Days after a Science Center bomb threat interrupted the final of a Literature and Arts course, the Core office is considering reversing its decision to make retaking the exam mandatory.

Loeb Professor of Classical Art and Archaeology David G. Mitten and his students in Literature and Arts B-21, "Images of Alexander the Great," have asked administrators to allow other options besides a the currently-planned mandatory final exam on Feb. 3, the first Saturday of the new semester.

"This is a unique situation," Mitten said. "It's a crisis. I'm trying to offer as many options as I can as long as I can do so."

The decision is not in Mitten's hands alone. The Registrar, Dean of the College and Core office must decide whether the class can offer an optional final. Those administrators could not be reached for comment over the weekend.

Many students said that it would be unfair to retake the test after the trauma they experienced Thursday, when a homeless man disrupted the original final by entering their exam room and threatening to blow up the Science Center.

"I really think an optional exam would be the best way to go," said Anna Yesilevsky '04. "It's sort of like a punishment to take it after intersession rather than a step towards helping us."

Course teaching fellows stand behind the students' pleas.

"An optional exam would be the best thing to do for students. They can use that to bump their grades up, and those that are bothered by the experience won't have to relive trauma by taking it," said head teaching fellow Lisa A. Buboltz.