While they may be as bizarre as break dancing and Swahili, the Collis Miniversity classes offered this term range from mere Kitchen Survival to more exotic cuisine.
Middle Eastern cooking has become one of the more popular of five new courses. Students in this class will learn about the culture of Middle Eastern countries and how to make dishes from the region.
The more basic cooking class, "Kitchen Survival," has not fared as well. Collis Miniversity Interns Patrick Murray '98 and Amy Yost '98 blamed the wording of the advertisement -- "Are you a klutz in the kitchen?" -- for the low enrollment.
A stained glass course, which will introduce students to the basics of the craft -- including cutting glass and creating designs -- was attractive to many students with an art background such as Hilary Thomas '99.
Thomas, whose father has worked with stained glass and who has taken courses at Dartmouth such as drawing and art history, said she decided to sign up for the class "because it was interesting and not offered anywhere else."
In addition to the other new classes, yoga for athletes and sign language, there are the old mainstays, such as ballroom and swing dancing.
These dance classes actually started out as unusual offerings, "but have developed into long-term highly sought after courses," Collis Miniversity Adviser Brenda Goupee said.
Many students registering for Miniversity courses Monday agreed that unlike classes such as break dancing, which were passing fads, swing and ballroom are an integral part of the Miniversity program.
Swing and ballroom, as well as other perennial favorites like wine-tasting and beer-tasting, have been offered for about 11 years, according to Murray.
Another popular Miniversity course is massage. Murphy Stein '01, who registered for the class yesterday, said the class will prove useful, because "I can offer my services to my friends."
This term's instructors include both professionals such as David Larsen, a full-time dance teacher, and students like Molly McKenna '01, whose parents are both deaf. She will teach the sign language course.
The Miniversity program was the brainchild of Former U.S. Secretary of Labor and Dartmouth alumnus, Robert Reich '68. His idea led to the creation of the Dartmouth Experimental College and then the Miniversity program.
The Miniversity was founded in 1985 by Lori Bamberger '85 and "has been thriving ever since," Goupee said. The program has been running for more than 50 terms and has offered more than 1,000 courses.
