Over the weekend, the University Honors Program celebrated its 50th year. We’d like to wish it a happy belated birthday.

Most of you probably shudder at the thought of additional coursework, or the pressure of making the Dean’s List every semester. While those facets are indeed part of the requirements, viewing the program through such a narrow lens does it a great disservice.

Yes, you get a key to Jischke, and yes, you get dibs on registration. You’re also allowed to enroll in the honors sections of particular classes, which can turn a survey course into a classroom-sized lecture. You can even take 21 credits if you’re a bit of a masochist.

But the fun doesn’t stop there: Honors offers a wide variety of seminars, research opportunities, scholarships and learning communities. Entire floors of Friley, RCA and the Suites are honors housing, where social and learning opportunities abound.

Students on these floors are privy to the sage wisdom of upperclassmen — course advice, study groups and old books for sale are virtually guaranteed. There are also learning communities, regular social events, a print stipend and crazy library privileges — you can check out on-reserve textbooks, and books in circulation can be checked out for eight months at a time. That’s not a misprint. Eight.

We asked Dr. Joan Cunnick, immunologist extraordinaire and chairwoman of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Honors Program, to share her thoughts:

“I have been the chair of the program in the College of Ag and Life Sciences for the past six years, and the Honors Program, like so much at ISU, is what a student decides to do with it. I have seen students who use the Honors Program to challenge themselves and stretch their knowledge, and other students who use it only to get extended library privileges and early enrollment. The strengths are in learning about leadership and finding a community of like-minded individuals who all want to expand their knowledge through depth of curriculum [by taking more upper-level courses in areas] or breadth [by adding diverse majors to strengthen their programs].

“It is easy to imagine students majoring in microbiology and genetics to make a stronger research curriculum or pre-med curriculum, but I really love the example of the students who double majored in microbiology and theater. Yes, there was more than one.”

Outsiders may view the Honors Program as a way to graduate wearing a snazzy gold rope and with some fancy Latin words on their degree, but those involved in the program won’t hesitate to sing its praises. The honors students of the Editorial Board had the following to say:

The program differentiates itself from other academic programs on campus, because it’s geared toward the upper tier of students. It isn’t based on helping you survive, but presenting you with opportunities to thrive.

If you’re one of the lucky few given the chance, we definitely encourage you to jump at the opportunity. One of our roommates, a computer engineer, recorded an album of jazz pieces played on his saxophone for his honors project. If that doesn’t scream “enjoy your adventure,” we don’t know what does.