Let me begin by stating that Northwestern is a great place. There are certainly many things I like about it, and I have made some great friends. But I feel that there are areas which are in need of improvement, and denying their existence is detrimental to all of us.

It is always necessary, every once in a while, to evaluate your activities, your surroundings and even your purpose in life in an objective manner.

NU is undoubtedly a good school when it comes to academics. However, I think it would be fallacious to look down on state schools as inferior, as I have witnessed some of my peers doing, because that implies a judgment based on pride and the love of prestige rather than a factual analysis. I certainly enjoy the smaller class sizes and familiarity between students, but just because this is perceived to be a good school and just because it has a long-standing reputation for excellence, does not mean that there are not things which are lacking, things which need revision and areas where we may have fallen behind.

One thing in particular which stood out to me was the lack of an undergraduate neuroscience major. I hadn’t given it much thought until I realized that one of my close friends from high school is a neuroscience major at the University of Minnesota. Another friend of mine is a neuroscience major at the University of Illinois at Chicago. We do have a cognitive science major. But that isn’t quite the same thing, and it would be nice to have neurobiology and anatomy courses at the undergraduate level.

Given NU’s general policy of flexibility when it comes to interdisciplinary studies, it is surprising this isn’t offered. This is just one isolated example, but it underscores an important point, which is that just because some of our programs are highly regarded does not mean that we should stop expanding our course and major offerings and brag about being better than run-of-the-mill state schools, while actually offering less majors and opportunities.

The issue of mental health is also one that is becoming increasingly harder to ignore with every passing year. Despite attempts to reach out to students and encouragement to seek help from Counseling and Psychological Services if we need it, I think that the approach being taken right now is ineffectual, not in the least because the real reasons behind the stress which is impacting mental health are not being addressed. Stress management and treatment can only go so far if chronic stressors remain. A lot of the stress has to do with the quarter system and also the manner in which classes are taught and assessed.

In this respect, I believe there are multiple solutions. Instructors should include more assessments that are less high-stakes and more repetition to reinforce concepts. Assigning summer homework to provide a more gradual introduction to hard science courses certainly wouldn’t hurt anyone either, especially given the ease of Sapling or WebAssign. On the side of the students (the side that will probably be more immediately effective and susceptible to change), the best weapon they have is listening to older students. Rather than telling incoming freshmen about which coffee machine to use or where to get the best sandwiches, I think it’s a far better idea to tell them exactly how to study, what to avoid and just how to prepare.

This brings me to a more general point, pertaining not only to academics, but also to the way things ought to be run. It is not merely enough to raise awareness or even to write an article like this one. It is not enough to organize groups if they don’t do anything other than give off the very believable perception that something is being done. The approach that we take when it comes to addressing an issue should not be one of vague excitement, peppiness and optimism because it has been my experience that such an approach seldom achieves the required goal.

It is necessary to approach with competence, resolve and a deep understanding of the complexity of the issue, as well as a detailed analysis of its causes. It is necessary to face the facts, however uncomfortable they may be, and take decisive action to solve any problem which we can identify using all of the resources at our disposal to the best of our ability. I know that these things can be changed because the resources are certainly available, and there are many very intelligent people who have them at their disposal.

But if you ask me, it’s going to take a lot more than a bake sale to actually elicit the aforementioned change.

Antonio Petkov is a McCormick freshman. He can be reached at [email protected]. If you want to respond publicly to this column, send a Letter to the Editor to [email protected].