ASMSU's plan to allow undergraduate minors to MSU students could be a good option for those who hope to explore a wider range of studies. On the other hand, though, it should remain an option rather than a requirement.

MSU is the only Big Ten university that doesn't offer minors to undergraduate students. The College of Education is the only MSU college that requires the students to have minors, and some other colleges require cognates or external specialties that involve fewer credits.

Having minors could benefit students by helping them taste different types of classes outside their majors with the university recognizing the work. Also, it could be beneficial to students by lessening troubles they go through when switching their majors.

But there are many problems that should be taken into consideration. With already heavy university requirements, requiring students to have minors could increase unnecessary burdens on students' part. How the existing cognates and external specialties could be blended with new minors in degree requirements is another issue to be addressed. In addition, some career experts say minors would be of no practical use when many employers are particularly interested in students' out-of-class experiences.

Still, it's a legitimate call to say the minors could help professional majors, such as business and engineering, to be more well-rounded and versatile by having them exposed to liberal arts courses. But at the same time, requiring students to have minors, which would involve 20-26 credits, could end up lessening the university requirements, and some integrated courses such IAH and ISS courses should be the first hit.

Minors could be viable options to many students, but making them additional requirements for degrees would cause students too much hassle. Let students have a choice.