         
         //vanquishing the slobbering beast of multi-threading issues
         while !(self.facultiesDone) {
+            
+            // ADD LOADING SCREEN HERE INSTEAD
             sleep(UInt32(0.1))
         }
         
-        
-        fetchClasses()
-        //more vanquishing
-        while !(self.classesDone) {
-            sleep(UInt32(0.1))
-        }
         
         //getting the correct value in currentFaculty
         setCurrentFaculty(row: 0)

                    faculty.name = dict["value"] as! String?
                    self.faculties?.append(faculty)
                    
                }
                
                self.facultiesDone = true

    }
    
    
    func fetchFaculties(semester: String) {
        let url = URL(string: "http://www.sfu.ca/bin/wcm/course-outlines?\(semester)")
        
        //prepares my hashTable for storing the data gathered from the API
        //its keys are faculty names, values are an array of classes within that faculty
        self.hashTable = HashTable<String, [Class]>(capacity: 333)
        
        URLSession.shared.dataTask(with: url!) { (data, response, error) in
            //check if an error is returned form the server
