A STUDENT OPINION scum mo melt WE’llE BEEll Willilliiiroli THIS? ly DON MARQUAIDT and PAUL TICI Tho l2upaga document it oeiitly complaied by the Faculty Educational Policy and Curri- culum Committee represents a year's concentrated effort by sin (eight, including the air oliicio members) or Grlnnoll’s most dynamic and most respected Uducators. it is truly a sham. that the document does not ro- llect their dynamism. Their Report, granted, sug- gests improvements in the di- vision stincture, underclass ad~ vising system and upperclasl studies and independent proj- ects—out all these represent modifications or the present stains quo. in fact, this appears to be the Committee's goali/ continuing what it considers a curriculum “viable, moderately puccessiul, and sustained by tradition. . . (p. 23" No when did they over at- tempt to conceptualize the ideal education that Grinnell College could oiler, or even what a “liberal education" should be. This Report provides no unity- ng concept toward which fu- ture improvements can be made In the curriculum; it only sup- ports indefinite extension of tho giesent policy. We feel that a ncentrated effort should be made to radically improve the oliuation lrm‘n a mediocre, "vi- able" curriculum to a model our-riculum of which the Grin- neii community can be proud, We feel the goals ior an ad ucaiion at Grihnell should be ihar ii (i) recognize that it is dealing with individuals who do not have the same backgrounds pr interests, (2) he liexible, llh- yral, and personal, satisfying the interests of the individual, find (3) introduce the individual to the broad themes and major concepts of all areas of study in some degree of depth. The Report's objectives however, ap- ar to be in direct contra- diction to these goals. By the second year; every student will have been forced to take seven lecture co u rs e s from wh‘ h "there will be no exemption.“ so lacturo course: and ro~ uirements ar- not only "diffi- cult to Ital " and a “sacrific- to tho disciplinary prestige (p. 28)" by tho Committee’l own admission, but thay are (1) re- strictive to those students with exceptional backgrounds or in- uresu, (2) too large to be per- sonal, and (3) too general to ba oi interest to the prospective major and too vague to be of interest to everyone else. Largo lecture classes, as requirements, are most inappropriate to tha image of a small college whose most valuable asset is the op- portunity it provides for small classes and seminars that allow tor meaningiui discussions with prulessors well qualified in that area, The Report advocates that lectures . i should take ad- vantage of the special quai" cations of the individual [acui- ty member (pr 42)." Our ques~ tion is, why not have all courses take advantage of the faculty's qualifications? These hioad sur- vey courses are not only in- flexible and impersonal to the students, tut they are a gross misuse of valuable iaciilty ra- sources. Would it not be ad vantageous to the entire collego community to replace the einst- ing underclass requirements with a general requirement oi at least 18 hours in every division, and allow the individual student in develop his own program? This would (1) allow the stu- dents to satisfy their own in- terests as best. belit their in- dividual backgrounds and edu- cational goals, (2) fulfill the ob- iectives of a flexible, liberal, and personal education, and (3) permit the i'aculty to teach courses, ii not in their im- mediate fields, at least in their own departments and the courses for which they are most eminently qualified. It is also most regrettable that the Committee did not consider any fundamentally new con- cepts in education important enough to make any proposals along these lines. Their objecs tlvcs at encouraging “study in interdisciplinary subject matters,” developing "a con- cern for problems," encourag- lng "exploration of study and career options,” and providing "the basis for meaningful par- ticipation: in programs or on- campus study, summer intent- rhips, iield work, and workshop study to, 52)" are excellent— but without deiinito proposal: by the Committee, they lacs unfortunate delays. The Committee's concern for the teaching load oi the faculty is certainly a valid concern, but Grinnell can not afford to saw rifice the ideals of a modem liberal education by maintaining large lecture classes and disregarding new educational ideas. We see no other way that Grinnell College can claim to be a progressive liberal arts institution. Certainly proceeding with the status quo will never improve the situation, DAYTON NEW F. A. ADVISOR Daryl D. Dayton, chief of the Music Division and music ad. viser to the United States Inior- motion Agency, has been ap- pointed to President Leggett's Advisory Committee on Fine Arts and Cultural Acquisitions. The Committee on Fine Art: and Cultural Acquisitions is one of four advisory groups which assist President Leggett in long-range planning. A pianist who attended Grin- hell in 1922-23 and 1923-24 and graduated lrom Oberlin College in 1523, Dayton was a member or the music i'aculty at Pomona College for 21 years before joining the U.S. Foreign Serv- ice. He was cultural attache to the American Embassy in Athens, Greece, ior seven years before being appointed to his present position with the United States Information Agency in EEG. Responsible for the promotion Welcome Pizza lover! (and Parents. Friendl. Alumnlll We hate to see people cry. 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