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Irene Chang, a junior at Berkeley, had not planned to apply for a credit card. Then she heard a rumor that students who asked for a Visa card or MasterCard at a campus Citibank booth were rejected if they were majoring in the humanities. An English major and a reporter for the college paper, the Daily Californian, Chang asked the company representative if the rumor was true. Said Chang: "She told me, 'Just put in either business administration or electrical engineering.' "

After Chang broke the story of the peculiar policy last week, some enraged students proposed banning Citibank representatives and advertising from the campus. A Citibank spokesman admitted that "field of study" has been one consideration for giving out cards because it indicates how well a student will handle debt. But after complaints from campuses around the U.S., the bank decided last year to start phasing out the policy. Now there may be hope for future artists, poets and historians.