Column: Graffiti, orgo and weed-out class theory

What frustrates a student enough to deface university property? Organic chemistry, apparently.

For the unfamiliar, organic chemistry, or orgo, is the study of carbon-containing molecules and their chemistry — the endless means and manners through which molecules are broken, transformed, reconfigured and recreated. 

These molecules are enormously important industrially and biologically, from powering and lubricating machinery to brushing and rinsing your teeth. 

It’s also become a bit of a cliche to say carbon is the foundation of all life on earth, but cliches are nothing if not reliably truthful.

So why would a student want to “f--- orgo”?

At least, this is what was spray-painted last weekend on the side of Keene-Flint Hall — in addition to the slightly more general desire to “f--- chem.”

Presumably, this individual was not trying to swipe right on orgo.  

The introductory courses to organic chemistry are notorious for containing some of the most challenging material presented to undergraduate students at this stage of their education. And this isn’t exclusive to UF. The phrase “I’m taking orgo this semester” is widely recognized as a universal cry for sympathy from Gainesville to Berkeley, California.

Organic chemistry is required for most pre-health occupations, which is why the introductory courses to organic chemistry are referred to as “weed-out courses.”

Now, I’m not going to try to understand the mind of an individual who spends his or her time creating decidedly mediocre graffiti — I’m too busy trying to pass orgo 2 myself — but if I had to guess, I’m going to say this person was not happy about feeling stuck in a weed-out course.

There was an excellent letter to the editor published Tuesday in the Alligator that addressed this incident and, indirectly, the idea of a weed-out course. First and foremost, what you study in college is your choice. For the most part, you have to contend with the implications that follow.

I recommend anyone who hasn’t read that letter to scour the internet or Library West’s third floor for a transcript. The letter goes on to say the implications of taking an advanced science course in a first-world country at a top-tier public research university can’t ever be that bad.

I’d also like to add to the quite truthful arguments against critics of supposed weed-out courses.

Organic chemistry is a difficult subject; I’ve heard more than one professor compare the number and uses of its terminology to a second language. 

Much of the material won’t be useful for wherever you go in life, but a course can’t be designed with a single student in mind. Rather, it must be for an entire class. And hell, to the aspiring graffiti artist in question, you’re probably not old enough to legally drink; do you know where your life is headed?

No course, orgo included, is deliberately designed to fail students or prevent them from reaching their long-term goals. Orgo isn’t meant to weed out anyone without the specific type of intelligence or convictions to continue the premedical, pre-pharmaceutical or pre-physician assisting tracks — that’s just a side effect. 

It’s simply designed to prepare every student in the class to move forward with his or her coursework and degrees, as is true for any other supposed weed-out course. In other words, it’s like any other class a student may take: The introductions to organic chemistry exist to teach students and to allow them to learn above all else.

Neel Bapatla is a UF English Sophomore. His column appears on Fridays.