As the semester comes to an end, graduating seniors like myself start to look for jobs in the “real world.” I constantly think of how to sell myself and the skills that Iowa State has instilled in me over the past four years through my r‚sum‚ and interviews. One thing, however, has come to my attention that lacks from our expensive university experience, and that is foreign language.

Being a Spanish major, I have seen the foreign language department deteriorate in the past four years. When I first started, classes such as Spanish 101 and Portuguese 101 were offered.

Today’s students are lucky to get the crash courses before being thrown into the second-year level, and if one has no previous knowledge — forget it. I took three years of Spanish in high school, then took a year off in between my university Spanish classes, and believe me, if I wouldn’t have taken Spanish 101 and 102 here at ISU, I doubt I would have continued learning Spanish or would have tried Portuguese.

The problem with not offering first-year foreign language courses is that many times the high school programs are either insufficient, texts are out of date or students lack the basics to build upon. Courses like Biology and Algebra are required in high school, but does one really remember all the formulas? That is why these are repeated in college.

With the recent lack of educational funds, many programs have been cut throughout the university. The foreign language department has seen a lot of downsizing with faculty, courses and programs. I wonder how is it that Iowa State can say it is diverse and multicultural when it practically extinguishes the foreign language department.

Language is a primary part of culture and communication with those who are not like us. And what happened to all the native speaking professors? Who better to teach Spanish, French, Portuguese or German than a native?

Back to the point of going out into the real world, one has to make themselves stand out in today’s world, and I believe that being bilingual and/or trilingual is still a good way to do it. On a recent trip to Miami, Florida I found that not knowing a second language greatly diminished career choices. When looking over the internet, four of the five that I viewed required fluency in both English and Spanish, and either a studied or conversational level of Portuguese.

In conclusion, I hope that in the future Iowa State would reconsider putting a majority of its funds into just a few programs and take a look at where ISU students are lacking. First year foreign language courses are not just considered an “easy A” class by students — they are necessary as a review for some and to strike interest in others. I know that if the classes that were available to me when I started were not available, I would not be bilingual (almost trilingual) today.

Tracey Miller

Senior

Spanish