The Bowdoin Orient

December 1, 2000
Volume CXXXII, Number 10

Debate questions double majoring

by Belinda J. Lovett, NEWS & FEATURES EDITOR

   "To double major or not to double major?" was the question proposed by student government facilitators Kyle Staller '04 and Jennifer Cromwell '01 at the last Common Hour, a Campus Crosstalk debate sponsored by Student Government.
   The debate addressed the question of whether or not double majoring is "contrary to the goals of a liberal arts education." John Turner, a professor in the romance languages department, and John Hahn '01 debated in favor of double majoring. Clifton Olds, a professor in the art history department, and Dominique Alepin '03 debated against it.
   At Bowdoin, approximately one quarter of the student body graduates with a double major, some as similar as sociology and anthropology, and others as different as biology and philosophy. However, it is not agreed as to whether or not double majoring goes against the idea of a liberal arts education.
   Although both sides stood up for their opinions regarding double majors, in the end, they seemed to agree that double majoring should be neither forced nor prohibited.
   Alepin began the debate by saying, "The liberal arts education is on the brink of extinction." She said that double majoring limits a student's opportunities to take classes in different areas of study, which is contrary to the very idea of a liberal arts education.
   Hahn countered by saying, "The liberal arts education is not static--it is always changing." He explained that although the liberal arts education at one point may have repre sented the idea of taking a wide variety of classes, today it represents the opportunity to study several topics of interest in depth.
    According to Hahn, the double major is a "fusion of two areas of study that are complementary to each other." In that respect, he said, the liberal arts education is still well-preserved in the concept of a double major.
   Olds took his turn by saying, "The goals of a liberal arts education include both depth and breadth….I don't debate that disciplines can complement each other…but we [shouldn't] encourage students to double major."
   One of the main arguments against double majoring was the lack of breadth in one's subject material. However, Hahn said, "Although I do agree with increasing breadth, at what cost? The cost of depth?…The tradition of a double major provides both depth and some breadth."
   Turner explained his reasoning for encouraging double majors by saying, "It is between things that truth seems to lie….Everything, it turns out, is connected." By combining two disciplines, he said, one is able to find that connection, and thus find truth.
   Hahn said that he thought that the purpose of a college education was to get skills to sell on the job market. "The double major is a compromise of learning by a free-spirited approach and being competitive in the job market."
   As a result, by double majoring, one can gain twice as many skills that could be useful in finding a job after graduation.
   However, Turner, who also supported double majoring, said that a liberal arts education is for a life well lived, not for a career. He did say, though, that double majoring is good for students who change careers.
   Alepin responded by asking, "It's not what you major in, it's what you do here….Should you embrace what is offered here at Bowdoin or prepare yourself for the work world?"
   In the end, both Turner and Olds agreed that the job market is not interested so much in what one majors in, but in how well one does while at Bowdoin.
   Still, Turner maintained that "what you can do here that you won't be able to do later in life is…to commit yourselves to…pursuing two things with great seriousness."
   Olds, on the other hand, said, "Your time at Bowdoin should not be a time for limiting your horizons, it should be a time for expanding them."