Central New York Colleges Offering Unusual Courses – Would You Enroll?

Basket weaving used to be one the most unusual courses offered at our nation's colleges. My how times have changed!

I'm a proud graduate of Mohawk Valley Community College and SUNY Polytechnic Institute. It took me ten years to graduate because I never attended full-time. I don't ever remember taking courses with unusual subject matter. However, I do recall attempting to draw a paper bag and a hardboiled egg during an art class. Day one I etched the bag, day two I drew the egg, day three I withDREW from class. Pardon the pun, but I couldn't draw myself out of a paper bag even if my life depended on it. Thankfully, I was able to graduate with my Bachelor's degree by taking normal classes like economics, accounting, and finance.

Apparently college curriculum has changed a bit since I last attended. Central New York schools are now offering classes that are anything but ordinary:

Utica College now offers a zip lining/ ropes course. Students elect the class in the hopes of earning an easy "A"; don't get burned however, (rope joke,) it's a lot tougher than it looks. Cornell University offers a course in tree climbing. I can definitely see where this would come in handy. You never know when you might get chased down by a hungry black bear in the middle of the forest. Check out what these schools are offering up:

At Rutgers University, students can take Feminist Perspectives: Politicizing Beyoncé. Appalachian University has a class called "What if Harry Potter is Real?" And the Fashion Institute of Technology has a Pet Apparel Fashion and Design Class.

Across the nation, schools are offering some pretty crazy courses:

Middlebury College offers a class called "Mad Men and Mad Women." It focuses on masculinity and femininity in the mid twentieth century. The course uses the show Mad Men for its prime subject matter. Xavier University has a class called "A History of the Pig in America: how has the pig made its mark on the United States?" I hear it's a meaty course!