Departments Vary on Idea Of Oral Exam

Junior oral examinations, which will be required for both non-honors and honors concentrators in the Economics Department, will not spread to the History, Government or English Departments this year.

According to representatives of the three fields, the departments art present are not even considering the change to orals.

David E. Owen, professor of History, and head of the History Department, said that there has been no proposal at all in the department about changes in exams. "Right now we just don't need anything like that," Owen said.

Inis L. Claude, head tutor of Government, said yesterday that although the department is currently studying some changes in its examination system, no move has been made to add junior year orals.

No English Orals

"Some individual might have it in his mind," Claude said, "but to my knowledge nothing has been done."

John M. Bullitt '43, assistant professor of English, stated that the English Department has never proposed junior orals and that theres is almost no chance of their being instituted n the near future.

When he announced the institution of the orals in the Economics Department, Senior Tutor Ayers Brinser '31 claimed the move was designed to make tutorial count towards a degree. The orals will be administrated by the student's tutor and two other from the House.

If a non-honors junior does well in the exam, he will be able to switch to honors concentration.

The economics plan was discussed in each of the eight senior Common rooms, with other departments in the College present.

Earlier Brinser said, "Some men in other fields are interested, some are skeptical."