"We've been waiting a while for it," Tostesonsaid.

Tosteson said the junior tutorial was a "bigstep," and he hoped the new relationships amongdepartments involved in the concentration wouldfoster the development of a few more courseofferings focusing on environment-related issues.

Although he did not vote against the proposal,the lone dissenter, Thomson Professor ofGovernment Harvey C. Mansfield Jr., called theconcentration "just the sort of P.C. thing weshould be staying away from."

"This is the sort of thing which is making thisuniversity into a branch of the Democratic Party,"he said, to the accompaniment of laughter andgrimaces by his colleagues.

Continuing on a humorous note, Mansfield askedfaculty members to visualize themselves as parentsand question whether they would rather see theirchildren majoring in "the environment" or in"something more solid, like chemistry--or women'sstudies."

Mansfield has in the past been critical ofwomen's studies, which he called a "little ladies'sewing circle" in a letter to The Crimson earlierthis year