We have been hearing about the glorious "Classics 4" since we arrived at Dartmouth. An easy class that fills two pesky distribution requirements and functions as a valuable opportunity for "facetime" is inevitably going to get a lot of press. Like all well-reputed classes at Dartmouth, it became almost impossible to get in. For a week, there were students spilling out of the aisles of Loew as students tried to convince Professor Ulrich how passionate they were about Zeus and Hera's marital problems. Professor Ulrich promised students who would answer questions correctly in class the golden ticket--his signature on their add-drop card.

This situation was all the more absurd because it took place over Sophomore Summer. But it does reflect a serious underlying problem with Dartmouth that exists year-round: class size and class availability. In this case, Professor Ulrich finally yielded to overwhelming demand and admitted over 200 students in his class, a solution that many professors adopt because they do not want to refuse begging students.

On the one hand, this is very generous of the professors: adding more students to the class creates more work for them. On the other hand, it is utterly ridiculous that there should ever be a class at Dartmouth College with more than 200 students. Before we all became cynical old students, we were doe-eyed little prospies who were told that the average class size is 25, that classes are virtually never larger than 100, and that getting into classes after freshman year is easy. Yet term after term, many of us are forced to cajole or beg our way into classes--and not just in the stereotypically filled departments of Economics and Government.

For example, this term's English offering of "Shakespeare"--a classic, not-to-be-missed offering for any self-respecting humanities major of literary buff--was impossible to register for unless the self-respecting student was an English major. Likewise, next term's offering of "Sociology 10: Statistics" already has not only its full quota of 33 students, but also a waiting list of equal size.

At this point you may be wondering: so what? If I am not an English major or Sociology major (which I clearly am not), why should I feel so entitled to get into these classes so easily?

The answer is: We are students of Dartmouth College. Dartmouth constantly emphasizes its status as the smallest Ivy, the one in which all classes are taught by full-time professors, where you can really enjoy a liberal arts education in the fullest sense of the term. If we are to obtain real liberal arts educations, that does not mean confining us to the departments of our majors and minors, but allowing us--encouraging us, even--to take classes in different departments and to explore our many varied interests. In fact, isn't the reason that we are all forced to fulfill distributive requirements to broaden our horizons and try different disciplines?

This is one of the most frustrating paradoxes of this entire class-availability dilemma. The college simultaneously wants us to take classes in multiple departments via the distributive requirements and inhibits us from doing so due to insufficient class availability. Even if one does not think that we should have unlimited access to classes merely for the interest of it, it is indisputable that we should at least have access to the classes we need for graduation.

So what can be done about this problem? So far, it has been up to the professors to take individual initiative and permit students to enroll despite previously set class size limits. This may work on an individual basis and satisfy the students who have been squeezed in, but it is not a concrete answer with permanent basis. It is unfair to both the frustrated students and the professors who become responsible for an unreasonably large class.

The real answer is two-fold. The college needs to offer multiple sections of popular classes and hire more professors. As the administration reminds us, hiring professors is expensive and time-consuming, especially when they administration takes the time to seek the cream of the crop. Regardless though, it is worth it. We often lose sight of the importance of our classes, because as students we are distracted by extracurricular activities, dorms, food, and other campus-life extras. Ultimately, however, the reason we are here is to take some of the best college courses offered in the nation. If the college is not using all possible resources to make classes small and available, then it is time for the college to reprioritize.