February 21: Panicked by news that the Civil Aeronautics Board might cancel the half-fare program for students, some 1100 Harvard and Radcliffe students quickly signed a petition asking the CAB to be merciful.
February 22: In a surprise afternoon meeting, the Radcliffe College Council voted to open up talks with the Harvard Corporation" with a view towards merging the two institutions." The Council's vote came after a morning meeting of the Radcliffe Trustees had voted to support the merger talks. The Council had not been scheduled to meet until March 3, but in anticipation of the Trustee recommendation, Council members arranged for the special meeting. The next step in merger proceedings was left to the Harvard Corporation, whose next regular meeting was set for March 3.
February 24: The Law and Business Schools discussed a proposal for a new four-year program leading to a joint MBA-LLB degree. Instead of spending three years earning a LLB and then two more getting an MBA, students under the new program would spend one year at each of the schools taking first-year courses, and then do combined studies in the last two years of the program.
February 25: The SFAC passed a resolution asking the Admissions and Financial Aid Office not to cut the scholarships of any students on probation until an SFAC committee completed a special study of the relation between financial aid and probation. This more general resolution on financial aid passed after the council tabled a motion about financial aid for Paine Hall demonstrators. Chase N. Peterson, dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, said that he supported the current practice of cutting up to $500 from a probation student's aid and replacing the cut with a loan.
The Harvard Undergraduate Council approved a report that recommended unlimited interhouse dining for Cliffies at dinners in Harvard Houses. The report went on to the Faculty Committee on Houses.
Radcliffe alumnae across the nation began to react to news of their college's impending death. Some of the older alumnae said they were irritated or sad, but most seemed to like the idea.
February 26: The Masters of the Houses agreed to let Boston After Dark distribute copies in dormitories. Although University rules prohibited distribution of free commercial literature, the Masters said that Harvard should make an exception as long as BAD continued orderly delivery.
A petition requesting co-ed housing programs for next fall got 2000 signatures at Harvard and Radcliffe Houses and was sent on to the Corporation. The joint Harvard-Radcliffe Houses and was sent on to the Corporation. The joint Harvard-Radcliffe committee that sponsored the petition said that since merger was inevitable, the Corporation should let students start living together right away.
A letter circulated among Business School Faculty members outlined steps the school would take to handle student demonstrations. In the letter, Business School dean George P. Baker outlined three levels of disruption and said that only Level I--orderly demonstration -- was acceptable. In case Level II (restriction of free movement) or Level III (use of violence disruptions began, the letter outlined a series of responses--including the use of police--to "promote de-escalation to Level I."
February 27: Law School dean Derek C. Bok appointed a special committee of Law School professors to study a student plan for overhauling the school's grading system. The students who drew up the plan said they were uneasy about how much opportunity they would have to participate in the committee's study.
The Harvard Educational Review published an article by a Berkeley professor who claimed that some of the IQ differences between whites and blacks were due to genetic differences between the races. The author, Arthur A. Jensen, said that human intelligence is affected more by heredity than environment.
February 28: Because of the SFAC's resolution asking for a moratorium on scholarship cuts for students on probation, the Financial Aid Office agreed to suspend action on all students on probation. Dean Peterson said he would help the SFAC with its study of the relation between probation and scholarship aid.
The Committee on Houses and the Ad Board worked out a system for handling first-time parietal violations in the Houses instead of bringing them before the Ad Board. Dean Glimp said the plan was "a way to get to know your senior tutor."
March
March 2: The Law School's new committee studying grade reform assured restive first-year students that they would be allowed to meet regularly with the committee.
