Elays, HASS-D Vote 'Reset-For May to Allow Debate by Eari C
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) r- It .,, i , i, , Continuous MT News Service Cambridge Since 1881 Massachusetts Volume 107, Number 19 UA Friday, April 17, 1987 L ~BPPR, D~yl _ _LL- Im|·ll------m _m ~ m .mA - m- A~ 1 I -aculty d !elays, HASS-D vote 'Reset-for May to allow debate _ By Eari C. Yen proposed changes. and Niraj Desai Nearly 1400 students signed a The faculty voted unanimously petition calling on the faculty to at a Wednesday meeting to post- table the proposed distribution pone a vote on the proposed Hu- requirement until further discus- manities, Arts, and Social Sci- sion and student input took ence distribution requirement place, said Undergraduate Asso- until the May 20 faculty meeting. ciation President Manuel Dean for Undergraduate Edu- Rodriguez '89 at the meeting, cation Margaret L.A. MacVicar which was attended by over 150 '65 motioned to postpone the faculty and 100 students. vote in response to criticism of "I am glad that student voices the proposal by students and fac- .. have been heard," Rodriguez Lisette W. Lambregts/The Tech ulty in the last two weeks. said. At two open forums last Students outside 10-250 demonstrated against the MacVicar cautioned that the week, over 100 students ex- Lisette W. Larnbregts/The Tech HASS proposal to faculty entering the faculty meeting postponement would be worthless pressed concern that the new re- Margaret L.A. MacVicar Wednesday. if faculty and students did not quirement, which was sponsored '65, dean for undergraduate use the extra time to study the by the Committee on the Under- education, speaks on the graduate Program, overly re- HASS proposal. The faculty CUP proposes minor in stricted student options. agreed to postpone a vote HASS fields The proposal would require until May 20th. By Mary Condeilo sociate professor of history. The ing, which is interested in prepar- that all undergraduates, begin- tion requirement A propossal to permit a minor last year, argued minor would only require stu-- ing its students for leadership ning with the Class of 1992, take that the proposed changes are in Humanities, Arts, and Social dents to talke one extra HASS roles, Kerrebrock added. distribution subjects in three of necessary to remedy flaws in the Science, put forth by the Com- subject beyond the eight-subject The current proposal would five categories: Cultures and So- current distribution system. rmittee on the Undergraduate HASS requirement. It provides a permit an undergraduate major- cieties; Historical Studies; Liter- The present system does Program, was presented at the not compromise between a concen- ing in any_ school to complete a ary and Textual Studies; Mind, build breadth into student faculty meeting on Wednesday. pro- tration and a major, Khoury HASS minor, even those already Thought and Value; and the grams, Maier argued. "By reduc- The measure would allow stu- explained. majoring in the HASS school. Arts. The proposal would also ing the number of categories in dents from any department to "The minor is particularly Older drafts of the proposal reduce the number of distribution the requirement from 22 to 5, the minor in one of the fields in the aimed at giving recognition to would have restricted the HASS subjects to approximately 500 faculty could ensure that students School of Humanities and Social students who have gone beyond minors to students majoring out- MacVicar reaffirmed her sup- receive more well-rounded educa- Science or in the School of the HASS requirement," ex- side the School of Humanities port for the measure, citing 'a Architecture. tions," she said. plained Margaret L. A. MacVi- and Social Science. need for greater trust ... and Anthony P. French, professor A minor, which would be des- car '65, dean for undergraduate Jonathan Gruber '87, a mem- understanding [between the ad- of physics, stated in a letter to ignated on a student's degree, education and chair of the CUP. ber of the CUP, felt strongly that ministration and students]." the faculty that he favored would be comprised of six sub- MacVicar said that although minors in HASS should be "open breadth in a humanities program, jects, of which only one Enforced breadth? could some students choose to take ex- to the whole student body." but questioned whether MIT count as a distribution subject tra classes in a certain HASS While it was originally intended Head of the history faculty should force such breadth onto and only five could count toward field, thereby increasing the to complement a science or engi- Pauline Maier, who chaired the its undergraduates. the Institute requirement of eight depth of their program, they are neering .education, certain HASS HASS committee which recom- French criticized the vagueness HASS subjects. The sixth class not receiving official support for ..- fPese-tatrn to page2).-a miended a four-i'Ub~ectf distribu- (Please turn to-page 7)- would be drawn fromt the stu- their effort. dent's unrestricted electives. The minor, since it will include Each department would decide a designation on the student's de- ODSA examines MI Talcohol policy which classes would constitute a gree, is a "beginning step offering By Niraj Desai term. edge," he remarked. minor in its field, subject to ap- encouragement to students who Concerns about alcohol abuse No decisions will be made until Presently, a committee of four proval of the Committee on the have had to swim upstream," she on the MIT campus haye prompted- students are consulted, he em- housemasters is gathering opin- HASS Minor. said. the Office of the Dean for Stu- phasized. The ODSA will not at- ions about and studying the legal The faculty will vote on the The Commission on Engineer- dent Affairs and the housemas- tempt to impose its will on the aspects of various changes. The proposal at its May meeting. ing Undergraduate Education ters to investigate ways of dormitories or the fraternities, ODSA is also making its own in- proposed a minor in HASS for Minor supports pursuit strengthening the alcohol policy, Tewhey promised. "I don't think quiry. engineering and science students of HASS depth according to Associate Dean for the Dean's Office has the power A series of alcohol-related inci- last fall, said Jack Kerrebrock, Student Affairs James R. Tewhey. to mandate [whatever behavior it dents last term and early this year "This is primarily for engineer- associate dean of engineering and Though the Institute hopes to wants] ." "served as the catalyst" for MIT ing and science students who de- chair of the CEUE. The proposal reduce alcohol consumption, In particular, he ruled out the to begin its investigations, sire more exposure to a HASS was recently revised to be open to Tewhey stressed that major possibility of MIT's adopting a Tewhey said. On several occa- field ... without having to over- all undergraduates. It is well re- changes are unlikely and that no dry alcohol. policy. "No one ... sions, students who had become load," said Philip S. Khoury, as- ceived in the School of Engineer- proposals will be made until next is in favor of it to my knowl- intoxicated at dormitory parties were involved in disorderly con- duct and drunken driving. Al- S. Asian diplomats discuiss regional cooperation most all of the students were un- By Akhar Merchant sponsored by the Cambridge en South Asian countries - organization to Bangladesh. For- derage. Representatives to the United Group at MIT and the South Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Mal-. mer president of Bangladesh Zia- In particular, Tewhey singled Nations from seven South Asian Asia Society at Tufts University's dives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri ur-Rahman had proposed the out an episode at Baker House countries spoke on the South Fletcher School of Law and Di- Lanka - signed the charter at a idea of a regional cooperation or- last February in which "near riot- Asian Association for Regional plomacy. The audience numbered summit meeting in Dhaka, Bang- ganization in 1980. ing [broke out] after a party." As Cooperation at a symposium around 150, predominantly ladesh, according to to C. R. Moderator Gutav F. Papanek, a result of that fight, Baker held at MIT Wednesday night. South Asians. Gharekhan, India's ambassador director of Boston Univerity's House stopped serving alcohol at The symosium, entitled "Com- SAARC was formally orga- to the UN. ' Asian Development Studies Cen- its parties until the beginning of ing Together: SAARC," was nized when the leaders of the sev- Gharekhan gave credit for the ter, noted that the SAARC coun- this month, according to Baker tries had a poor record of coop- House President Alexander Jessi- eration since they had attained man '88. independence from the British. While Baker House has re- With the exception of Maldives, sumed purchasing alcoholic bev- all the others had been in conflict erages for parties, it "will be at least once with one of the oth- more strict as to [its] serving poli- ers. cies," Jessinlan said. Also, Baker The alliance has finally been House is organizing an alcohol established out of a recognition awareness week which will take of common ihterests that could place before Spring Weekend. not have happened 15 or 20 years How MIT might be legally af- ago, Papanek concluded. fected by such incidents is un- "On a philosophical plane, the clear, according to Thomas R. greatest achievement of SAARC Henneberry, assistant treasurer is that it exists," said Muham- for insurance and legal affairs. mad-Nasser Mian, deputy ambas- (Please turn to page 2) sador of Pakistan to the UN. Pa- kistan's Ambassador to the JUN Shah Nawaz had planned to at- tend, but was called for consulta- Erratum tion by his prime minister.