DIVISIONAL EXAMINATIONS

Last year the Division of Ancient and Modern Languages gave its examinations on the Bible, Shakespere, and Ancient and Modern Authors on October 10, 11, 12. This year they will be given on September 30, 31, and October 1, 2. The Division gave out information of the change only through chance notices posted on billboards.

The perfectly justified outcry that has arisen from the large number of students affected by this change has drawn attention to both the clerical inefficiency of the department and the unadvisability of having any divisional examinations so soon in the fall that a student has only time to register and attend the first meetings of his class before he finds himself taking a series of examinations. The difficulties which have arisen from a haphazard method of notification can easily be eliminated in the future but the question of whether the dates of the examinations have been wisely set raises a more controversial point.

It is said that the dates were advanced almost two full weeks this year so that tutors could eliminate work with their tutees on the fields covered by these examinations and start the year on more important material. The wisdom of such an attitude, if it is true, is surely to be questioned in view of the chaotic conditions under which students are forced to take the examinations this year. The whole condition at present is surely far from ideal. Some arrangement of these examinations in the Junior year might eliminate many of the glaring deficiencies in the present system.