Honors program dares U. to learn

Political Science Professor Will Harris directs the challenging Benjamin Franklin Scholars Program. Many students might question the reasoning behind an honors program at an Ivy League school. Weren't all Penn students, they might ask, at the top of their high school classes -- the cr_me de la cr_me? Nevertheless, the University's Benjamin Franklin Scholars/General Honors Program has long been an important contributor to the intellectual community at Penn. Since most Penn students are by definition high achievers in high school, how a prospective student is accepted into the honors program is admittedly curious. The program selects incoming freshmen by looking at a range of high school accomplishments, including class rank, standardized test scores and other academic achievements, according to Associate Director Linda Wiedmann. "It's an imperfect process," she said, adding that the program is looking to move away from such statistical criteria. Instead, she said, program officials hope to start focusing more attention on the attitudes of prospective students, such as their desire to both absorb what they study and have an impact on it. While many of the program's participants were accepted when they were first admitted to the University, second-semester freshmen and upperclass students may also apply. Political Science Professor Will Harris -- who directs the program -- noted that even if a student is not enrolled in the program, he or she can still take General Honors courses. He added that approximately one-third of the students enrolled in such classes are not Benjamin Franklin Scholars, emphasizing that he does not "want this to be a separatist program." "We're interested in students that are trying to make a difference," he said. Harris contrasted the University's honors program with those of schools such as Pennsylvania State University and the University of Michigan -- both of which go so far as to offer their honors students separate dormitories. While the University's program does not segregate students in such a manner, it shares the fundamental goal of all honors programs: to make classes more challenging and to encourage students to excel in areas outside their majors. "What you have to do is keep pushing the limit," Harris exclaimed. "Our courses are not aimed as advanced courses in majors -- they're aimed as advanced courses in fields you're not majoring in." Emphasizing the importance of exploring areas in which students have no previous knowledge, Harris said the "purpose of universities isn't to divide up knowledge and send it out separately. They also have the purpose of bringing it back together again." With its small class sizes, the program also encourages more student-faculty interaction. Harris noted that even professors can learn from the students, an element he said was an essential part of the program. "If you're not learning from your students," he declared, "the course isn't going well." Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Professor Jeffrey Tigay, who has taught General Honors courses, also emphasized the closeness the program fosters between a professor and his students. "I really enjoy working with [the students] because they're very highly motivated," he said. "[It's a] better chance to get to know the students? to get to share an intellectual experience with them." Harris said he was equally proud of the investigative method of teaching emphasized in honors courses. This method, according to Harris, encourages the students to look below the surface of what they are learning. The extra effort required in honors courses helps explain why the program is beneficial even at an Ivy League university. Although he said most University courses are difficult, Harris noted "we'll make [honor courses] more challenging." Many students seem to agree with Harris' assertion. The honors courses he is teaching this semester -- Political Science 187: "Constitution Making," and Political Science 389: "Interpreting the American Constitution" -- are considered two of the most difficult in the department. College freshman Mohamad Makhzoumi, for example, said the "Constitution Making" seminar is unlike any of his other courses. "Though I'm not in the BFS program, I find the class full of lively debate and insightful comments," he said. "That distinguishes it from most of my other classes."