A panel of admissions officers reiterated in a discussion with undergraduates yesterday their belief that Harvard should not resort to race-based scholarships after the low yield of Black students in the Class of '96.

The admissions officers told the group of about 40 students in Harvard Hall that attracting the strongest possible minority students to Harvard remains a high priority.

Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid William R. Fitzsimmons '67 opened the discussion--sponsored by the Minority Students Alliance--by emphasizing the importance of minority admissions and recruitment at Harvard.

"Our institution probably coined the word 'diversity,' which has become a watchword--almost a cliche--in college admissions," he said.

Senior Admissions Officer David L. Evans said the low yield was caused primarily by "very large non-need-based scholarships" from other colleges.

He said that, for example, Black students with family incomes as high as $140,000 received full scholarships from the colleges they chose to attend over Harvard. He said Harvard should not offer similar scholarships.

"The yield dropped down like this two years in a row (Classes of '86 and '87) and it was an aberration," he said. "I would not change a policy based on one datum."

Evans said that although the racial turmoil in the spring may have deterred students from matriculating, he got no such indication from conversations he had with students who went elsewhere.

The admissions officer also offered a historical perspective on minority admissions. He said the big jump in the number of Black students admitted came with the Class of '73, which was chosen soon after the assassination of Martin Luther King in 1968.

Shortly after the murder, Evans said, many students volunteered to work at minority recruitment, which he feels caused the rise.

"You can depend on well-meaning institutions todo it, but if you really want to do somethingyou've got to do it yourselves," he said.

Evans said in questions later that the rise innumber of Asian-Americans admitted also came aboutas a results of students efforts.

"Black students came over to Dean Jewett(then-Dean of Admissions L. Fred Jewett '57) in1973, and demanded that Asian students be made acritical minority," he said. After this, thenumber admitted rose from 24 in 1973 to 219 lastyear