Junior Writing Portfolio

Today I had to turn in a folder containing a new Pepperdine General Education requirement ominously called the “Junior Writing Portfolio.” Those of you who just did the same thing undoubtedly are asking yourselves the same question that everyone else who had to do it is… Why in the world did they think this would be a good idea? A quick rundown for those of you who don’t know what the JWP is; once you’ve achieved the status as Junior at Pepperdine University, you’re required to compile a portfolio of your past essays, write a cover letter explaining your specific choices, and detail each of the assignments. While this might not seem like a monumental task, the fact of the matter is that it’s extremely difficult to find the graded essays that you wrote during freshman year. Discounting whatever difficulty it may take to compile these essays, let’s assume that that was the easiest thing in the world to do. The fact remains, it’s still a completely superfluous assignment. Are we to assume that the school doesn’t have enough faith in their professors that we’ve made it this far passing classes without being able to write adequately? The English 101 requirement is designed for the exact same purpose; to ensure we can write critically, clearly, and decisively. This program is nothing more than busy work at a time when we can’t afford busy work. Furthermore, it is an insult to the professors and the students of Pepperdine University.