WITH THE EXCEPTION of a larger number of course choices within the five areas comprising the general foundation subjects, the degree requirements in Liberal Arts and Jackson in 1953 were identical to those in force in 1940 when the curriculum had last been reviewed. The total number of credits required for the AB, the BS, and the BS in Chemistry was 122, having been reduced by one credit with the elimination of a hygiene requirement. Completion of two years of physical education was required both in 1940 and 1953.

The so-called "foundation areas" were English (six credits), foreign language (six credits above the elementary level), literature (six credits in one department), social studies (six credits in one department, with a choice of history, government, or economics), and science or mathematics (six credits). The concentration requirements were still thirty-six credits, including six in a related field. There had been seventeen majors ("departments of instruction") from which to choose in 1940, and twenty in 1953, the Departments of Fine Arts,

Prospective engineers took an identical set of courses the first year, before electing from among chemical, civil, electrical, general, or mechanical. The total number of credits required for all engineering degrees was 140. English 1-2 was mandatory during the freshman year. The curriculum was almost all prescribed for each year, with the exception of four courses to meet a humanities and social studies requirement.

One degree requirement in effect for all undergraduates in the three divisions in 1953 which seemed to have had a completely spontaneous and independent existence was the stipulation that "good moral character as determined from all the evidence available to the College is a prerequisite for a degree." The statement had mysteriously appeared for the first time in the 1951-52 catalogue, and no one knew for sure who was responsible for it or what had prompted its inclusion. It was possible that President Carmichael had had it inserted because of some episode that had come to his attention. Such a statement had applied to both medical and dental school students beginning in 1893 and 1899, respectively, and continued to appear every year thereafter. The first statement specifying "good moral character" as a requirement for admission of all applicants had appeared in the very first catalogue issued by the institution in 1854-55 and lasted until 1883 except for the theological school which retained it until 1906.

The faculty not only accepted the 1951-52 statement but in 1959 its Committee on Administration had voted to move it forward to a more prominent place in the catalogue statement of requirements for degrees. The requirement was not challenged until 1967, when the aggressive student editor of the Tufts Weekly (Judith Mears) questioned both its relevance and the definition of what actually comprised "good moral character." The editorial provoked extended discussion in the faculties of both Liberal Arts and Jackson, and Engineering. On 4 March 1968 the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, representing both faculties, voted to delete the statement from the catalogue. The following statement was substituted: "Students are expected to conduct themselves with due regard for the rights of others and for reasonable standards of behavior." The knotty problem of how to define "good moral character"