The Vote Today

Despite recent approval by the Committee on Educational Policy and the Administrative Board, the current requirements for the cum laude in general studies degree will come under sharp fire in today's Faculty meeting. Several departments are expected to support a proposal to move the deadline for dropping theses to November. Under the present rules a senior may drop his thesis at any time.

In support of their case, opponents of the existing legislation cannot draw on statistical evidence, for the statistics are against them. Over the past two years few seniors have abandoned departmental honors for CLGS; the rules have provided necessary flexibility for individual cases, not a convenient excuse for academic inaction. Students who drop theses are not necessarily looking for the easy way out. More often, theses are dropped because the subject has proved unfruitful or unmanageable.

It is hard to sustain the argument that an investigation once begun must be finished. Few Faculty members live by this dictum themselves. Quite often research indicates that an hypothesis is not worth pursuing further or that it requires considerably more work than originally anticipated. As a good thesis is obviously more than a simple research paper it runs the risk of unexpected--and perhaps insurmountable--difficulties.

Forcing all seniors to finish their theses once the magic November deadline has past might actually have destructive effects. Denied an escape route, many seniors might prefer to take a CLGS in the beginning rather than risk being punished for their daring. Also, some theses which probably should not be written will waste the time and money of both students and departments.

A major objection to the present regulations appears to be the purely administrative problem of what to do when a thesis is dropped. The answer to administrative inconvenience, however, should not be sought in arbitrary rulings and deadlines. Instead of the current ambiguity, the Faculty should consider requiring a 5000 or 10,000 word research paper for credit in one semester of senior tutorial. The student could thus present the research he has completed and be able to take a full schedule of regular courses in the Spring to meet graduation requirements. The problem of adjusting teaching assignments when a student drops his thesis does not seem unmanageable, and hardly should serve as a justification for passing a restrictive, harmful rule.

The Faculty should respect the recommendation of the CEP and retain the valuable flexibility of the present CLGS rules.