mathematical sciences and arts are barely on the radar. There is no emphasis or real value placed on the College of Arts and Sciences. The main focus of the university is very clearly business and engineering. And this affects the way that students view each other.
When I say I’m in the College of Arts and Sciences, it’s almost immediately assumed that I’m not as intelligent as the other person I’m talking to. And this is purely a result of the fact that they’re usually a math-based major. Though I will admit that their classes are harder than most of mine, this doesn’t mean that they’re more intelligent than I am.
I chose my major because I liked it. This doesn’t mean I’m not as qualified in any way. Who knows, maybe if I was in some of your classes, I might be doing better than you are.
Regardless, there are different types of intelligence. Not everyone is good at math, but this does not have any implication of their intelligence. Despite not being a math wiz, they could be a musical prodigy or an incredible writer. In this case, having a math-based major wouldn't matter at all to these people because it's not what they excel at or love. Though these people may not be able to do math, they have the ability to show up a math-based major as soon as the topic of conversation changes. Everyone has different strengths and it's immature and ill-advised to value one ability higher than all others simply because classes in that subject matter may be more challenging.
Another fact is that just because you may be an engineer or business major, you will not necessarily be making more money than I am. Very few college graduates will graduate school with a six-figure-earning job lined up. Your major does not guarantee you one simply because you know more about math.
It shouldn’t be automatically assumed that just because I’m a different major, I don’t ‘measure up’ in some way to others, nor should that be assumed of others like me. It shouldn’t be assumed that we're not equally qualified to be at Lehigh, and it shouldn’t mean that somehow we're less intelligent than everyone else.
