Upperclassmen students who have already taken the course in order to be admitted to the college expressed mixed emotions about the requirement change.

Finance sophomore Rishi Rai said he found CSE 102 to be "without a doubt the hardest Broad class." Rai said there should be some type of replacement for the removal of the course.

"If they're going to remove it, I'd say, have some kind of replacement," Rai said. "I do think what you learn in the class, especially with Python, is such a crucial aspect of how the market and industries can be moving forward, in any industry really."

Economics senior Luke Ciszewicz said students who’ve already taken the course may feel upset over the removal of the requirement.

"I think it's kind of unfair for the people who have already taken the class, because it was definitely a hard one," Ciszewicz said. "Most people who go into finance, economics, accounting, marketing, whatever major it is, we don't necessarily need coding... I understand they want exposure to these types of things, but it doesn't make sense for that to happen in the first place, and then for them to take that away."

Economics sophomore Matthew Davies also thinks the decision is unfair to students who already took the course, particularly given the impact that the course had on his GPA. 

"I was a bit upset that it impacted a lot of us negatively, and now there was an opportunity for that to just not happen," Davies said.

Looking past the initial frustration, Ciszewicz said that he's happy for the incoming students who do not have to take the course. Ciszewicz doesn't agree with the idea that incoming classes should have to take a course simply because older generations did.

"I'd like the future generations of people who are coming to Michigan State to not have to take that course if they're going for the finance, economics, accounting route," Ciszewicz said. "I think that it's good that they aren't taking it. I don't want them to suffer the way that we did."

Removing the course requirement, some students said, might even serve as a disservice to the underclassmen. What students learn in CSE 102 can be beneficial for majors within the Broad College of Business.

"As much as Python itself sucks, the idea of understanding how arguments work became really applicable to a finance class that I'm now taking," Davies said. "Understanding Excel and understanding that and how that functions, or how Python functions, is really important to the modern day way of viewing business, so I think they're missing out on that for sure."

Some students were surprised by MSU’s decision to remove the requirement, while others saw it coming due to the poor grades reported on MSU Grades. Rai said he expected some sort of curriculum change, but the removal of the requirement was surprising. 

Additionally, Rai said he doesn’t believe that the removal is going to be beneficial.

"I don't think this is a good decision, just because I do think the course is very important," Rai said. "I believe, like the test, the Python element, in the application, that is very crucial."

On the other hand, economics freshman Aryan Katial believes that the removal will open up new possibilities for more students.

"People, I think, had misconceptions about Broad," Katial said. "With this, it definitely opens it up a little bit for more applicants, if they want a little bit more of that competitiveness in Broad."