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.