But while professors express concern about inconsistencies in the way the lotteries were held, they say that theproblems of the past week may simply be the resultof a set of unique circumstances.

First, they say, there are more Literature andArts B courses being offered this semester thanlast, which means that there is a large pool ofstudents who planned on taking the requirementthis spring. This year Literature and Arts B wasthe only Core area which offered more classes inthe spring than in the fall.

And second, there may be a heightened interestin the course material of several Literature andArts B courses, according to several professors.

For example, Yasuko Fukuhara, the head sectionleader for "Monuments," asked all students in thecourse to write down their reasons for taking theclass.

Fukuhara says that many students said theirinterest in "Monuments" was stimulated by Corecourses offered in the fall, such as ForeignCultures 42, "Building the Shogun's Realm," andForeign Cultures 26, "Industrial East Asia."

Getting it Over With

The second most popular reason given wasgetting the Literature and Arts B requirement outof the way, Fukuhara says.

Many students concur with Fukuhara'simpressions of the Core area's new-foundpopularity.

Ulrike D. Drees '90, who is in "Rembrandt,"says that those students who were not lookingforward to Literature and Arts B and have beenholding off on that requirement took advantage ofthis semester's selection of good courses.

"I think that Literature and Arts B isgenerally an unpopular Core area, and thissemester, there are a lot of good classesoffered," says Mark R. Hoffenberg '89, who wasfirst lotteried out of, and then accepted backinto, Fine Arts 13b.

Assistant Professor of Music Graeme M. Boonesays he attributes the increase in popularity ofhis class to a recent upswing in the popularity ofjazz. Boone said his class has grown by about 300percent since two years ago, when it was firstoffered in the Music Department.

But whether or not the subject matter of thecourses was responsible for last week's heavycourse turnouts, students say that the mainproblems caused by the lotteries were intensifiedby the shortened shopping period.

Although this shopping period of eight days wasthree days longer than last semester's, it wasstill shorter than the normal 10-day shoppingperiod, says Registrar Margaret E. Law.

"I just think the system of this one-weekshopping period and the chaos that ensues isunacceptable," Hoffenberg says.

"My feeling is that the shortness of theshopping period intensified the anguish,"Rosenfield says.