Supposedly, the Schottenstein Honors Program at Yeshiva University gives its students the opportunity to take Ivy-League level courses along with their participation in an already intensive Judaic studies program. When I was accepted to the Honors Program last year, I was told that the Honors courses would challenge me in all areas of study. The prospect of going to college and taking these Honors courses along with the high-level shiurim excited me. Consequently, I looked toward this upcoming school year with much anticipation. However, after two semesters at Yeshiva, the Honors Program has only brought disappointment. In both the fall and spring semesters, the Honors courses offered at YU have been primarily focused in the liberal arts. As a math major, I had hoped that YU would offer a better selection of courses in the mathematics and sciences departments. I believed that the Honors Program would provide me with a well-rounded education, not just a liberal arts education. At the first Honors meeting in September, I asked if anything would be done to meet the educational needs of all students in the Honors Program. Dr. Will Lee informed me that the Honors Program at YU was primarily a liberal arts program, and the Honors courses would consequently be concentrated in those areas. Afterwards, I approached Dr. Frank Felsenstein to request my removal from the Honors Program. He informed me that I would have to remain in the program for financial reasons, but he also assured me there was a 90% chance that there would be a math Honors course offered in the Spring semester. Unfortunately, these plans failed to materialize and there were no math Honors courses offered in the spring semester either.

Although I am very much in the minority, as there are very few math majors enrolled in the Honors Program, there are many other students in the Honors Program who are majoring in areas other than liberal arts. For instance, in Data Structures, a second-level computer science course (taken mostly by computer science majors), there are twelve students who are currently in the Honors Program. Since there are so many computer science majors in the Honors Program, it would make sense for Yeshiva to offer Honors courses for these students. However, there has yet to be a single Honors computer course offered. In order to graduate with Honors, students not majoring in English or History would have to take eight additional courses outside of their major. This would leave less time to concentrate on areas in which they are actually interested. If Yeshiva wants the Honors Program to be a liberal arts program, then the administration should not force students who are not interested in liberal arts to stay in the Honors Program in order to receive academic financial aid. I certainly hope that YU will offer Honors courses in all areas of study, or we will end up with very few students graduating with the coveted "H" on their transcript.