THIS SEMESTER, the 300 students concentrating in American history will have a meager three courses to choose from--two taught by the same professor on the same subject.

The chairman of the History Department, Wallace T. MacCaffrey, blamed the dearth of course offerings on circumstances. A number of big-shot professors are on leave this year and the department has been unable to find "qualified" teachers to fill the department's gaps, he said. He did not mention, however, the circumstances with which Harvard upperclassmen are sadly familiar--the University's neglect of its students' educations. This is not the first time history students have been left stranded; a few years ago European history concentrators found themselves in the same bind as this year's American history students.

It would have required only a little forethought to coordinate professorial leaves of absence with the teaching needs of the department. As for the reputed paucity of Harvard-quality American history teachers, we ask the administration why it frequently refuses tenure to junior faculty members who are often the best teachers in a department--and why, in all the United States of America, the Harvard History Department can't find a teacher or two who would meet its Olympian standards of teaching excellence.

This year American history concentrators are stuck with a choice of courses that is simply unfair. Given the situation, the History Department should be especially flexible in accepting courses outside the department for fulfillment of concentration requirements.