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NEWS BRIEFS

Clifford L. Alexander '55, a member of the Harvard Board of Overseers and the former chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, was appointed Monday to a civilian committee investigating police clashes with Black Panther groups.

Arthur Goldberg and Roy Wilkins announced the formation of the "Commission of Inquiry into Black Panther and Law Enforcement Officials," composed of 26 private citizens prominent in law, politics, civil rights, and business.

The commission will carry out "a direct searching inquiry" into the deaths of 28 Black Panther leaders killed since January 1968 and into allegations of police harassment. There are 16 black and ten white members of the commission.

The private commission is also urging the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence to open an investigation of all incidents relating to the Panther deaths.

Judge Jails Weathermen

Four Weathermen were found guilty yesterday of assault and battery on a police officer in connection with a shoving match in front of Cambridge police headquarters on November 19.

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Judge Haven Parker of East Cambridge District Court sentenced James H. Reeves to three months in jail and Henry A. Olson to one month on the charges, and fined Thomas B. Cook and William R. Geoghegan $300 apiece. All four verdicts were appealed.

The four Weathermen, along with Stuart W. Gedal and Philip C. Nies, also were fined $100 each for disturbing the peace.

The shoving match broke out after Weatherman leader Eric M. Mann gave himself up to the Cambridge police on charges stemming from the firing of two bullets into the headquarters building on November 8. Mann later was cleared of the charges.

Fence-Mending

Harvard University and the Cambridge City Council have done little fence-mending.

Complying with a City Council order, the University has set back the fence around the Gund Hall construction site, to give pedestrians a full five feet of walking space on the adjacent sidewalk. The Council had issued a permit for the fence, but threatened to revoke it after hearing complaints that the fence-then in the middle of the sidewalk-was forcing pedestrians to walk in the street.

The Slotnik Construction Co.-contractors for the Gund Hall project-notified the Council of the change on Monday; the Council took "grateful notice" of the action.

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