A FIFTH WHEEL

In discontinuing last year's innovation of holding office hours to advise Freshmen on the choice of a field of concentration the Student Advisory Committee abandons a little used activity. The committee is able to make its real service to the first year men at the opening of College in the fall. Then the friendly counsel of an older student proves valuable both in academic and general matters of undergraduate life.

In contrast with the great use made of the advisory body in the fall, only a handful of Freshmen last year turned to the committee for aid in electing a field of concentration. That this slight interest from the advisees justifies the amount of time spent by the committee in keeping office hours is extremely doubtful. By spring the Freshmen are acclimated to the situation and are well equipped to secure information on the question of concentration.

Loss of the student committee leaves the Freshmen with numerous sources of sound advice on the subject of a field of concentration. Besides the services of their faculty advisors and the department heads, the men may still consult their student advisors informally. In addition, Freshmen will receive a pamphlet of reprints from articles appearing in the CRIMSON which discusses the departments of concentration and provides the electing student a comprehensive view of the fields from which he must make his choice. Further assistance seems not only unnecessary, but a tempting prop to the occasional man who would make his decision without the effort of individual investigation.