This post was written by Hatchet Reporter Priya Anand.

The committee charged with revamping the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences General Curriculum Requirements has identified five new conceptual areas they want students to complete requirements in, announced CCAS Dean Peg Barratt.

The faculty in the Columbian College voted last April to reduce the number of general requirements from 42 to 44 credits to 24 credits but few details have emerged since then to indicate where the reductions will take place. But Barratt said the committee has decided the revamped program will focus on emphasizing global and cross-cultural perspectives, oral, written and visual communication skills, critical and creative thinking, quantitative and scientific reasoning and local and civic engagement.

The Columbian College was slated to host a town hall forum on the requirements reform on Dec. 1 but it was postponed due to fears of a low turnout because of the Thanksgiving break.

The GCRs committee has not announced the date they plan to release their final recommendations but the GCRs committee chair Teresa Murphy said in October that she expected the report to come in December. She did not return a request for comment.

Freshman Matthew Ferry said he questions the benefits of a new GCR program.

“It sounds like they’re just trying to put a new spin on what we already have,” Ferry said.

English professor David McAleavey said he supports trimming down the number of general requirement courses for students in CCAS, citing the successful program at Brown University that does not require students to take any required courses

But not all faculty members agree with McAleavey. Professor Steven Kelts said cutting math and science requirements would be disadvantageous to students in the long run.

“Sometimes students tell me that they don’t need math, because they want to go into politics,” Kelts said. “But how will they understand the polling that is increasingly at the core of all campaign strategy without statistics?”

He added, “I have a 9-year-old nephew who wants to eat chocolate and Doritos for every meal.  The only responsible thing to do is to stop him, and steer him instead towards what he needs, not what he wants.”