OP-ED: I’m a Fundamentals Major and My Question is “A Who Did What Now?”

When I came to college from a small town in rural Pennsylvania, I had no idea what I wanted to major in. I tried Math, but it was too hard. I tried Sociology, but my outfits weren’t good enough. I tried Cinema and Media Studies, but I thought that every movie was a horror movie and I got too scared. But none of these majors truly scratched my intellectual itch.

Then I found Fundamentals.

Each Fundamentals major poses one big question to study during their time in college. I thought long and hard about what I wanted to ask. Drawing on the legacies of greats like Plato, Aristotle, and Kant, I finally settled on my question: “A Who Did What Now?”

“A Who Did What Now?” speaks to the turmoil of current events, historical narrative, and society’s relationship with Truth. I took a wide range of classes to help answer the question, including Huh? Get A Load of This Guy!, and STAT 22000. Along the way, I met Fundamentals majors with a wide range of questions, including:

• “Is This Book Good?”
• “But If We Start Dating, Won’t That Ruin Our Friendship?”
• Ope! Can I Just–Ooh!–Squeeze Right Past Ya?” (Social Conventions at Trader Joe’s)
• “Sad Meal?”
• What Da Hell?!?” (What the hell?)

So if you haven’t picked a major yet, try Fundamentals. Your mom will never understand it.