“Credit” where credit is due - Lisa Mulcahy

To the Middlebury Campus,

The article published in the most recent issue of the Campus, entitled “Students debate course credits,” struck a nerve with me and many other non-natural science majors on campus. The issue itself is definitely worth consideration, but solely on the basis of hours spent in class or lab. Comments about hours spent out of class were not only irrelevant, but also incorrect. The statement that natural science majors are the only students consistently staying up until 1 a.m. was uncalled for and unsubstantiated. Not only am I, a non-natural science major, in Bihall or the library until 2 a.m. multiple nights a week, I also notice who is or isn’t there. And honestly, students from every discipline are there far later than they were given credit for in this article. If natural-science majors were the only ones working late, would Middlebury be ranked as one of the top schools for “students who study the most?”

The fact is, Middlebury students all have the same amount of work: too much work. Whether that time is spent writing lab reports, writing essays, reading philosophy, learning conjugations or doing problem sets, no student at Middlebury is slacking, and this article seemed to suggest the opposite. This is a liberal arts school, and our students and newspaper should respect that. If we are going to consider giving extra credit for in-class hours, which I agree we should, then we need to include film majors, dance majors, students in classes like GIS and anyone else who is required to go to regular labs or screening ... not just natural science majors. I’m sure there are a lot of students who would appreciate an article addressing these issues from more than just the natural science point of view.

Regards,
Lisa Mulcahy