Pound of Flesh II

While in general it may be said that University Hall and Wadsworth House have done an excellent job of combining the traditional Summer School with the streamlined "third term" for Harvard men, one of the College's most prized privileges has become lost in the shuffle of transition. The custom of auditing other courses than one's own is age-old, but it will certainly die out if undergraduates are expected to hand over $10 in order to drop in on their favorite lecturers or supplement work on their divisionals.

In past years, this fee has been necessary in order to fatten Summer School finances, which were independent of the College's. Any extra revenue with which to bolster the budget was needed. In most cases students were either dropped Freshmen trying to get picked up again, dilettantes who took an auditor's pass anyway, or schoolteachers primarily interested in one or two specialized subjects, so there was little intellectual loss. But with 1800 undergraduates returning for the entire summer session, many of whom cannot officially take certain courses, yet must audit them for their general examinations, it is unfair and discriminatory to limit an ancient prerogative. Furthermore, the budget of the Summer School is now linked with that of the University, and there is no danger of going into the red. Judging by the size of enrollment, classes will be crowded, but that is a weak excuse for restricting the number of auditors.

The simple solution is to grant an auditor's pass, which otherwise would cost $10, to any bona fide undergraduate or graduate student on presentation of his bursar's card. Men who are studying at Harvard in order to complete requirements for a Harvard degree have, we believe, a just claim for auditing at will. This adjustment in an otherwise smoothly-running program would tend to put the University on a more normal full-time basis. The present system is definitely a step backward and a limitation of intellectual freedom.