Northeastern University - Cauldron Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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for one co-op term as they pay for one four-credit course, according to Shepard. And, he reports, students aren ' t rushing to participate in the program. Many students were opposed to the idea. Some say they don ' t consider that (co- op) to be an experience worthy of credit. The News, in an editorial, blasted co-op credit as merely an item for sale called North- eastern an academic whore- house. The liberal arts faculty com- mittee on co-op will decide on the program ' s future after making an evaluation in 1977. In other recent develop- ments, liberal arts has started a human services major. A com- bination of social science courses, it also features field experience in welfare, rehabil- itation and corrections. And a music education major may be coming soon, said Shepard. Many new courses have been added to the liberal arts menu. Along with the tradi- tional staples, students can now enjoy Insanity and Litera- ture, Black Nutritional Habits and The Meaning of Death. — Mary Beth Lane

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L.A. For love What do you do with a lib- eral arts degree? With today ' s tight job mar- ket, that query has become almost a cliche. Recent liberal arts graduates report employ- ers are looking for people with special skills. Dean of Liberal Arts Robert Shepard confirms this but said a liberal arts degree is still valid. The problem is, he says, that students are conditioned by the notion that you major in something for career prepara- tion. But, that ' s never been the central concept (in liberal arts). You major in something because you ' re in love with it! It may or may not coincide with career aspirations. Shepard admits employers are asking more and more ' what skills do you have? ' but decries this as a weakness. Intellectual development is needed more than specific skills, he maintains. A broad liberal arts background gives that kind of intellectual devel- opment. And co-op is there as a skill- builder for liberal arts stu- dents, adds Shepard. Shepard recommends a regi- men of applied courses and co-op experience for the lib- eral arts student who will later make a foray into the job mar- ket. The College of Liberal Arts in 1975 began an experimental credit for co-op program with eligible biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics, earth science and psychology stu- dents. The pilot program, ap- proved in 1974 by a liberal arts faculty committee, will be expended to include other majors if this venture proves successful, said Shepard. Credit for co-op is not free. Students pay the same rates

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Business The money men Two hundred years ago Abe Swartz was opening up his delicatessen in downtown Boston. Such-a-business you have never seen. It was the very first fast food enterprise in the colonies. You could have ridden up on horseback, jumped off your mount, eaten a corn beef on rye and been back on your way, before you can buy books at the bookstore the first week of classes. Unfortunately his two daughters ate up all the inven- tory and the delicatessen went bankrupt within the week. Perhaps if Abe had studied at the Northeastern College of Business Administration he would have been more sue- cessful. The school created an envi- ronment for an individual to learn to think critically. The educational process stressed theoretical and functional backgrounds, and placed a strong emphasis on the profes- sional areas. Students were given expo- sure to the practical experi- ences in business through co- op assignments. In a final effort to round out a student ' s background, there was a strong infusion of the humani- ties and social studies. The business program ' s aim was to allow students to pur- sue professional graduate study, or to be viable well- trained individuals in high demand in the market place. Many students choose Northeastern because it appeared to be the most logical way to approach education. Instead of hitting the books for nine months and pumping gas over the summer, said one accounting major, I received an education that combined classroom knowledge and the practical, that enabled me to better understand the profes- sion I was entering.