The Outreach Program Office at Auburn University is giving students something fun and educational to do this summer.
Beginning this week and throughout the rest of the summer, a wide variety of non-credit classes are being offered to students and the rest of the community.
"We always have quite a few people from the community taking these classes," said Lydia Walls, the community courses program director.
According to the Outreach Program Office's Web site, 50-75 short classes are being offered.
With options like fly-fishing, ballroom dancing, sign language and T'ai Chi, students can take a class in almost anything they want.
Several of the classes have continuously retained their popularity throughout the years, Walls said.
"Ballroom dance is always a popular class with students as well as couples in the area," she said.
In contrast to ballroom dance, the Texas Two-step is another dance class that the Outreach Program provides.
Consistently one of the other most popular courses is the Basic Handgun Safety class and spots are always limited, Walls said.
The class teaches the rules of safe gun handling, the fundamentals of marksmanship, and laws pertaining to the use of handguns, according to the Outreach Program Office's Web site. The three-hour class only costs $70 for three sessions.
With so many unique topics to choose from, students can spend their summer learning things outside their regular curriculum.
"I think taking a pottery class would be cool," said Stephanie McCartney, a senior in international business. "It's something I've always wanted to learn, but never had the chance to."
Pottery, along with floral arranging, pine needle basketry, watercolor and knitting are just a few of the other courses being offered.
The Outreach Program Office has added several other new courses this summer as well, including Hindi and Learning Spanish through Games and Role Play, Walls said.
Spanish is taught through word and board games in this class, and students are asked to act out the roles of waiters, customers and chefs in order to better understand the language, according to the program's Web site.
The Supper Club Series is another class being offered for the first time.
The series is a three-part class that allows students to make a three-course meal in small groups. The first class in the series teaches a Mediterranean styled meal. The next two in the Series teach how to cook a southern inspired supper and a meal fresh from the farmer's market.
"I think these classes are a good thing to have in the summer," said Ellie Angle, a junior in marketing. "I'm not taking anything else. A cooking class would be something fun to do in my spare time."
Most of the classes only take place on a couple of nights for a few weeks so enrolling in more than one is always an option.
"I didn't even know about these classes," McCartney said. "I'm glad I know now because they would definitely be something fun to do this summer."
Prices vary depending on the class. A belly-dancing course costs only $30, while a driver's education class could cost up to as much as $145.
Some of the summer community courses also meet for longer periods of time than others. They can meet anywhere from just once, up to 37 times in a term.
Most of the courses are only offered at nights and on weekends.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
