Freshman UA members to hold forum today

First-year Undergraduate Assembly representatives will hold an open forum today at McClelland Hall to address freshmen concerns. The Calculus computer software program Maple will be at the forefront of the meeting's agenda. In order to address the problems associated with Maple, UA members will present their new proposal to revamp the existing curriculum, said UA representative Hester Wong at a UA meeting earlier this month. The current requirements mandate that freshmen use Maple in their introductory calculus classes. Due to past difficulties freshmen have experienced with Maple, the first-year UA members are trying to make Maple usage more efficient, according to UA member Alan Danzig. Danzig said the goal of the forum will be to "reform Maple's place within the introductory calculus courses." One solution, said Wong, might be to change Maple-required courses from 1 course unit to 1.5 course units in order to give students more merit for their hard work. "[Freshmen] have standard problems with it," said Danzig. "No one likes it." Danzig, who was active in setting up the forum, said the software program has exhibited some usefulness in his experiences with it. "I think it does help within the course but I have a lot of problems with the commands," said the College freshman. "We're not just addressing Maple, but we'll also be talking about McClelland Express," Danzig added. Any issue constituents hold important should be brought up tonight to let the UA know what their concerns are, said Danzig. "I'd like to have accomplished [that the students] know what we are, what we're doing, and to have input on what they want us to do. "The problem is that [students] have not had the proper forum to discuss the issues," he added. "That's why we're having the freshmen forum -- to use their input." The forum is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. tonight. Freshman UA members will be present to answer student questions and discuss all problems they might have.