By JENNIFER MERKSAMER
Staff Writer
 

For two hours, they debated proposals for additions and changes to the foreign language, social studies and multicultural curriculum.

The focus of the forum concerning the multicultural and social studies departments included a proposal that would require students to complete one course on behavior and social theory.

Differences in opinion surfaced over various aspects of the course, including how it could be implemented.

Questions regarding scheduling were also discussed. They centered on how often the required class would be offered and how often professors would have to teach it.

In addition to social studies, controversy surrounded a proposal to replace the aforementioned suggestion for a multicultural requirement.

The intent of study and the implementation of such a class resulted in considerable disagreements among members of the committee.

Professors raised questions about the number of classes needed to complete the requirement, the intent of the classes, and the content of the proposal.

The purpose behind requiring three classes was apparently so that "students would take one about the United States and two about places elsewhere," said to Associate Professor of Rhetoric Charles Nero.

The three classes would be designed to inform students about social justice, power relations and analysis of exploitation.

Moreover, the argument that the course's premise rested on returning to the original Bates ideology of promoting equality for all groups led to some disagreement and controversy. Professors debated over the moral principal of the class and the supposed secular implications.

Some professors suggested that global culture and social justice outside of the United States should be explored by students as well. The topic was tabled, to be discussed at a future meeting.

The content of the required class and the wording of the recommendation, specifically, "the inequitable distribution of resources," also sparked discussion. The question of whether the the social justice class should focus on culture and ethnicity or economics and the distribution of wealth in the United States resulted in disagreement among some.

Furthermore, attendees raised concerns about science professors unenthusiastic about teaching humanities courses.

The Foreign Language department was the last item discussed. The main concerns in the department revolved around the proposed language requirement, renaming the department and the ability to implement new criterion for graduation.

A representative from the department indicated that faculty within the department would like to change the department's name from Foreign Language to merely Language.

The department argued that a two-year (or four-semester) requirement be instated because two semesters "isn't enough to even cover basic grammar in Spanish, which is supposed to be the easiest language to learn," said Francisca Lopez, associate professor of Spanish.

The school's ability to provide enough professors and classes in foreign language if the two year/four semester requirement was passed was also questioned.

The issue of encouraging incoming students to study languages other than the widely popular French and Spanish was introduced and will be explored at the next meeting.