"Let There Be Peace."

To the Editors of the Crimson:

The greater number of your correspondents on the English C question have asserted that the instructors are not agreed among themselves as to a uniform standard of marking, and in support of their position have pointed out what they consider the unusually low marks given in one of the sections. Now is this assertion of theirs really correct. Are the instructors actually assigning marks upon different standards of excellence? Those members of the course who are in the 1.30 section may remember a statement of the instructor in charge which would seem to cast some light upon the question. He said substantially as follows: "I regret to be obliged to state that the standard of this course has thus far been unusually low. My batch of fifty briefs was the poorest I have seen in a long while. I have been obliged to give fifteen E's, and if these men do not, in every case show a marked improvement before the end of the year they run a decided risk of failing to pass the course. If the trouble were confined to the 1.30 section I would be led to think it due to the bad acoustic properties of this room (Fogg Lecture Room). As the matter stands, however, this cannot be the case, for the trouble is widespread and has been noticed by every instructor in the course." This looks very much as if the bare truth, disagreeable though it be, were simply that the standard of the course is not as high as the instructors have a right to expect or the students seem so fondly to believe.

LET THERE BE PEACE.