DEGREES IN THE SHADE

When, on June 21, the Class of 1928 is welcomed to the fellowship of educated men, the division of its members according to degrees will be an enigma to most of the audience in Sever Quadrangle. The tradition that connects Baccalaureus in Artibus with a knowledge of Latin or Greek persists in its hold on the erudite mind, and the actual subject of a student's work in college plays little part in the determination of which degree he receives.

The candidate for Bachelor of Arts must present in some form proof of three years' study of Latin or two years' study of Greek. Once he is entered, though his choice may light upon the most inartistic of sciences, he is preparing for the degree of A.B. Although the work-on which assignment to this category is based has nothing to do with the college, since the greater part of candidates drop ancient languages upon leaving school, the listing on Commencement Day remains according to work in a secondary institution four or five years before. The result is such a confusion of terms as occurs when one finds a student concentrating in Modern Languages receiving an S.B., and a man whose field is Chemistry listed as an A.B.

Tradition, and perhaps a belief that little weight is laid on the degrees, are the factors against making a rational change. The first is vague but powerful: the second is weak, for to the laity, if not to the academic world, the connotation of S.B. is unavoidably that of a student of science. Since the degree is a result of college work, it would be a more logical procedure were the universities of the country to rearrange the requirements for these degrees, and settle the difference by awarding the degree of Bachelor of Science to men whose field of study in college has been scientific, while the Bachelor of Arts would represent devotion to the other fields of non-scientific character.