HALF COURSES

Much time is being devoted at present to the selection of half courses for the spring semester. Despite the abolition of them at Yale and the vague talk of their being generally done away with there are many reasons why these diminutive members of the curriculum should be retained.

The most obvious reason for continuing half courses is that one semester is ample time for presenting the material that is contained in that particular course. Where the material has been found to be too extensive for this amount of time the course has often been made a full one. English 32 is a case in point. A less patent benefit derived from half courses is that they are often a means of preventing a whole year being wasted if a student misses work the first semester on account of a forced absence.

Finally the place of half courses should be made firm by the fact that they are often the only means by which intellectual interests may be indulged that happen to run counter to the demands of concentration and distribution requirements. Frequently a student would like to pursue a subject that is unrelated to divisional examinations, and yet feel that it would not warrant a year's study. In cases of this sort the half course may serve admirably as an introduction to a larger field, or may be merely an end in itself.