Grrr.... finding pieces that don't exist :/

Question: As a publication design major we are expected to take Portfolio in our final semester at UB... the idea is to take projects we have create during our time here and 'perfect' them to use in our portfolio to present to clients... that being said, how does anyone really expect to find suitable pieces for a portfolio if most of the assignments we have been given during our UB career have been just projects? Most not suitable for presentation to a client? I'd like to hear other views and opinions on this, because I am quite irritated that teachers look at our work and say that most of it cannot be used because it was not work suitable (for example: fruit crate labels?). Why not give students assignments that they'll be able to use for portfolio pieces to present to clients? I think some of the syllabuses need to be revised drastically so that students have more options to work with for their last class... thoughts and opinions???

Minors at UB

You have all probably received the same email from the University that I did, seeking comments on proposed changes in some academic policies, one of which is making minors available to UB undergrads. This is so way overdue. I make no secret of the fact that I love UB and that it was the only institution I applied to after earning my associate degree at community college. But the lack of an option for a minor or double major was definitely a negative. I would have loved the opportunity to minor in creative writing.

Reviewing the suggested policy change, though, it looks like minors will be required to be pretty closely related to majors, and I'm not sure that creative writing would be considered very closely related to government and public policy. I'm wondering what other students think about the minor option and, if given the option for a minor, how likely they would be to prefer something very different from their major. I guess what I'm really wondering is if there are many other students like myself, whose interests vary widely. Personally, while I'm committed to pursuing a career related to law, government, and politics, I also have a very creative side. Along with writing fiction and poetry, I enjoy making jewelry and artwork from recycled, reused, repurposed materials. So, if I were able to choose a minor, the option would be most attractive to me if I could learn something more related to my creativity.

If my choices for a minor in writing were limited to, say, legal or technical writing, or business writing, I wouldn't be nearly as likely to pursue the option. I expect to graduate in December, so I won't have the opportunity to take advantage of the minor option, but I hope that for those who do, they will be allowed to explore a range of interests outside the area of their majors.