'Unbecoming, Dangerous' Behavior Brings Midnight Curfew to Cornell

Out at Cornell, the waters of social discontent are seething again. In another series of faculty-student battles over social control, the President's Committee on Student Activities imposed a midnight curfew on the Cornell Spring Weekend, which ended last night.

All women had to be in their quarters by midnight on both Friday and Saturday evenings, although guests from outside the college were still allowed to sleep in the fraternity houses. In the past, this had been one of the continually debated points at student-faculty meetings.

A faculty member of the Committee said that the new restriction was passed because of the "unbecoming, dangerous, and unwarranted behavior shown by students on past weekends." He was probably referring to the last Cornell spring weekend, when one man was killed and several others seriously injured during the weekend's frolic.

In the course of the student-faculty debate on the curfew, the four student members of the committee were removed because of the nature in which they raised objections to the motion under consideration.

The Committee did not say when or if these students would be allowed to return to the group, but stated that, "Until the students show that they have the maturity and foresight to agree with the administration, we cannot be expected to consider their proposals with seriousness."

Administration Defines Role

The Administration at the same time made a very important and very strong statement defining its role in control of student life: "Education is not confined to what may be gleaned from textbooks. Students must be taught what is moral and right in any society."

One student member objected, claiming that "morals are taught in the home. The university's job is to provide good educational facilities. Why don't they construct a new engineering building?"