Kids" Victim Speaks on Genocide by Gloria J
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Continuous 1 MIT News Service Cambridge Sinece 1881 Massachusetts Volume 107, Number 18 Tuesday, April 14, 1987 IM. _. ... Students criticize HASS distribution plan Many oppose reduced Students doubt plan number of offerings will improve situation By Katie Schwarz By Katie Schwarz Several dozen students, who all described them- The Committee on the Undergraduate Program selves as strongly interested in the humanities, held an unprecedented open meeting voiced doubts and fears about the proposed new yesterday to hear students' concerns about the proposed hurnan- humanities distribution requirement at an open fo- rum Friday afternoon. ities distribution requirement. Many of the approximately 30 students About 100 students and 20 to 30 faculty attended who at- tended did not think the new proposal would be any the forum, which was hastily arranged last week by less susceptible to abuse than the current system. Dean for Undergraduate Education Margaret L. They felt it might not achieve its goal of assuring MacVicar '65 in response to a student petition ask- breadth in students' education, and suggested ing the faculty to delay decision on the proposal. modi- fications. Over a thousand students had signed the petition. Members of the CUP and other administrators The proposal would require all undergraduates to present indicated they still endorsed the proposal, take distribution subjects in three of five categories: despite a surge of student criticism in the past week Cultures and Societies; Historical Studies; Literary and a half. CUP Chairman Margaret L. MacVicar and Textual Studies; Mind, Thought and Value; and '65 said she had not yet decided whether to ask that the Arts. About ten distribution subjects would be tomorrow's faculty vote be postponed to allow offered per category each term. The faculty is more discussion. scheduled to vote on the proposal at its regular S. Jay meeting tomorrow. Kyle G. PeltonenlThe Tech Keyser, associate provost for educational Dean of-Engineering Jack Kerrebrock programs and policy, believed the proposal was Virtually all the students who spoke felt the pro- addresses a crowded nec- forum on the HASS proposal in room essary because given freedom of choice, students posed requirement would alienate students from the 54-100 Friday. The proposal will be considered at Wednesday's faculty often take a "quite restricted" program. humanities by restricting their freedom to choose meeting in room 10-250 at 3:15pm. But "it's awfully hard to get breadth from cate- subjects they were interested in. Many thought that gories," said Joseph the new distribution subjects ty want, Romm G, a former student re- the apathetic would be less likely responded Professor of presentative on the Committee on would be large, impersonal, sur- History Pauline Maier. Maier from what it is now, said Andrew than ever to encounter a class Educational Policy (the CUP's vey courses that would breed chaired the committee Borthwick-Leslie '87. A frequent that excited them, Katherine Wil- which rec- precursor). Romm felt it would only resentment and apathy. ommended a four-subject criticism of the HUM-D system liams '90 said. Joseph Vanderway distri- be more effective to have a com- bution requirement in four areas has been that the proliferation of Choices vs. core '89 claimed his MIT schedule left mittee or advisor check on the last year. distribution fields makes it possi- too few options already, and Na- breadth of each undergraduate's Much of the criticism ble to satisfy the requirement focused talia Fuentes '90 said she had lit- There are "strong voices" call- program. on the limited number of distri- ing for a return with three fairly similar courses. tle time to take humanities to a mandatory Other students thought the bution subjects mandated by the CUP member Pauline Maier classes beyond the required distri- humanities core as in the 1950s, categories would not ensure proposal. This years list of 156 Maier said. "Fifty emphasized that it will be easier bution and concentration, even is still a very breadth because they were too HUM-D's has already been cut to maintain high academic stan- to though she cared about those generous number of alterna- vague and overlapped. "After a 108 next year, and the proposed dards in 50 distribution subjects classes. tives," she added. couple years the system will de- system would allow only 50. Other students attacked the than in today's 150. The current proposal is in fact cay'" and not, be very different (Please turn to page 2) Given so few to choose-from, more moderate than many facul- (Please:[urn to page'2) Psychology program revised By Darrel Tarasewicz The purpose of the program run by different departments, A new interdisciplinary pro- will be two-pronged - to aid in Wolfe said. gram in psychology has been cre- undergraduate teaching and bring "Even though the name change ated to fill the void created when together faculty with interests in [of Course IX] reflected the type Course IX was reorganized as the psychology. of work most people were doing department of brain and cogni- The program will change the here, we felt it was a priority to tive sciences, according to Dr. way the humanties concentration maintain a formal presence of Jeremy Wolfe, assistant professor in psychology is administered. the more traditional type of psy- of psychology and chair of the Currently, to fulfill this require- chology here," Wolfe explained. steering committee for the pro- ment, a student can only choose Wolfe mentioned that there are gram. The department had been from Course IX classes. With the currently many psychology- formerly known as the depart- new program, the student will be (Please turn to page 9) ment of psychology. able to include classes that are "Killing FiekIds" victim speaks on genocide By Gloria J. Lee where are my parents?' and On the Town listings. Dith Pran, the Cambodian 'who killed my parents?' " Page 12, 13. photographer whose story was The movie "The Killing Fields" Lisette W. Lambregts/The Tech told in the Academy-award win- showed "only ten percent of the ning movie "The Killing Fields," horror, ten percent of real life," Record review of Heather Beck '87 takes centerstage during the Next "Strong Persuader" by Act's production of "Sweet Charity" last Friday at discussed the problem of ongoing Pran said. It did not show the the Robert Cray Band. Next -House. genocide last Friday night at Bos- skeletons of babies, nor how 16 -1--·I ton University. those babies died. It also did not Page 11. Pran, now a reporter and pho- demonstrate the severity of star- Experts discuss gains, tographer for The New York (Please turn to page Y9 Times and a United Nations ap- I pointed goodwill ambassador, dangers of genetics spoke of himself as "not a hero, that there are sound ways to con- not a politician, but a survivor of Weiner to head CIS Feature trol and monitor their effects. the Cambodian holocaust, an By Akbar Merchant David Pimentel, professor of eyewitness." Professor of Political Science Myron Weiner will be the new By Paula Maute insect ecology at Cornell Univer- Pran said Cambodians were "a director of the MIT Center for International Studies, according Three experts in biotechnology sity, agreed that genetic engineer- peaceful people" dragged into the to the MIT News Office. He will replace Eugene B. Skolnikoff addressed the issue of whether ing holds much promise, but he war by the actions of the Soviet- '49, director since 1972, who plans to return to full-time teach- genetically engineered organisms cautioned that rigorous research based North Vietnamese, the ing, research and writing in the Department of Political Science. benefit or harm society at a Tech- must be completed in laborato- United States, and the People's Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences Ann F. nology and Culture seminar last ries and greenhouses before test- Republic of China-supported Friedlaender PhD '64 announced Weiner's appointment, effec- Monday at MIT. ing organisms in the environ- Khmer Rouge. tive July 1. Dr. David Glass, director of ment. The delicate balance of the Under the Khmer Rouge, Cam- Weiner was head of the Department of Political Science from 1974 to 1977. He is best Patents and Regulatory Affairs at earth's ecosystem could easily be bodia suffered many losses: the known for his research on politics in India. He has also served as a the Cambridge-based Biotechnica upset by introducing genetically loss of people, social structure, consultant to a number of organi- zations including the National Security Council, the International, presented a list of engineered organisms, Pimentel and the guiding principle in the State De- partment, the Agency for International current and potential applications warned. Buddhist Development, and the tenet that one should World Bank. of genetic engineering, which in- Professor Sheldon Krimsky, of not kill, Pran said. He described Weiner received his bachelor's degree at the City College of cluded the possibility of develop- the department of urban and en- how the Khmer Rouge used star- ing a vaccine against Acquired New York in 1951. He received an MA and a PhD from Prince- vironmental policy at Tufts Uni- vation as a distraction: if one is ton University Immune Defficiency Syndrome. in 1953 and 1955, respectively. versity, asserted that code en- starving, one does not think The CIS was established in 1951 and Speaking to an audience of supports research on the forcement agencies such as the about anything else but finding effects of science and technology on international about 50, Glass acknowledged affairs. Cur- Environmental Protection Agen- food to eat. rent topics of study include arms control, energy policy, migra- the risks involved in releasing ge- cy are not sufficiently staffed to Pran explained that the Khmer tion and development, Japanese and Chinese science netically and tech- engineered organisms assess the risks of, approve of, Rouge killed children so they nology, and international politics and conflict.