Comment by hn_throwaway_99

This is essentially the "calculus vs. statistics" debate that has been going on for some time now. I'm definitely on the side of making statistics mandatory, and then making pre-calc/calc electives for motivated students who want to enter STEM fields. Primary reason for this is that I believe a base knowledge of statistics is so important for everyone in modern society, and it directly goes to better being able to evaluate the constant flood of information we are now all subjected to.