Many thanks to The Varsity News for bringing the important matter of core curriculum revision to the attention of UDM students (“Proposed change to core curriculum divides faculty,” March 25).
I want to point out that in this article, proponents do not in any way dispute the two facts underlying criticisms of the new core.
It is a historical fact that Catholic colleges and universities, especially those in the Jesuit tradition, have deemed certain disciplines worthy of deeper study: the disciplines of the liberal arts and sciences in general, and the study of philosophy and religion in particular.
It is a fact, established through the simple act of counting, that the new core will have fewer requirements in the sciences, philosophy and religious studies.
Therefore, if the new core is adopted in its present form, it will severely undermine UDM’s claim to be delivering a Catholic education in the Jesuit and Mercy traditions.
UDM students have been promised precisely this kind of education, and they are willing to pay a significant price to attain it. They are therefore owed this education, and they should demand its delivery in full.
To accept anything less would be to receive a UDM degree of cheapened value.
D. R. Koukal
Professor and Chair
Department of Philosophy
