Students Appointed To Core Review Body

Justin C. Label '97 and Patricia L. Larash '97 have been named student members of the Core Review Committee (CRC), administrators announced last week.

The committee, appointed by Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles this fall, will undertake a comprehensive review of the Core curriculum and make recommendations for change to the Faculty.

"[The Core has] been one of my major focuses through the Undergraduate Council for close to a year now," said Label, who is the chair of a committee on undergraduate requirements, organized by the council.

"I see my role as that of a representative of the student body," Larash said "I would offer my own opinions and other students opinions and also, as a concerned member of the community....step outside of it for a moment and look at it."

Larash, a Winthrop House resident, said she was approached by Susan W. Lewis, director of the Core program, and asked to serve on the committee.

Larash and Label have already attended a meeting of the CRC, according to Plorzheuner University Professor Sidney Verba '53, chair of the committee.

Verba said the committee met last week with faculty members on the core subcommittees to discuss the Core program. He added that he was not directly involved in the selection process although he spoke to Label and Larash before they joined the committee.

The committee has met once without the students presence, but Verba said the students on the CRC will have an important voice.

"They are full members of the committee," he said. "...I'm sure their voices will have a full role in the committee."

Label said he also does not expect the earlier meeting to be a problem.

"It seems to me the meetings that went before were sort of preliminary. Given the point we're at now, we're at a very good point for students to give their input into decisions," he said.

The Students

Label said he believes it is "absolutely helpful" to be on both the Committee on Undergraduate Requirements and the Core Review Committee.

He said he hopes the Committee on Undergraduate Requirements will finish its research this semester. He said he also expects to release a series of recommendations on the Core to a number of groups, including the CRC.

"Overall the report is a recommendation to the faculty from student perspective of changes we think students would like to see in the Core," Label said.

"I'll be going in with understanding that I believe that this report that the student committee will issue is the most thorough and comprehensive understanding of what students want to see out of the Core," Label said.

Larash said she believes the committee will try to improve the Core by bringing it more in line with its current mission. "The impression I get is a lot of people on committee are trying to keep to the original mission of the Core...[and to] work within the current system to execute the plan of that mission," Larash said

"They are full members of the committee," he said. "...I'm sure their voices will have a full role in the committee."

Label said he also does not expect the earlier meeting to be a problem.

"It seems to me the meetings that went before were sort of preliminary. Given the point we're at now, we're at a very good point for students to give their input into decisions," he said.

The Students

Label said he believes it is "absolutely helpful" to be on both the Committee on Undergraduate Requirements and the Core Review Committee.

He said he hopes the Committee on Undergraduate Requirements will finish its research this semester. He said he also expects to release a series of recommendations on the Core to a number of groups, including the CRC.

"Overall the report is a recommendation to the faculty from student perspective of changes we think students would like to see in the Core," Label said.

"I'll be going in with understanding that I believe that this report that the student committee will issue is the most thorough and comprehensive understanding of what students want to see out of the Core," Label said.

Larash said she believes the committee will try to improve the Core by bringing it more in line with its current mission. "The impression I get is a lot of people on committee are trying to keep to the original mission of the Core...[and to] work within the current system to execute the plan of that mission," Larash said