The pressure to pursue a STEM major in college has steadily grown over the years, causing the arts and humanities to be overshadowed in exchange. The liberal arts are a necessary pillar of education that deserves to be valued and maintained.

The number of jobs requiring STEM qualifications has surged by 34 percent over the past decade, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. Students have been told sciences are the future of our world and the most practical thing to study in college. Following that advice is usually at the disparagement of a liberal arts education, calling it a "useless degree."

The notion of a useless degree is misperceived because any form of education and learning will never be useless, and a liberal arts education is valuable. Most people who belittle arts and humanities usually do so from a place of ignorance. They misconstrue the liberal arts as being associated with the modern political idea of liberalism, or the opposite of being conservative.

Rather, the term liberal arts refers to the Latin word liberalesmeaning "free," as opposed to "subjugation" or "enslavement." The term was used during the Middle Ages to distinguish from the servile arts, which were vocational careers such as medicine, engineering and business. The liberal arts were considered the education of a free person in society unconstrained by the sole purpose of production, with the ability to learn liberating knowledge.

The fundamentals of a liberal arts education are grounded in the idea of broad interdisciplinary teachings that serve to create critical thinkers who recognize the interconnectedness of all knowledge. This form of education should be applied and taught to all majors, and would especially benefit the sciences. Being able to relate formulas and numbers to the arts and humanities would help foster creativity, innovation and remind students of the human aspect of their disciplines.

Instead, universities and their federal funding are adopting a hard stance on turning colleges into vocational schools, investing more within their STEM departments and phasing out the arts. The National Endowment for the Humanities budgetwas only$180 million in 2022, and the National Science Foundations budget lapped that number by 50 times, according to The New York Times. The future of higher education is now blindsided with the prospect of creating a world of scientists and business professionals, approaching students as cogs needed to fit within the business world framework instead of as learners.

Even politicians are pushing toward the death of liberal arts education. Miguel Cardona, the current secretary of education, said Every student should have access to an education that aligns with industry demands and evolves to meet the demands of tomorrow's global workforce. Insinuating the sole reason for education is to meet industry demands instead of self-fulfillment or the development of moral virtues, qualities philosophers like Socrates and Aristotle intended education to create for individuals.

What these advocates of a strict STEM paradigm fail to recognize is that only some are suited for science and math. Whether it is because they do not find enjoyment within the numbers or they simply do not have the predisposition for a mathematical aptitude, no one should feel pressured by industry demands or STEM job qualifications.

Students should pursue whatever major they are passionate about or what brings them enjoyment. The construct that some majors are better than others or prepare you for life better needs to be reevaluated. Most majors within the arts and humanities focus on the human aspect of their disciplines and are well-versed in soft skills such as communication, adaptability and creativity. Eighty-nine percent of recruiters in LinkedIns 2019 Global Talent Trends report claimed people who did not get hired lacked these skills.

Although many value the sciences as being more vital to society than the arts, the need to value the cultivation of culture and the understanding between people that the liberal arts establish must always remain a priority within education. After all, what is the point of doctors saving lives and engineers crafting towers if there is not music to be heard or art to witness?

That begins with universities and federal organizations recognizing the importance of a liberal arts education and implementing more funding and opportunities for liberal arts colleges. Core requirement courses must extend to include more classes within the humanities and arts for STEM majors to foster a holistic education rather than a technical one.

Steve Jobs said it best: Technology alone is not enough. It is technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities, that [] make[s] our heart sing.

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Students need to stop turning their backs on liberal arts degrees - North Texas Daily