Reeves said last night that the commission's true mandate was to help Cambridge try to reach the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s ideal of peace, referring to King's statement that "peace is not simply the absence of conflict; peace is the presence of justice."

Some councillors said they were troubled by certain sections of the report.

Councillor Alice K. Wolf said she was disappointed that the report did not pay more attention to discrimination based on religion, sexual orientation and gender.

In an interview after the commission's presentation, councillor William H. Walsh said the report is "not based on facts."

He said the document wrongly claims that the council and the Cambridge public school faculty are not diverse.

But Saavedra-Keber defended these sections of the report, and said that the commission's purpose was simply to bring to the council concerns raised by its constituents.

Hospital Loan Approved

In other business, the council approved a $40 million dollar loan order to the Cambridge Hospital for reconstruction costs.

The loan passed by a 7-2 vote, despite complaints from neighborhood residents that the extensive construction project would interfere with their daily lives and threaten their health.

According to hospital officials, the expansion is necessary because the current facility lacks adequate private space, inconveniences its patients with crowded emergency and waiting rooms and does not provide the most advanced equipment available.