B-School Student Asks Option To Dismiss Rest of 2nd Year

Claiming that the second semester of the second year of the Business School is "for the most part superfluous," a second year business student has drafted a petition that calls for the dismissal of second year business students from classes in about three weeks.

If the petition, drafted by Alvin C. Frost, is adopted, second year students will decide whether to complete their second year or cancel their last weeks of classes, papers and finals. Students would receive the grades that they had earned to date.

The petition claims that the second semester of the second year is not used for serious academic pursuits, but for job hunting.

"By that time you spend most of your time interviewing companies," Frost said. "Attendance is very low and most people take courses that they aren't really that interested in."

The petition states that the vote on its adoption will be conducted by Harbus, the Business School newspaper. Victor L. Burford, editor of Harbus, said yesterday, however, that Harbus "will not take an active part in it." "We will run it as an opinion of a student," Burford said.

Lawrence E. Fouraker, Baker Professor of Administration and dean of the Faculty of Business Administration, said yesterday that all the students at the Business School "could have gone to one of the many one-year MBA programs," but declined to comment until he received a copy of the petition.

Fouraker and President Bok will receive copies of the petition on Monday, Frost said.