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-z-.... ....' ~~0 Coflo, akPg i - I I I qaA Thle Weathere Today: Clouding over, 75°F (24°C) Tonight: Rain showerss, 65°F (I 8°C) Tomorrow: Clearing, 79°F (26°C) Details, Page 2 N e --- I- -- -- - --- -- -- «e 112, Number 37 Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 Thursday, September-- 3,-I 1992- I-.·.. - - - - L- - - - - - - , - -----W _ --- _ _ - JudgeRules Againstl~a in Overlap Sui I I II President Vest Promises Institute Will Appeal I Decision Concludes I By Brian Rosenberg Attorneys at the Justice cd price-fixing and were therefore I EDITOR IN CHIEF _ Department in Washington, D.C., detrimental to competition. The i I MIT violated the Sherman could not be reached for comlment. Overlap meetings "interfered with i Thee Year Investiation Antitrust Act by cooperating with Ivy Vest said this summer's passage the natural functioning of the market- i 1 By Reuven M. Lemer League schools to set need-based of a federal law specifically allowing place by eliminating students' ability NEWS EDITOR financial aid levels, a United States colleges to discuss principles for to consider price differences when I MIT's battle with the Department of Justice began nearly three District Court judge ruled yesterday. determining financial aid as long as choosing a school," he wrote. years ago, when the government began an investigation into allega- In the 49-page decision, Judge they do not discuss individual stu- Though both sides made substan- tions that the 23 members of the Overlap Group had broken the law Louis C. Bechtle refuted MIT's argu- dents "adds to my confidence in the tial efforts to demonstrate the eco- by sharing financial aid data every spring. ments that the Sherman Act did not wisdom of our stance." The law con- nomic impact of the Overlap Group's Overlap Group members -the eight Ivy League schools, the 12 apply to the financial aid meetings tains a provision which exempted lit- decisions on MIT and on prospective Great Lakes College Association schools, eight women's colleges, held by what is known as the Overlap igation pending at the time of its pas- students, Bechtle dismissed these and MIT -said they would cooperate fully with investigators, who Group. He held that the Overlap sage, including the Overlap case. concerns as "not germane to the reso- at the time remained silent about their eventual goals. Group's aid decisions constituted Vest added that MIT had received lution of this case." At MIT, administrators compiled and submitted information on price-fixing and were therefore ille- support hundreds of colleges and MIT argued during the case that tuition, faculty and administrative salaries, and student financial aid. gal, whether or not they raised prices other educational organizations, and the Overlap meetings allowed mem- James J. Culliton, vice president for financial operations, called the for students or increased revenues for said that a few alumni classes had ber universities to offer need-blind collection effort "a very, very large burden." MIT. asked Mbat their donations be put admission to students and enhanced The investigation, which focused on whether the schools had MIT plans to appeal the decision, toward the cost of the case. competition among them in curricula determined financial aid and tuition rates as a group, was thought at President Charles M. Vest announced The Institute faces no fines or and other areas. The group also the time to be the largest probe ever conducted by the Justice yesterday. Vest said MIT will "fight penalties if its appeal is defeated, enhanced competition among stu- Department. very hard to win this case," though Vest said, but could be forced to pay dents for limited enrollment opportu- From the beginning, Overlap members freely admitted that they he said it was too early to discuss some of the government's court nities, MIT said. had negotiated financial aid packages for individual students at their specific legal strategies for the costs. Bechtle ruled that these consider- annual spring meetings. Each school would independently calculate appeal. In an interview last night, he ations were irrelevant, saying that I the amount each student's family could afford to pay. These figures said "I am proud of the Institute for 'Pure sophistry' "4every institution, with or without being willing to stand up in a visible In the case, MIT asserted that its Overlap, is free to embrace indepen- Overlap, Page 7 way ... for important principles." distribution of financial aid is not dently any admission and financial commerce but a charitable activity by aid policy it wishes." He noted that I A a non-profit corporation, and thus schools could maintain need-blind should not be subject to antitrust leg- admissions without Overlap if they Fr-sh Dor-I-Crowding at 80% islation. Bechtle called this argument were willing to restructure their bud- "pure sophistry," saying that "few getary priorities. By Garlen C. Leung Campus, his first choice. Louise aspects of higher education... are Bechtle wrote that the issue is NIGHTEDITOR Wells '96 was "happy" to get Baker more commercial than the price whether "the elimination of competi- andd Karen Kaplan 'Unofficiall House, her first choice, but she was charged to students." tion itself can be justified by non- EXECUTIVE EDITOR one of many freshmen who com- Bechtle went on to say that the economic designs," and said that it After two hocusing lotteries, the plained that the lines at each stage Overlap Group's meetings constitut- cannot. housing office has announced that at of the housing process were too least 80 percent of freshmen living long. _ Ic-a L · ·-Is · I - I -· I I I - - L in dormnitories will be crowded, the Some students had to wait an highest percentage of crowds in wem~y 1991 1.992 hour or more to register their dormi- recent memory. -Baker 92 118 tory preferences on computers "This figure may go higher," .1Bexley 26 26 because of a lack of terminals, said Elliot S. Levitt '89, staff assis- I Burtor>Conner 120 116 Levitt said. tant for Residence and Campus Other freshmen were unsatisfied Activities. He suggested that the East Campus 123 1(01 with their assignments and are I that the Office of the Dean for MacGregor 69 1198 -1I searching for ways to move to other I Undergraduate Education and McCormick 65 52 dormitories. Alice S. Wang '96 was I Student Affairs underestimated the New Hlouse 71 64 speechless when she found out that extent of crowding in dorms. tRandom 32 24 she had been assigned to Senior A room is considered crowded if Senior House 51 ' 45 House after her top seven dormitory two students are assigned to what is 500 Memomall 87 10Q2 choices were denied. i usually a large single, or if three are I assigned to a large double. Crowded "It bothers me that we spent so students pay less for their room than the excessive overcrowding is that much time looking around at all the I dorms, and then you end up getting II they would for normal accommoda- "fraternity rush has been slightly tions. behind thus far." one you didn't even list," she said. i The situation was exacerbated "That really hurts." i this year because the number of Most students satisfied Wang said her roommate's I transfer students who applied for Changes in the lottery system father drove to MIT from New York I 1 housing was double what the hous- resulted in 97.5 percent of freshmen to complain about the housing t ing office expected, according to getting one of their top three dormi- assignment, but to no avail. Now the I Levitt. "Of course, we had to guar- tory assignments, Levitt said. "So two plan to use posters to find stu- i I antee housing for the extra 20 or so far, we've been rather successful." dents who want to trade housing transfers who applied," said Levitt. Jack Fu '96 said he was "ecstat- assignments and move to Senior Another reason Levitt cited for ic" that he was assigned to East House. F~reshmen Pass Math Freshmen Take Diagno~stic Exam By Eva Moy Bty Eva Moy ASSOCMrE NEWWEDIrO.R ASSOCIA TE NEWS ED17OR About three-fourths of the 1,131 freshmen who took Forty-one percent of the approximately 1060 stu- the Pre-Calculus Math Diagnostic had adequate perfor- dents who took the Freshman Essay Evaluation last mance or satisfactory performnance with weaknesses in Friday received a passing grade, according to Leslie C. , one area, according to Margaret S. Enders, assistant Perelman, coordinator for the Writing Requirement. dean of curriculum support. The results will be used to The essays are good indicators of writing ability, aid freshmen and their advisors during registration. said Perelman. "The scoring was really precise," he MICHAELJ. FMNKLIN-THE TECH "The idea here is to offer a test, the results of which added, referring to the many changes to the reading and MIT Chess Club sets up chess boards at the Activities do not show on a student record, and therefore can only grading systems. Midway Tuesday night, as over 100 student groups Intro- serve as a benefit to the students," said Sy D. Friedman Under the new grading system, two percent of the duced themselves to Interested freshmen. Math, Page 7 Wrting, Page 7 Page 2 THE TECH September 3, 1992 i1 & a4 &LA GuA"-.. Harvard Scholar Detained, Calfoni Bdge ~iss nd Expelled by Chinese Police LOS ANGELES TIMES BEIJING Chinese police detained Harvard scholar Ross Terrill shortly after midnight Wednesday, then expelled him to Hong Kong for his By Lou Cannon years. Local governments will lose after moderate Republican Minority Tong.