"Dying"

(Ed. Note--The Crimson does not necessarily endorse opinions expressed in printed communications. No attention will be paid to anonymous letters and only under special conditions, at the request of the writer, will names be withheld.

To the Editor of the CRIMSON:

Your editorial entitled "Death in the Afternoon" hardly does justice to the courses offered by the Division of Chemistry, since your editorial conveys the impression that a concentrator in chemistry spends all his time in Mallinckrodt and never gets a chance to enjoy the lighted pleasures of the university--such as Fine Arts 1d and Music 4. I would offer the following table as more representative of the actual time (not inclusive of lecture-time or of outside study) spent in the laboratories by the average undergraduate: Chemistry B:  6 hrs. per week Chemistry 3a or 33:  15 hrs. per week Chemistry 2a:  5 hrs. per week Chemistry 4:  20 hrs. per week Chemistry 6:  5 hrs. per week

Certainly there is little justification for complaining about Chemistry 2a (even in spite of the odors), since it is the only course in the field which approaches being a "snap"--excepting possibly Chemistry 15. I can see but one real excuse for all this shouting about hours spent in laboratories--namely, that the man spending his hours in Mallinckrodt has to work twice or three times as hard (and as long) to get a B or an A as the man who takes only the proverbial "snap" courses.

Laboratory work is the sine qua non of good chemistry. Laboratory work is necessary; it must be required of students; and it must be long and hard if it is to be worth while. If you do not like a stiff field of concentration like chemistry, I suggest you roll you hoop in Fogg Art Museum rather than in Mallinckrodt. L. A. DeBlois '35.

Certainly there is little justification for complaining about Chemistry 2a (even in spite of the odors), since it is the only course in the field which approaches being a "snap"--excepting possibly Chemistry 15. I can see but one real excuse for all this shouting about hours spent in laboratories--namely, that the man spending his hours in Mallinckrodt has to work twice or three times as hard (and as long) to get a B or an A as the man who takes only the proverbial "snap" courses.

Laboratory work is the sine qua non of good chemistry. Laboratory work is necessary; it must be required of students; and it must be long and hard if it is to be worth while. If you do not like a stiff field of concentration like chemistry, I suggest you roll you hoop in Fogg Art Museum rather than in Mallinckrodt. L. A. DeBlois '35.