Von Stade Advises Against Petition To Ban Freshman Assigned Seating

Dean Von Stade yesterday discouraged the efforts of freshmen who have organized a protest against the faculty policy requiring assigned seating in classes with a majority of freshmen.

Defending the regulations, Von Stade declared that they "have stopped a good number of students from getting into serious academic trouble."

Petitions posted in several Yard dormitories proposed that the Student Council investigate the possibility of abandoning all assigned seating. In one dorm as many as three-quarters of the students have signed.

Von Stade noted that "there was strong sentiment in faculty meeting three or four years ago to abolish all attendance taking. We decided to abandon the policy in all courses except those with more than 50 per cent freshman enrollment."

One of the most important jobs of the Dean of Freshmen is to "help students who are not mature enough yet to help themselves," according to Von Stade. "We have found over the years that if we can stop students from cutting classes early in their careers, they will profit more from their studies."

Freshmen should not "be treated like upperclassmen" as far as their studies are concerned, Von Stade emphasized. "There are so many of them with so many different backgrounds that it is impossible to assume that all will be able to handle complete freedom."

Von Stade added that freshmen who use their class cuts unwisely may be excluded from a course at the instructor's request.