universities make you take filler classes, with student loans so heavy [ why ]?

Answer 1

Welcome to Academia, where the purpose of education is not employment and eventually financial security, but rather the pursuit of enlightenment.

You may or not may not learn something in those "filler" classes, but the purpose of those classes isn't to teach you about whatever is the subject du jour... the purpose is to teach how you think and approach problems. This may seem like a stupid waste of time, but the very fact that you had to ask this question says that you'll benefit a lot from it.