Not Quite Breaking Their Backs

When he found out that 310 people had signed up to take "Boats"--known to the uninitiated as History 1380b, "The Age of Cook"--all John H. (Commodore) Parry, Gardiner Professor of Oceanic History and Affairs, could say was, "They must be out of their minds."

But hundreds of Harvard students, who flocked like lemmings to Parry's course, and other "light-load" courses that dotted this semester's "Top Ten" course enrollment list, obviously disagree.

One-tenth of the undergraduate population, it seems, was so convinced that it didn't want to brave the rigors of a heavy reading period this spring, that 671 people packed Sanders Theater to listen to tales of Beowulf and Batman from Albert B. Lord, the star of Humanities 9b, "Oral and Popular Literature."

Evidently, the Wall Street Journal still has a steady following: the perennial favorite, Economics 10, "Principles of Economics," held on to the number-one position by a wide margin.

Harvard students also displayed an interest in their heritage in large amounts, signing up in record numbers for Natural Sciences 16, "Man the Peculiar Primate." The Friday movies didn't do much to turn them away, either.

Over 340 eager beavers, however, opted for Government 40, "Continuity and Change in International Politics" while the more medically-concerned raced to Humanities 130, "Problems in Medical Ethics. Many of the same students also found Chemistry 20b, "Organic Chemistry," fairly enticing.

Arthur J. Dyck, Saltonstall Professor of Population Ethics, promised this week that Hum 130 will not be an easy course. Many students disagreed, however, saying the course has "potential."

But this spring should be an interesting one: from the looks of this semester's course list, the vast majority of Harvard students want to romp with the Australopithecines, sympathize with the mercy killers, sail the seven seas, or simply have an easy time of it.