Here at Eau Claire we have a wide selection of majors to choose from. I unfortunately found one department that seems to be fading away, so let me tell you all a little story.

I was a Sociology major here for two years. Unable to get into any classes I wanted except for the 101 class, I pulled some strings and got into one more by going to the department and demanding to be overflowed into as many as I could.

After ending up with only two classes for my major and junior year approaching, I learned the Sociology Department offers only one section of each upper level course a semester, and most of the time it is only offered in the spring or the fall. Not both. Of course that disappointed me right away; if a student doesn't get into the class she wants, she has to wait an entire year to take it again.

As I look back in my course catalogue from 2001-2002, I find that there are a good amount of classes listed under the Sociology major, but they haven't even been offered in two years. As I heard Dr. J.K Davidson mention in my class one day, they just don't have the staff to teach the classes right now. So why not just take the classes out of the catalogue completely? Instead, we have students plan out their years here and then be disappointed that the class will never be taught.

I just registered on November 10th. I was going to register for Sociology classes, but much to my surprise all my classes were full again. I'm a junior. I guess if I were still in this major, I would never graduate, because I cannot seem to get into any classes. If you go to many other departments, Psychology or Art for example, they offer a more structured program in which you have to take classes in a specific order. But with Sociology there is no structure at all except to take Sociology 101 first. After that you can take whatever you want.

The Sociology Department requires students to take 20 credits of electives, but the electives offered are general education, so no spots are guaranteed for Sociology majors. For example a business major could take Sociology of the Family (316) if they wanted to, but a Sociology major trying to graduate on time might not have a class specific to her major available.

I also found out that in the department there are only 96 Sociology majors. The major, I was told, is one of the smallest on campus. Therefore, I was told, that they do not receive as much funding, causing a shortage in professors and a shortage in classes.

I found out that, total, there are only eight Sociology professors here at the university. That is a small amount compared to almost every other department here on campus. It is over two times less than the Psychology Department. Six times less than what the English Department has.

I really loved the Sociology Department, but I feel that they are far understaffed, and I feel that I was not being offered the classes that I will need to graduate. I also feel that they really didn't give me enough direction. Therefore I have changed majors, sadly only because the department seems to be fading out.