Many students agree with the Council on Academic Affairs’ decision on having the original foreign language requirement to remain in place.

Blair Turner, a freshman bilingual nursing major, believes the requirement is very important, but said she can agree with both sides of the argument.

“I think the requirement should stay the same,” Turner said. “I think it is very important because of the growing economy and more people will need to be bilingual.”

She said whether the ad-hoc committee created by CAA decided on either argument, the requirement is simply needed for students at an institution in Illinois. Having to speak in a different language gives people benefits personally and in the workplace.

Last Thursday, the CAA declined the proposal with a 9-3 decision that would increase the foreign language requirement for all students from two to three semesters.

Hope Nottmeyer, a sophomore English major, is glad the requirement was not increased because she thought it might turn people away from certain majors and minors.

“I think they kept the requirement the same because if it was changed, I think I would have to change my schedule to have all of the requirements,” Nottmeyer said.

She said this requirement would cause problems on campus because students may be upset if they have to add more courses in their schedule. Because Nottmeyer is a minor in Spanish, she would not have had a problem with the proposed requirement if the decision was made earlier so she would allow time for herself to schedule her future semesters.

Emily Cronister, a sophomore nursing major, said she is also glad the requirement remained the same because she has already completed the requirements. She also said having two semesters of foreign language is enough for a typical college student who does not have a major or a minor in a foreign language.

“With the decision, it really doesn’t affect me,” Cronister said.

Being a foreign language minor, Kate Gramley, sophomore communications disorders and sciences major, believes the CAA decided on what fits the university and the students best.

“I am a foreign language minor and it should stay the same,” Gramley said.

“It’s like with the cultural diversity, you can’t force students to do what they don’t want to do,” she said.

She said this would affect a lot of students and would force people to have more requirements than were informed upon arrival to Eastern.

Brittni Garcia can be reached at 581-7942 or bmgarcia@eiu.edu.