People defend this chronically abused drug by saying that the freshman drop is as old as the College itself-invoking some childish notion of precedent equaling perfection. If that's the case, I wonder why leeches are no longer used in medicine. Let's get real: people rely so heavily on the ability to drop one class in their first two semesters at Amherst that it has become a morally repugnant practice. But more importantly, the freshman drop needs to be rescued before someone who actually needs to use it gets hurt.
In the spirit of the chronic overachievement that gains us all admission to Amherst, I am sure there exist various cases where a freshman bites off too much and enrolls in a ridiculous course schedule. It's not impossible to imagine someone taking Math 13 with Professor Castro, Physics 32 with Professor Hunter, Chemistry 12 with Professor Kushick and Economics 53 with Professor Woglom simultaneously-all classes which can understandably be dropped because of gross difficulty.
I understand that this is an extreme situation. But in similar instances, more likely to occur at Amherst, students should be allowed to use the freshman drop. If a student has to do work-study or is a member of an athletic team that trains every day and is also taking a difficult course load, their desire to drop one really difficult course in no way diminishes my respect for them. But it's this same matter of respect for a person that makes me detest the current bastardization of the freshman drop. If a student uses the freshman drop just to attain a ridiculously easy course load, it's unfair to me and other students who are constantly trying to challenge themselves.
If someone took the following courses: Geology 5, Biology 8, Astronomy 11 and Economics 38; I think it's obvious-in that Sesame Street way-which course is unlike the others. Despite the fact that Economics 38 is a considered a medium-level economics course, it would not be outrageous to say that it's the most difficult course in this student's course load.
But if this student decides to drop it because, heaven forbid, it requires thinking, should we tacitly condone this? When students sign up for a course and then stop going to it, stop doing any work related to it, only to drop it because it required a minimal amount of thought, that's just bullshit. Even if you came to college with no intention to learn, just a primitive desire to drink, smoke and party, I can only hope that classes are at least a noticeable distraction.
The key to improving the system is for the freshman drop to be used more discriminatingly by the dean of new students. If you're looking at this kid's gut-ridden schedule, a light bulb should flash on and say, "Hey this kid is just ridiculously indolent. I'm not going to let him pull this stunt. If he fails, he fails on his own merit. Maybe it'll send a wakeup call to him that college isn't all fun and games."
When a kid signs up for a course only to drop it later because it required too much thinking, it takes away a space in the class from someone who actually wanted to be in it to learn. Many courses at Amherst are capped, and one spot held by an undeserving kid means one enthusiastic kid is screwed out of a seat, and to me that's just wrong-the case of one rotten egg spoiling it for the whole bunch.
Another aspect of the system that needs to be improved as it currently exists is the role of the advisor. Many advisors have become automated rubber stamps for their advisees. When a student takes a schedule like the one described above, the potential light bulb should go off again. If an advisor sees this happen, he shouldn't just sign the card. He should wait until the kid shows him a schedule more worthy of a student at Amherst College and not Hamburger Academy.
The freshman drop can be used wisely and for the benefit of the student population as a whole-but only if it is used for the right reasons. It's simple enough to figure out when it's being abused and to prevent such use. It's a sad day at Amherst when the belief that neurons triggering is dangerous.