Each Star Sign as an Independent Major

Scorpio (Oct. 23 – Nov. 21)

Drinking Games and Party Culture, this major will study all our favorites: Rage Cage, Pong, Flip Cup and more. How have parties shaped college campuses for better or worse? Is college defined by drinking and drug culture? This major will explore historical and contemporary attitudes about partying and how parties as we know them have come to be through the lenses of history, sociology, psychology and GWSS. They’ll have no choice but to do an ethnography research project and immerse themselves in party culture. Don’t be surprised if you get interviewed at the next Moose.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22 – Dec. 21)

To honor the original Sagittarius herself, Reputation: Analyzing Taylor Swift, Her Music & Pop Culture in the Early 2000s. You’ll focus on the different eras of Swift and where each album exists in the historical context of the beginning of the millennium. This interdisciplinary study will also examine the role the media played in her reputation and how that changed over the years. It’s a major combining history, digital media and the arts.

Capricorn (Dec. 22 – Jan. 19)

A fully funded meal at a fancy restaurant funded by the school? Yes, please! This was Capricorn’s goal, to get funding for a free dinner with their friends. But to get approval, they declared their major in Finding the World’s Best Fry: a Journalistic Investigation. This research- and writing-based study will allow them to travel all over the state, practice interview and writing skills while reviewing each restaurant, and try to learn how to make the best fries. They even try to break down the chemical compounds involved and see the impact on the fry’s quality.

Aquarius (Jan. 20 – Feb. 18)

Aquarius is ready to expose the truth to the world: Dove Soap is Not Actually Soap (confirmed by Dove themselves). Through this major, they’ll explore cultural phenomenons that have allowed corporations to trick us into believing their product serves a certain function that it doesn’t. What rhetorical tools do they use to persuade us to buy their products? What have been the most successful scams of our sales-oriented world? What does this say about our society and our interactions with capitalism?

Pisces (Feb. 19 – March 20)

Led by their roaming imagination, Pisces would make a major called Investigating Princess Diana: Life, Loss & Legacy. This would dive into the history of the British Royal Family, the role they play in England and the culture of people who are so entranced by them. It would indulge conspiracies of Princess D’s death and try to reconcile the impact she had on the world.

Aries (March 21 – April 19)

Sneakerhead Culture as a Cultural Movement and High Fashion: we all know someone who would go into debt to buy their dream pair of sneakers. Where did this passion of collecting sneakers come from? Especially sneakers designed by celebrity athletes? It will examine how reselling emerging as the most prominent method of collecting shoes has impacted the overall culture of selling them. Aries thrives here because of their athletic tendencies: they are already familiar with the culture.

Taurus (April 20 – May 20)

Taurus needs to take a page out of someone else’s book and Learn How to Calm TF Down. This major will allow them to practice rest and relaxation and hopefully learn the skills so well that they can teach them to everyone around them. Maybe they can put this major to good use as a wellness guru, a yoga teacher or maybe even a social worker.

Gemini (May 21 – June 20)

 Why is the Midwest so Obsessed with Ranch? And Other Midwestern Phenomena. This major finally asks the question everyone has been scared to ask! Where did Ranch come from? Why is everyone in Iowa into dipping anything and everything into ranch dressing? This is perfect for the Gemini who moved to Grinnell without ever meeting a Midwestener and was startled by the prominence of the sacred salad dressing. (Disclaimer: I am a Midwesterner by birth and a proud lover of Ranch, but I don’t know why we’re so obsessed with it.)

 Cancer (June 21 – July 22)

Cancer is the sign most emblematic of its element, water. So, what else could they major in but the age-old question, Is Water Wet? Science classes will explore the behavior of water, such as surface tension, adhesion and cohesion. In philosophy, they’ll debate what the state of being wet means. They’ll attend dance classes that mimic the water cycle. These classes will allow them to come to a conclusion answering the titular question in a 50-page senior capstone paper and decide rightfully so that yes, water is wet.

 Leo (July 23 – Aug. 22)

Besides Sagittarius, no one sign is as adventurous as Leo. Students will be steered to implement a new pre-professional track at Grinnell, the Pre-Pilot Program. This physics-based major will not have any hands-on training (the Grinnell Regional Airport turned them down) but will focus on the history and the science of airplanes. It also will teach them about the commercial airline industry. Most importantly, their senior capstone project will be to make better airline food.      

Virgo (Aug. 23 – Sept. 22)

 A combination of education, writing, psychology and art classes will lead Virgo to be approved for their Bullet Journaling and Study Methods major. How does elaborate note-taking and exhaustive planner-keeping habits improve a student’s well-being and academics? How can they share these skills with others and make sure it is a sustainable practice? For their senior capstone, they will create a syllabus for a 200-level bullet journaling art class and get the college to fund a brand-new Moleskin journal for every first-year (branded with the college logo, of course).

 Libra (Sept. 23 – Oct. 22)

Now that she has given up her Actor’s Equity Card (essentially retiring from Broadway), we can reflect on Patti LuPone and Contemporary Broadway and how the industry has changed in the last 50 years. This will touch on American history and historical media to see how society influenced what shows were produced (and one that were not), as well as theater and sociology. Who are the icons of Broadway? How did they influence contemporary productions and how will they continue to change? What role did COVID-19 play in shifting the theater industry? What have we lost, and what’s to come? They’ll put on a show depicting LuPone’s life story.