Hitchhiking Hassles

A Boston City ordinance passed last week will make hitchhiking in the City more difficult and possibly more expensive.

The ordinance has raised the maximum fine for hitching from $20 to $50 and established a $50 fine for drivers picking up hitchers.

According to Boston police officer Richard Conboy, the act will definitely limit hitching by college students. "We're not going to rush out and arrest people. We'll probably follow a policy of moderate enforcement-telling people to stop hitchhiking rather than bridging them in and fining them," he said. But he added, "As soon as someone gets robbed or assaulted while hitchhiking, we'll probably have to have a real crackdown."

The new law follows state laws enacted over the summer broadening the definition of hitchhiking and the latitude allowed the cities in deciding punishments. The same set of laws imposed a $50 fine for hitching on the Mass Pike.

Cambridge has been relatively unaffected by the furor. "We've had this type of ordinance for a long time." said one patrolman. He added that it was "unlikely" that their enforcement policies would change.

B-School May End Quota

The Business School is considering a proposal to lift the quota on the number of foreign students admitted to the MBA program. This would do away with the current limit of ten per cent, permitting an estimated 120 foreign students to enter next year's class of 750 students.

Charles A, Judge. assistant admissions director for Overseas Students. said that the quota was instituted after Word War II to insure a minimum of foreign students who might not otherwise be admitted. But now the quota has the opposite effect and forces the MBA program to reject many well qualified candidates, especially from Europe and English-speaking countries, he said.

Last year the Business School admitted 16 out of 130 English applicants.

Judge said he favors eliminating the quota except for a five per cent minimum for non-English speaking countries in Asia, Africa. and Latin America-a proposal now under the consideration of the Admissions Policy Committee (APC).

The APC's report must in turn be approved by the Business School faculty. Judge admitted that faculty opposition might stem from foreign students' increased need for financial aid and their lower rate of alumni donations.

New Laws on Student Strikes

Several Statehouse politicians have introduced bills to require the automatic expulsion or firing of any student or faculty members who go on strike at public institutions of higher learning.

Among them is a gaggle of bills presented by Rep, Matthew J. Kuss (D-Fall River) which would "cope with the problems presented by intolerant students on our state college campuses."

Kuss said that his bills would require the immediate dismissal of any students who strike at state colleges. Another bill would give state college presidents the authority to suspend any faculty member who endangers the students or the educational program of the college.

Kuss has also introduced a bill which seeks to prohibit "circulation and publication of excessively obscene literature at public institutions of higher learning." and to dismiss anyone engaging in such activities.

"These students are subsidized by tax-payers," said Kuss. "They should be more respectful of their burden and expense. They should be more tolerant."

Faculty Letter Opposes Punishment