MYP Blues

To the editor:

I am writing in response to the column "Good Advice" for incoming students by Josh Abraham. In no way do I mean to denigrate Mr. Abraham or to speak Loshon Hora about any program in YU, rather I would like to shed some light on the issue of "YU guys copping out on a good education."

In YU, students in all programs must fulfill the same core requirements when it comes to Bible, Jewish History, and Hebrew language. (Namely 4 courses, 2 courses and 2 courses respectively.) In IBC and JSS, a student can fulfill these requirements in the mornings as part of their Judaic curriculum. In MYP, not only must students take these courses after 3pm as part of their General studies course load, but the classes offered are for the most part harder classes. (Having been in both IBC and JSS and now MYP, I can attest to this fact.)

This means that a MYP student upon returning from Israel, has 8 semesters of Bible, J.H and Hebrew to cram into their remaining 6 semesters on campus. Factoring these hard courses into one's already heavy schedule, and considering that we are already dealing with a double curriculum, and that MYP students don't even start classes until 3, and you've got yourselves a student with a tremendous amount of work on his hands.

Another point to consider is that after graduation, MYP guys are fighting for the same jobs as IBC and JSS guys. IBC and JSS students can knock off these 8 courses in the mornings, thereby easing up

their general studies course loads and providing them with ample study time and the opportunity to get good grades. MYP guys on the other hand are left with such a heavy course load and insufficient study time. They effectively have no choice but to find the easiest classes they can with the most Mesorah.

Contrary to what Mr. Abraham thinks, for MYP students, taking good classes with good teachers where one can truly learn is not always an option. So yes, many YU students do "shop around" for easy classes. And yes, the concept of actually taking a class for the sake of learning and not the "easy A" is not so common. But for MYP guys at least, it is just not their fault.

What I cannot fathom is why, by choosing MYP and demonstrating ones' commitment to Torah learning, this institution-which prides itself in being both a YESHIVA and a University-"punishes" MYP students by forcing them to shoulder a harder than normal course load? This in turn "forces" them to take the easier, not necessarily better, classes thereby lowering the standard of their educations.

Eli Alony (YC'99)