NEEDLESS CONFUSION

The granting of an S. B. degree to one whose knowledge of science goes no further than a conversational acquaintance with biology or a year's rock tapping amid the glaciers of Nahant remains as an illogical feature of the Harvard curriculum. Originally an academic course was practically synonymous with a classical training and consequently a knowledge of Latin or Greek was a valid requirement for an A. B. degree. This is no longer true, however, and the distinction between the two degrees, based solely on whether the candidate does, or does not, offer an ancient language, has outworn its usefulness.

In asking for a change in the requirements for the A. B. and S. B. degree there is no desire to minimize the value of a classical background. On the contrary, the present tendency is too much to neglect the classics and to forget that they still have a real part to play in a balanced education. No man should be a stranger to the literature and the philosophy of Greece. Study of the ancient languages, nevertheless, should be optional rather than compulsory.

A degree determined by a man's field of concentration is necessary to avoid the existing confusion of terms. Coupled with this, perhaps, should come an extension of the Ancient Authors requirements which already play important roles in several fields. These examinations, although often irritating, justify to some extent the claim that Harvard offers a liberal and inclusive education.