BUCKING THE TIDE

The English Department, in jacking up the language requirements for the Master's and Doctor's degrees, has followed the example of eight other departments, and has answered the cry of many for a higher premium on graduate study.

But in adding Latin to the list of languages necessary for a Doctor's degree, the English department has acted contrary to what are considered the latest trends in education. Last spring Andover Academy announced a reduction of its Latin curriculum to a maximum of three years. With that announcement it was generally believed that Harvard would be forced to follow suit and ease up on its entrance requirements. Last week Williams College, when it elected Tyler Dennett as its next president, also reduced its entrance requirements to two years.

With these recent changes in mind it is difficult to imagine how Harvard expects to prepare its candidates for the Latin reading examination. The English department cannot be criticized in principle since Latin has more than a considerable bearing on the study of English. But the modern sentiment in education, disregarding its merit for the present, is definitely in the direction of a weakening of the hold of the classics. The new requirement of the English department is just as definite a step in the opposite direction and appearing at this time seems almost an anachronism.

True it is that advanced degrees should be made more valuable and that a boosting of requirements, whether language requirements, whether language requirements, or concentration requirements, is the only logical solution. But the Department should not lose sight of the practical complications of their act. If the preparatory schools loosen their language requirements in general and their Latin requirements in particular, and the college reduces its language requirements in favor of the Tutorial system, the source of preparation for the examination is a moot question.