NAMELESS THESIS GRADERS: A REPLY

To the Editors of the Crimson:

I heartily agree with most of the sentiments expressed in the letter of Andrew Wilking '72 in which he objects to an old policy in the English Department of returning anonymous comments on senior honors theses. The policy goes back many years to a time when the department was even more understaffed than it is now; the policy today appears to have the support of only a small minority in the department and is at the moment being actively reviewed.

In fairness to the department, two corrections to Mr. Wilking's comments should be made. First, theses are not assigned "to faculty unfamiliar with the topic discussed." Instead, a list of all the topics is circulated among the department and theses are assigned to readers who have expressed their willingness to read specific essays. Secondly, the apparent policy of anonymity is circumvented in practice since the great majority of the department has always agreed to discuss their comments with students who ask for that opportunity. John M. Bullitt   Head Tutor   Department of English