Chance for Short Thesis Approved In Poll of GSAS

A large majority of the students in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences apparently favor Dean Elder's recent proposal that an option be instituted on the length of the doctoral thesis.

A survey on "graduate student attitudes" revealed that Elder's proposal met with the approval of 75 percent of those whose opinions were sampled. Nine percent objected, and the remainder had no opinion.

If acted upon, the proposal would permit a student to write a thesis approximately as long as an article in a scholarly journal instead of the much longer type of essay required at present.

The survey, conducted by the Graduate Student Council, polled opinions on a wide variety of questions. The graduate dance program was thought to be "adequate" by a majority of those polled, though most of them admitted they had no plans to attend any of the dances.

Movies appeared to be the most popular form of graduate student entertainment, with "concerts and music" not far behind; more mundane forms of recreation such as "drinking and dating" brought up the rear in this category.