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Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Volume 36, Number 16. 12th July 1973

No Choice

No Choice

In order to do an English major you must pass: at Stage I the Renaissance paper, at Stage II credit language requirement. In sum then, to do an English major you must do 56 credits of English subjects. This is 20 more mandatory credits than the requirement of any other arts faculty at this university.

Not only this, but within those 56 credits choice appears at only one point; during stage three when you choose between 20th Century prose, literature or drama. In response to complaints that some students had other areas they wished to explore instead of the subjects that the Department is enforcing upon them, a department member stated that such students could easily take extra papers. And so make an already ludicrously topheavy degree even more so. Surely an arts degree is supposed to fulfil a general educative function; how can this occur in a situation where one department claims over half the units in that degree? And remember there is to be next to no choice in the completion of this requirement. It should also be remembered that this projected scheme also is not a relic of past administrations, but is an attempt to "liberalise" English studies. It is hard to know whether to laugh or cry.