<p>Ucbalumnus, SDSU and yes, one can find many places north of the border to practice Spanish. I passed on the excursion to Tijuana. It would certainly not pass muster with the parents or admin now.</p>
<p>My example was 30 years old. But per the web, my STEM college still has the PE requirement. </p>
<p>from FAQ - "Yes. In addition to Personal Wellness, you are required to complete three physical education classes. " </p>
<p>I went to a Big 10 university in the 70s. I can’t really think of a fluff course that I took. The only one that comes to mind was a course on Watergate. It was a political science class and Sam Ervin, who chaired the Senate Committee investigating Watergate came to campus. He spoke in our class and we were invited to a luncheon with him. I don’t remember much about the class, but I did enjoy it.</p>
<p>Sculpture. It was great, and I wish I had time to take more sculpture courses. It was pretty hilarious as an engineer in a fine arts course, because the fine arts majors were always freaking over “is this piece okay for my portfolio?” and showing their portfolio to the professor when they were supposed to be working.</p>
<p>I was impressed I got a B in it.</p>
<p>"A waterskiing class. Had to learn real quick how to ski well to avoid the dreaded alligators. Class would officially end in the early afternoon and then the instructors turned it into an afternoon party with the school’s new Mastercraft. "</p>
<p>I think we have our winner here!</p>
<p>Gymnastics. Epic fail - anyone who knows how uncoordinated I really am would laugh.</p>
<p>I don’t know, Bunsen. Waterskiing isn’t so easy. And the water enemas are horrific. Now if it was tubing, that would be a different story.</p>
<p>I’m a student in my last semester and I’ve taken a couple of fluffy courses! </p>
<p>I really loved my Creative Writing for YA/Children Readers and it was easy to not do well if you didn’t show up or do drafts but for me, it was so easy and enjoyable. It was stressful sometimes when I had writer’s block but I love writing and I loved being forced to practice writing when I was extremely busy (I had 18 credits, an internship and a part time job that semester).</p>
<p>I also took Politics, Propaganda and Cinema which I loved. It was 6 to 9 pm on Thursdays I think and we’d watch old war movies and discuss them. Two exams, open notes. A paper for extra credit. The professor passed away suddenly last semester. :(</p>
<p>Modern Novel was also fluffy yet enjoyable. New professor with no exams, purely discussion based class, a group presentation and two papers. I honestly only read a quarter of the assigned novels and I’m an English(and Econ) major! </p>
<p>Science Fiction Literature and Philosophy of Art were my two fluff courses. I loved them both. Both were taught by very popular professors. Actually, thinking back, Accounting 101 was probably easier that either of those, because the SF Lit and Philosophy of Art classes has plenty of reading and papers or projects.</p>
<p>I took Fencing and Badminton for my 2 required semesters of PE. </p>
<p>Our local CC has several courses in Underwater Welding. I don’t know if they weld a basket, though.</p>
<p>“Our local CC has several courses in Underwater Welding. I don’t know if they weld a basket, though.”</p>
<p>It SOUNDS fluffy and silly but it’s actually a highly sought after skill. Underwater welders earn $85k-$200k and the window of the occupation is fairly short, about five years due to stress on the heart and lungs. Someone was recently telling me about a friend who “retired” from it at 25 and is now in medical school.</p>
<p>Actually, if you believe CC, my English degree is nothing but fluff. ;)</p>
<p>My easiest course was Logic which (as I recall) satisfied a math distributional requirement.</p>
<p>ucbalumnus asked:</p>
<p>“However, in that area, can’t one just cross the street rather than the international border to find a restaurant where one can practice Spanish language skills?”</p>
<p>Yes. But you are missing out on their special four star dessert. ;-)</p>
<p>This thread made me go back into my dusty archives and look at all the courses I took in undergrad for any other evidence of fluff. (Yes, I saved it all.) I found this gem, the final examination for the horror film course I noted in an earlier post above. What’s special about it is that it was the last exam I took before graduation. When I handed in that bluebook, I ran across the quad with a light heart, done with college!</p>
<p>Oh, and the exam handout was on that wonderful smeary, purple-blue mimeograph paper.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Protestant Thought & Theology.</p>
<p>Taken at my Jesuit undergrad during one summer. Main requirement was to attend 4 Protestant church services, including an evangelical one and write 1-2 pages on how it differed from traditional Catholic mass and what you thought of it.</p>
<p>There may have been one test on the factual timeline of the formation of the various Protestant Churches when they broke away from the Catholic Church. </p>
<p>Turned out to be one of my more memorable classes and helpful when I decided I no longer shared many social beliefs with the Catholic Church!</p>
<p>@nj2011mom: You reminded me of a course I took (also at a Jesuit university): “God & Atheism” was team taught by a Jewish philosophy professor, an Atheist philosophy professor and a Jesuit priest/theology professor. For me the course was an easy A and nearly converted me to a philosophy major, but then I remembered that I wanted to be self-supporting right after undergrad. ; ) </p>
<p>Looking back, what I appreciate most is how passionate all three professors were about their points of view and how they were also very respectful of each other. I wish more people could be exposed to their example of intelligent discussion and debate.</p>
<p>(Sorry for getting OT.)</p>
<p>I didn’t have too many options for fun electives since I was studying structural engineering! I had to make sure I got design classes in all of the different materials - reinforced concrete, prestressed concrete, wood, steel, masonry, etc. But I did take racquetball, tennis, and two semesters of astronomy.</p>
<p>I LOVED American History. It was a huge lecture class, over 300 students, but the prof was a gifted storyteller. Our final exam question was something to do with comparing Reconstruction and the building of the Panama Canal. The professor tried to convince me to switch my major to history, but I said no!</p>
<p>Art appreciation was my easiest course which was right there with Beginning Guitar. It seemed that anybody who went to the Boston Fine Arts Museum at least twice during the course got an “A” in the Art Appreciation course and you got an “A” if you could pluck Mary Had A Little Lamb with only a few mistakes as a final exam.</p>
<p>@Pizzagirl, I know the class of which you speak! We called it Great America, like the amusement park. I didn’t take it but my roommate did. I took Highlights of Astronomy, aka Darkness at Noon.</p>
<p>I took “Physics of Sports” as a frosh at Penn many years ago and it was decidedly NOT a fluff/gut course.</p>
<p>Many of the courses mentioned are indeed easy, but they all expect you to learn something about the subject; that is, the professor imparts some wisdom or directs you to attend concerts, listen to recordings, go to a museum, or practice some instrument or sport. </p>
<p>I took a true fluff course that was the biggest waste of time ever. Called Philosophy of the Arts, it involved the professor telling stories (when he showed up) that had nothing to do with either philosophy OR the arts, and the students doing a project that was about at the junior high level. The prof was head of the department, so there was no one to complain to (not that any of us complained. We were just sort of amazed.) But now as a parent, when I realize the guy was drawing a SALARY to “teach” this “course” I get annoyed all over again.</p>