Unveiling The Core

THE LIST of Core courses came out last week with an expected fanfare. After all, it is the first Faculty review of undergraduate education in ten years. Sadly, only Dean Rosovsky's grandstanding seems able to provoke Faculty consideration of the educational experience of undergraduates. This should be an issue of more constant concern.

The Crimson originally opposed the Core and maintains that stand. While the General Education program certainly needed revamping, the Core is not the answer. Its rigid and complicated structure adds unnecessary restrictions to the already limited choices students face in pursuing a 'liberal education.' The Gen Ed principle, requiring a wide variety of courses in a loose framework, is desirable, but the Core goes too far, specifying too narrowly what the undergraduate education will be. It is only a poor substitute for good advice and counseling that would direct students toward a balanced education, without coercing them.

The development of the Core has been an unfortunate lesson in the Administration's perception of students. Harvard administrators like to make changes quietly, presenting the results as a completed whole before the Faculty and the public. True to form, the Core arrived in the face of negative student opinion and without student input. Non-voting student members have served on committees reviewing the courses, but Rosovsky ordered them not to talk about the proposals, minimizing their contact with other undergraduates.

Nevertheless, the Core forced the Faculty to review individual courses to be offered in the basic curriculum over the next several years. The Standing Committee on the Core has adhered strictly to the prescribed regimen, eliminating popular courses such as Fine Arts 13 and Music 1 in favor of more specific, thematic Core courses. Whether or not the courses fit the letter of the guidelines, students may glean some benefits from a meticulous course-by-course review by the Core committee. It is more important, however, that the principles at the heart of the Core continue to be scrutinized as well. The Faculty should show constant concern for undergraduate education, Core or no Core.