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SGA Reg Gains Ac BYCHERECOPE Gamecock Staff Writer A new registration Wan was put into effect Wednesday by USC provost William H. Patterson. The change allows students, at pre-advisement, to pre-enroll in their major courses, and becomes effective this spring. The proposal which resulted in the change Was written by student body president Rita McKinney and student ombudswoman Eileen Berlin. Students would still go through registration at the Coliseum, but they would, be assured of a space in their major courses. Under the new plan, pre advisement will 'be university wide. "When all students are advised and the data compiled, we will have a definite idea of how many students there are for a course," Berlin said. "If there are too many students for one course, a new section can be set up or the students could notified that they might not get in." Dr. William Eccles, head of math and computer -science ddepartment registration com mittee member, objects to the plan because he believes majors should not thke up all the space available Con........ e4r VM. * kjm. istration F ceptance "Students who will not be advised, either part4ime or incoming, will be forced to take late or undesirable sections." William Eccles in the courses. "My students should be able to get into other courses at the beginning of registration time," he said. "Students working on their cognates have just as much right to take up space in acourseas a major does." Eccles also believes pre enrolling during advisement would work against many students. "Students who will not be advised, either part time or incoming, will be forced to take late or un rript henw pans.No-oe reece pocketsdIi denim.cdgeta j two at your eami Shop. Sizes 3/4 es fQbhdes pec roposaI -Again desireable sections. They also will have a problem of schedule conflicts which might not get solved," he said. Berlin does not believe his ob jections are valid. "There will be a cutoff point,"" she said. "Only 80 percent of the courses can be oc cupied by majors. And I can see where incoming students having schedule co'nflicts or bad class times would have a problem, but the department of behavioral sciences has pre-enrolled for years, and it has never been a problem there." University President Dr. Thomas F. Jones thinks the new registration procedure will work quite well. "It makes official that which is being done in several departments. At this time, we are not able to.go into pre-enrolling in cognates, but it is a matter which will be given furture study." he said. Jones does not think there will be any great problems in im plementing the new system. According to Berlin, the biggest problem will be getting qnough people pre-advised."We are-going to have a lot of publicity. If students don't get advised, they won't be guaranteeO a course in their major. They'll also lbe messing up the data." NPRI W E '.k'f.hg.. ais uttw slfbetsan 1cmotbeCneI "Kool *0 0 *1 Religion i Interdiscipi If you hear about a student who has to write a prayer as his homework assignment, he's probably doing it for USC's Religion 104 course, "Religious Dimensions in Literature." ,'his course and one other being of ftred this semester for the first Ii Un e (47 1, Spiritual .Iuto - biography) add a new thrust in the Department of Religion by pioviding another in toi-disciplinary approach. "The religion major is one of the most flexible in the University," says Kevin Lewis, the depart ment's newest faculty member, who brings to USC expertise in religion as it relates to the arts. "It helps students shape a major for themselves since they choose about half of their courses from ol iir disciplines. They are given a <(h;mce to do something perhaps (,;1.;l not do in another depart Inhis 104course, which will be offered every semester as an introduction to the in terdisciplinary approach, Lewis will have his students write per sonal compositions such as prayers and journals in addition to regular examinations. Artists, such as Boyd Saunders of the Art depart ment, are invited to class to discuss his paintings and the relationship between his religious experiences and the practice of his art. "We will trace the way in which religious themes appear in art and how they are used by artists. We will analyze how people make sense of their lives as expressed in the arts." said Lewis explaining that, while he is interested in relating religion to all the arts he will concentrate on literature. "There are about 40 religion majors here, and the prediction is that enrollment will keep going up," says Lewis. "Only a few of World Campus Th, to ac se sS am ha --au Awl IWO4 Kat" 34 Takes inary View the majors go on to seminaries, and only two of my students in 104 are declared religion majors." Lewis points out that the in terdisciplinary approach appeals to many types of students because it allows them to relate to art, culture and literature to whatever religious beliefs interest them. "It gives a chance to read things and talk about them in a context not afforded in any other course--i.e., from a religious viewpoint.. "This department is doing what others across the country would do like to do if they had the money--that is, putting students in touch with interdisciplinary ap proaches to enable them better to follow their own interests. The department is in the forefront of the movement to become more flexible," said Lewis. crediting advances to the department head, Dr. Lauren E. Brubaker, and his concern that students have the opportunity to study religion in ways that will serve their own basic concerns. Lewis, whose specialty is modern poetry, holds master's degrees in theology from Cambi Cambridge University and in religion and literature from the University of Chicago, from which he will soon receive his doctorate. A native of Asheville, N.C., he formerly taught at Valparaiso (Indiana) University. The department is working to develop new courses which may be offered as early as this spring. One proposed is the Human Condition in Modern Literature, to deal with the spiritual dislocations of the modern period and with such issues as existen tialism women's lib and por nography. The course will trace what has happened to human beings in the modern world, in corporating what poets, playwrites and novelists have been saying about this. Afloat:Join Us! bs each Sepmeber & February. is is the way you've always wanted learn . ..and should. 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