Many students bemoan enrolling for courses that begin with IAH, ISP, ISS and ISB. With even more reluctance, we actually attend the classes.

We are plagued by a common apathy for these courses and find it difficult to have enthusiasm for classes that are not directly related to our major. Yet, it is essential to understand the importance and relevance of programs such as our Integrative Studies requirements.

Besides being tremendously beneficial in the world beyond undergraduate education, Integrative Studies promotes a general interest in areas where students would not normally venture on their own.

It gives students like myself, who are truly mathematically challenged, an extra incentive to master concepts like probability and ratios. It shows a new perspective to those who would normally shy away from the often-intimidating worlds of chemistry and biology.

Generally speaking, we all strive to be balanced individuals. No matter how much you love your favorite food, most do not eat it every day. The same applies to our studies - if you continually eat the same main dish (metaphorically speaking, your major) and never experience the appetizers, sides or even dessert - I truly believe you are missing out on the uniqueness a diverse education can offer.

So what’s on your plate? Chances are if you are the average student, you find yourself at times even sloshing through courses directly related to your major. Unfortunately, in the process of making the most of our available time, the majority does not give Integrative Studies courses a high priority.

In the long run, it is our grades in these classes, and ultimately our grade-point averages, that feel the pain. I recall after my first semester I tried to rationalize my less-than-stellar GPA to myself and parents by blaming it on the intensity of the courses I took related to my major.

But that was not the problem - it was the Integrative Studies classes where I did not do very well. The vigorousness of the classes related to my major did ultimately detract from the time I would have spent preparing and studying for those Integrative Studies courses. But I - like most students - used the poor excuse that at least I was doing satisfactory in courses that would be applicable in the life after MSU.

I offer a possible remedy to this situation: Allow students the option to make the Integrative Studies courses graded as either pass or fail and have no bearing on our GPAs.

The university administration may think this would lessen the importance of the degrees we receive - they, after all, do need to be concerned with the reputation and marketability of the degrees the university grants.

But I feel that offering this option would greatly benefit students. Many take the Integrative Studies classes we have heard are not typically challenging or strenuous, but if the university instituted a pass-fail option in the Integrative Studies requirement, I think more students would take the content of the course into consideration and be more apt to take a class that truly interests them, rather than taking it for the sheer simplicity.

For example, I would have really liked to take ISP 205, Visions of the Universe - the astronomy class - but it involved memorization of formulas, and a firm basis on mathematical knowledge was essential. Being genuinely math-phobic and because it is this late in the game for me, it was imperative that I think about the ramifications of the class on my GPA.

So, instead I am now learning more than I ever really cared to know about rocks and minerals. But just a couple days ago I impressed my younger brother with my rock identification skills and knowledge of the geologic time scale.

Hearing, “Jess, I can’t wait to go to college so I learn a lot about different things too,” had a way of making my day. In fact, it was this “happy thought” that I tried to recollect while I was in 54-B District Court paying parking tickets.

Even if the purpose of the Integrative Studies requirements is relative, it is still important to bear in mind that it is an excellent way to sample subjects we normally would not.

The institution of the pass-fail option would simply make an already good thing even better by not punishing our GPAs for being more inclined to take a more challenging course.

Jessica Meyers, a political theory and constitutional democracy senior, can be reached at meyersj5@msu.edu.