Beware of Greeks

The establishment by the Medical School of a scholarship fund which will be used "preferably" for students of "Angle-Saxon origin" raises important questions of principle and practicality. Though there have been restricted grants and limited scholarships throughout the University's history, Harvard's present policy is to make every effort to persuade donors that their gifts should be unrestricted.

With the scholarship bequest by Mrs. Day there was no possibility of making such an effort. The conditions of the gift were stated in the will and the choice for the University was simply to accept for not accept. The decision to accept was not a simple triumph of expedience over principle; it did represent a certain degree of compromise with the ideals of non-discrimination.

Ideally, a gift containing discriminating clauses against any religious, social, or racial group should be turned down, especially when the clause favors a large majority group as against an underprivileged for minority group. First, such a gift can have an effect on the distribution of admission and scholarship awards among ethnic groups. Second, acceptance of such a gift will encourage other donors to express their preferences in restrictive clauses, clauses which limit the University's freedom of action and decrease the effectiveness of gifts. Third, it makes the University more vulnerable to charges of bias, however unfounded they may be.

Against these considerations, there are the particular circumstances of this case, all of which favor acceptance of the gift. The clause specifics "preferably," thus leaving an opening whereby the money can be used in the way the Medical School thinks best. The gifts is large, and it is tabbed for one of the neediest phases of the University--Medical School instruction. Finally, the restricted scholarships will be so small a percentage of the total Med School scholarships--compared with the percentage of "Anglo-Saxons" in the school--that their actual effect will be to increase the amount of scholarship money available to students who originated all over the world.

Considering all this, the practical benefits of Mrs. Day's gift seem to outweigh by far the disadvantages of a slight deviation from a strict and admirable principle. Had the gift been small, or the wording of the gift more blatantly discriminatory, or the Slight of the Medical School less desperate, there would have been an undeniable argument for refusing the bequest. As it is, none of the negative arguments can override the benefit that will come to all scholarship students in the Medical School.