T$He DA' a Controversy

Continuous MIT News Service Cambridge Since 1881 _-Massachusetts Volume 96, Number 55 Friday, January 14, 1977 ry M enanndoomrnittee : d' Q ·\; G ,,,, Y; nixes wvriting credit ,P: ·4 -,kw, A T--T By Thomas J. Spisak classroom discussion that Amid charges of gross demonstrated that concern. procedural irregularities, the "The cultural context in which Commnlittee on the Humanities a student exercises his writing Requirement has denied distribu- skills should be significant feature tion credit 'to the Writing of any Humanities Department Programi' s chief introductory subject in writing," the Commit- course. Writin,, and Experience. tee tbund. II -iimqinpI 1 Y"I L- / - Sources close to the Commitlee "Writing a nd Experience, 'raly.vparen! 1torio:01S ,is charged that the subcommittee whose subject matter consists turned into It transparent revie~,ing Writing and Ex- predoniinately of student's .,,novnman oil Frida,~ night by perience's distribution status had writing judged on personal ex- crex%s of' eager students, main- violated usual procedure by in- perience, does not adequatel5 1\ from List C ampusand viting a faculty member not meet. this objective," they con- Senior House. as Roger Koib directly concerned with the sub- cluded. continues his verbal battle ject to testify before it. "The Committee respects the Special Assistant to the Provost conviction of most memibers of' In, mith Steven Schlkdover over E Louis Menand Ill, chairman of the Wiring and Experience stalff' co the artistic merits of the snow- -- hound sculpture. ,, the Committee, agreed that the that wvriting, for them, can be -2 subcommittee had departed from taught aind learned without for- p4 normal procedure in permitting real assigned readings," the Special Assistant to the Provost LOUIS Menand III. chairman of the one of' the opponents of the report said. Committee on the Hum-nanities Requirement. which recently refused Queen, \Virgs, and the Boston Writing Program to testify before Fornial reading assignments to give distribution credit to Writing and Experience I Symphony Orchestra all have it. were evidently a central issue it. its place in the larger cultural set- knotkingy oneself' - a prime goal released ne,-u recordings The subconmmitte met with the Committee proceedings. ting is not the aim." of' the huma1niti es - its central recently. T'he Tech Arts Sec- Professor Albert Curney of' the TThe Committee acknowledged The conclusions reached by the object is to betray, not only tion has beeen listening. Humanities Department that the Writing and Experience Menand Committee are directex humanl.1ism but also the spirit oftan Literature Section once, ac- staffexpressed a willingness to as- opposite to the conclusions last ---- ~o& yf institution that ought to provide cording to Menand. "We vere sign formial readings to nmake the vcar's Writing Program Evalt, a- real alternatives in educational try'ing to be fair to all sides. We course miore acceptable to the tion Commnittee reached. That approach," she started. Led bN Tom Berman and Peter do not operate in an adversar\ Departmient and to the Commit- committee. chaired by Professor The distribution list almost Mainionis. the varsity basket- role - xwe tried to make sure that tee. Nathan Sivin, ifound that defines the humanities at MIT, ball teaim scored aLmajor upset these were not adversa r "This wvillingness appeared to students' papers regularly ex- according to Cumming. "ManN in Florida's Suncoast Classic. proceedings," Menand asserted. be reluctant and did n ot plored human values in social, MIT students will not venture Humanities Department denmonstrate a fullness of' agrce- historical, and cultural contexts. beyond ttlosc subjects given dis- sources close to tie Comm'ittee nien t xkith the criteria f'or Professor Patricia Cumniing. tribution credit," she said. expressed "deep outrage" at the Humanities Distribution," the one of the prime movers behind "Apparently the Committee's conduct of the proceedings and Commillittee reported." Writing and Experience, lermcd decision was based on mispercciv- that of some Department ".Furthermore. the spirit of' the the Menand Committee's deci- ing1 us and ignorini-1g our testimonx members. course is to evaluate forrm anld sion "unftbrtuna[te.- and the testimonyN of the Sivin "Tie Humaniti es Department content f'or efthectiveness within '"1'o exclude tie one subject Committee," she postulated. "I James E. Adalms. Jr. '77, a offered its services to the Com- the peer-group: relating v. riting, to x-Nithin the department that makes almost feel invisible." resident of Baker House %,ho inittee gratis( in an ef'fort to shoot is aLj~oringin Literature, is dovon the Writing Progratm," one one of' 32' Rhodes Scholars professor said. Hun~ger -- the globa) disaster ,elected in the US this ,ear. "I \weas highly surprised at the By David Potter tion, Which used to be more even- only source of the \korld nutritio-n .\dams, Ifrom Prairie Vllage, choice of' txo knoxkn partisans to Present trends of' world ly distributed throughout the problem. T]here is, also an increas- Kan.. "iil study English be delegated b,, the Head of' the malnutrition "cannot long con- w'orld, has dramatically shif'ted to ing demand f'or f'ood because Of Literature at Oxf'ord Univer- Departmient to speak against the tinue ,xithout global disaster." North America, especially to the rising affluence in -an3 third sito fIor txo years affter P1rogram," he added Institute Professor of Nutrition United States: Iow-a alone world countries. Pcr capita de- giraduating f'rom'MIT. In its decision, the Committee Nevin Scrinmshaw explained in a produces ten per cent of tile mand for food is rising with in- -------- ~~~~~~~~--·------I laid particular stress on concern lecture held Wedrnesday that anl %orld's corn. In spite of tremen- come, and production -- which is Dave Cowens has returned to for "understanding of' human increasing number of countries dous productivity, surpluses are aiI rcad s1h ort ofI' the \k o rld's needs the Boston Celtic-, roster two values in societal, historical and aire suffering from a food produc- nowk gone and the world nok> has -- is projected to falleven t'urthcr months afterh'Ie left the team cultural contexts." The Commit- tion deficit and niust import fIood less than a fIorty-day f'ood suppl.k behind. c for "personal reasons." The tee also required subjects on the to support their rapidly growing on hand. Scrim~shak imreplicated calori e fans and players joy at the star distribution list to call for reading populations. Scrimshaw, emphasized that in- and protein malnutrition aniong center's return ,,as dimmed, and writing assignments as well as Responsibility for Food produc- creasing population is not the ( Please lurn to pa~ge 3 1 ho\wever. when the Celtics' Charlie Scott broke his wrist in two places during a game against the Indiana Pacers T$he D AA' controversy: an overvievv W'ednesday night. IWIT wvork A history of The recent heavy snows in --- - ---m - M - Cambridge may force the city' nmiay begin the conflict to increase its property tax rate b~, SIl. The city hafs already By Mark James !N Mlark James "pent more than the $200,000 Recombinant DNA research The controversy surrouindi ng may be underway soon at MI1' if reconhbinant I ANAresear ch budgreted for snow removal, a, aIccordlrin, to a report in the the Cambridge City Council ac- begnil aIlmllost soonl a1,, the Htarvard Crimson. cepts the guidelines drawn up by P-))\erl 'ul tcc h1nIILI LI V,as firrt Cambridge Laboratory Ex- develop e.d. perimentation Review Board lhC ,otlrcc ()e' botll thc ct)in- The Labor Dept, yesterday (CLERB). lrtovers,\ and tie p-)oxkcr o1' thic released D~ecember statistics The report (see 7Th Tech, Jan. rco~bnihint I)nt.D\ techlinioC lies Nkhich show improvement in 7, 1976)of the CLERB suggest: i:nthe ziilit\ o~l'rcscmr cher s toIt)on the national economny. The in- that research classified by thu a~~~)n semD1!N,,\, ;tix scgmcinl dustrial price index showed its National Institutes of Health ofl' !)N.\, to ;allther sCLtl2;clit smallest increase in seven (NIH) as requiring-a P3 conlain- h~}ich is knox, n ais the w( tt.'I lho nionths,:wAhile the natiowide ment facility be allowed in \cct~)r-l'orecgn I)N,,\ cont' lc\ 1s unemployment rate eased Cambridge if it is done according then inserted into ;i h7,xt -- the from 8.1 to 7.9 per cent. to NIH guidelines, and if1 ad- haictcri urI1 b (',Ch. ditional procedures'-proposed by 'Ibis permits, the m1ult11.Piplcat1101 According to a report issued the CLERB are followed. ~ by the US Commerce Depart- Three researchers at MIT have [l)1/ Ills;Ad ',Ill , Dll, tII I'fC. ment, the growing use of immediate plans to begin P3 p rmixdig ;~ pomcrful mclh{)d ()I medical computer banks to research: Professor of Biology ~ostld~,l g ]lt~kt thlC t2,cnl S [-)rcscml ini store- data on many patients David Baltimore, Associate Etilt)So slC(.LICnICCS opcr'atc. 'i III', Ul- may endanger the confiden- Professor of Biology Philip Sharp, qderstaningm- ma)~ gl~c grcmcr in- tiality of such information, and Assistaft Professor of '!igt di.saSCSinto SLuch its canlcer whichi is often available to Biology. David Housman. and hercdiltarN ai Ilrcnts. many organizations but not to Housman and Baltimore were This special exhaust houd in the center for Cancer Research P3 'I'lhc techniqjue Tmay also p)(sC the patient. not available for comment. Sharp recombinant DNA laboratory may be in use soon if Cambridge ap- u.Inknoxkn dangers. since it i.s no~t proves a report that favors allowing recombinant DNA research (Please turn to page 2) ( Plea.ve turn to page 2 } _s~a PAGE 2 THE TECH 'FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 1977 R~econnsinant DNA:Blow Aseilonar%, XE;tW m~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Iambridge (Continuedfrompage I) such hybrid DNA molecules may DNA and make an informed proved in December, 1975, were a normal resident in the human understood exactly how the in- prove hazardous to laboratory judgement on the risks involved.

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