> Calculus (just because it is a good weed out if for nothing else)
Nothing should be in the curriculum as a 'weed out'. Every class should justify itself in technical content. CS needs calculus absolutely, but for the ideas, not as a hurdle.
For chemical engineering I (barely) remember taking Latin. And this at a school that prides itself on engineering focus and keeping things tight.
Hell, my wife had to retake an art and history class to get into a nursing program because photography and cold war history didn't 'count' somehow.
I'm all for paring that kind of fluff down.
Then again, there is something to be said for weed out courses. They are easy to teach therefore easy to find resources for, they are generally useful (for many calculus is their first introduction to proofs outside of geometry), and so you can pack a bunch of hopefuls in before wasting more specialized time and effort on lost causes.
Nothing should be in the curriculum as a 'weed out'. Every class should justify itself in technical content. CS needs calculus absolutely, but for the ideas, not as a hurdle.