Chem 30 Meets on Holiday

While most Harvard students will enjoy a day off on Monday, students in Chemistry 30, "Organic Chemistry," will have to drag themselves out of bed early on Columbus Day to attend class.

Lawrence Professor of Chemistry David A. Evans, who teaches Chem 30, said the lecture was scheduled to insure that students are prepared for a Friday exam.

According to Evans, the decision was not meant to protest the celebration of Columbus Day. It was "purely pragmatic," he said.

"If anyone should choose not to come, they can pick up lecture notes at my office, and the class will be videotaped," Evans said.

In place of the missed holiday, Evans will not be lecturing the Wednesday before Thanksgiving vacation.

Mixed Reactions

Some students don't seem to mind the holiday lecture.

"I don't think it's that big of a deal," said Jennifer E. Chung '95. Chung will be leaving over Columbus weekend, but will return before Monday's lecture.

Other students, however, are disappointed by the lecture move.

"I was kind of looking forward to a nice three-day weekend, but with a 9 o'clock class on Monday morning, it kind of cuts short my Sunday night," said Paul S. Kim '95. Despite his annoyance, Kim plans to attend the lecture. "There's a test on Friday. If the lecture is offered, I should go," he said.

The course's head teaching fellow, Scott J. Miller '89, said the Monday lecture was "fine."

"I think we should stop celebrating Columbus Day because it initiated a period of shame in the modern world," Miller said.