It's not that we think Sommers is a poor candidate. Indeed, we think she presents strong credentials...

In any case, the troubles of the past certainly merit more than a token search for the person who is to lead Expos into the future. And if Nancy Sommers is indeed the best person for the Director's job--as she may well be--then she should be able to win it through a legitimate national search.   February 4, 1994

...Students have complained for years about the Harvard tradition for holding fall semester exams after winter recess. The winter vacation rings hollow as papers and problem sets remain due well into reading period and finals linger menacingly in the not-too-far-off future. And time spent with family is often cut short as Harvard students are compelled to rush back to campus in January and then must decide whether it is worth their time and money to attempt to return home for the few days of intersession...

We fear the calendar torture persists largely because administrators are able to withstand complaints long enough for each crop of students to graduate...   February 5, 1994

Together with the rest of the nation, we have watched with horror as details of radiation tests on unknowing subjects during the 1940s and fifties have become known. And we have been especially distressed upon learning that some of the tests--those that took place at the Walter E. Fernald State School for the retarded in Waltham--were led by Harvard faculty...

Harvard, MIT and the state should expeditiously acknowledge the full extent of their responsibility for the Fernald experiments and should be forthcoming with substantial financial compensation that includes lifelong health care for the victims. Refusing to do so--and extending this saga further through legal maneuvers and court battles--would only compound the tragedy of the crimes that were committed.   February 7, 1994

...Although we do not support the complete elimination of Radcliffe per se, we do advocate opening Radcliffe completely to men and making equal, joint citizenship a reality for male and female students.

While Radcliffe offers many benefits only to women, the existence of Radcliffe as distinctly separate from Harvard implies that female students are not fully a part of Harvard. In this manner, Radcliffe relegates women to the status of second class citizens at Harvard...

At the same time, significant opportunities are offered only to Radcliffe students...

Just as women should not denied the benefits of final clubs merely because they are women, men should not be denied the benefits of Radcliffe simply because of their gender...   February 11, 1994

...At least last year..students had a possible reason for protesting at Junior Parents Weekend that was related to the event itself--there was no Asian-American representation on a student panel about race relations..

Following last year's protest the students kept thee momentum going, meeting one-on-one with various toplevel administrators and participating in a town meeting to discuss their concerns...

This year, however, the students haven't done much until now. Indeed, even this weekend's protest seemed half-hearted...

We're not condemning the protesters for voicing their concerns. But we hope that, in the future, they choose forums for expressing themselves carefully, and not simply protest for the sake of protesting.   March 7, 1994

The residential real estate market in Cambridge is in a peculiar state of forced equilibrium. The tenants aren't moving, the landlords aren't buying and the rents just stay the same...