While Lee Kump, associate professor of geosciences, diagrams feedback loops for the inorganic carbon cycle, some of his Earth 2 -- Gaia-Earth Systems students nod their heads, but others break their pencil points in frustration.

More students are breaking their pencil points than nodding their heads in science classes across the country, according to the Jan. 5 Chronicle of Higher Education. Science requires more effort and some educators say potential scientists are steering toward a different field -- humanities.

But according to University enrollment figures, students here are nodding their heads in favor of the technical sciences. In the College of the Liberal Arts, 4,420 students were enrolled for the 1993 Fall Semester at University Park and in the College of Engineering, 4,992 students were enrolled.

Some students still claim humanities electives are easier to fulfill. Charles Christine (graduate-computer engineering) believes his undergraduate humanities courses at Temple University were less demanding than those in engineering.

"I was placed in upper-level courses for my sciences," he said. "The humanities courses I took were for sophomores and freshmen."

At the University, freshmen are tested in math, chemistry and English. The purpose of these tests is to place students in certain courses, but the humanities are not included.

Math and English are tested because they are required subjects, said Judith Goetz, senior associate director of the division of undergraduate studies.

"We have a lot of students interested in science and engineering," she said, so some testing is necessary to place them in classes.

But the humanities do have their drawbacks. Corey Goldblum (freshman-business) prefers science to humanities. "Humanities require too much reading," he said.

Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education John Cahir said students will do what they are driven to do. For some, the motivation may be money, he said.

"It's the end of the Cold War," he said. "There are changes in the world market. Budgets could be cut," and job forecasts are steering students toward alternative jobs.

Anjali Rao's friends are majoring in science because it is profitable. But Rao (sophomore-film/video) looks at it differently. "Humanities enhance the entire race. Technical sciences don't develop the human being," she said.

Although she doesn't do as well in the technical sciences, Rao added that she would select a science course if it were interesting. "I'm not worried about my GPA (grade point average); I'm interested in the knowledge," she said.

Keith Crnic, professor of psychology, agrees with her. He said students will take classes that interest them. And when they like the subject, they are more apt to do well.

"Many students are more interested in humanities because it is more issue oriented," Crnic said. "They can apply it to everyday life."

Science courses are beginning to adopt this idea. Kump is trying to promote science awareness in his Gaia-Earth Systems class. In order to retain students who find science difficult, Kump uses redemption grading, an idea he borrowed from a Harvard University professor.

In redemption grading, Kump gives two midterm exams. On the final exam, each section represents a midterm. If the student does better on a section than on the midterm, that isolated score replaces the old one.

But Christine said science courses are mostly objective . In his history courses, he received an "A" in one class and a "B" in the other. He attributed it to subjective grading in the humanities.

"I guess the professor did not like my views," Christine said.