College isn't what it used to be.  Tuition is going up, up, up, and standards are going down, down, down.  Pay more, get less!  Take the University of California Berkeley, for example.  Please.  Tuition for out-of-state students runs roughly $43,000 a year.  Classes on Western civilization may be going the way of the dodo, but the young scholars can now choose to take classes such as "How to Solve the Rubik's Cube" and "Henna Art: Application and Cultural Perspectives."  According to the institution's website, these are legitimate for-credit courses created by the school's "DeCal" program, which stands for "democratic education."

U.C. Berkeley offers over 150 DeCal courses, and the school says they are "an excellent way of meeting the university's minimum unit requirement" and adds that "all students are encouraged to consider taking a course!"  Grades are typically only offered as Pass/No Pass, a sure indicator of the courses' rigorous nature.

Other DeCal courses offered at California-Berkeley include "Cal Pokémon Academy," "UC Marvel Cinematic Universe," and, of course, "UC Hogwarts: The Wonderful Wizarding World of Harry Potter."  Pokémon Academy will cover the history of the franchise and allow for the discussion of "social issues within the Pokéverse."  Ah.  According to campusreform.org, students will also have to draw a picture of themselves as a "trainer" alongside their favorite Pokémon and design their own trading card.  Whew!  I'm exhausted just thinking about the class requirements.

Marvel Cinematic Universe students will be expected to watch several Marvel movies while focusing on the "various social, ethical, political and economic themes that are highlighted within them," according to the course description.

Those standout students taking on "UC Hogwarts: The Wonderful Wizarding World of Harry potter," will be asked to contemplate why the Harry Potter book series has been "so compelling to generations of readers."  The class will delve into "the history of magic, witchcraft and wizardry, social hierarchies and the role of race in culture...the role of government and corruption, concentration on authoritarianism."  I see.  On the plus side, to obviate the almost unrelenting pressure of trying to understand the "Potterverse," the young scholars will get to engage in activities such as wand-making and Horcrux hunting.

The University of California Berkeley is far from the only school tempting its students with undemanding courses.  The University of South Carolina, for example, has reportedly ignored the state's mandate that all colleges offer a course on the Constitution, but it does offer a class on belly dancing and a course called "Tailgating 101."

College administrators and faculty are trying to be hip and curry favor with students by not seriously challenging them.  The problem is, when these kids leave their schools' wombs and venture out into the real world, they will likely find that tailgating, Rubik's cube–solving, wand-making, and Horcrux-hunting are not skills in particularly high demand.

Colleges are exchanging rhetoric for rap, civics for cartoons, debate for dogma, and Shakespeare for social justice warring.  This can't end well...for the students or society as a whole.