Yale Decides to Rejoin NDEA Loan Program

Yale University officially jumped back into the NDEA student loan program yesterday with a request of almost $900,000 for the 1962-63 academic year.

In its decision to accept Federal money under the National Defense Education. Act, Yale stands alone among the colleges and universities which withdrew from the program to protest a provision of the Act requiring all student applicants to disclaim belief in any subversive organization.

President Kennedy's signature Wednesday on a bill repealing the "disclaimer affidavit" has virtually assured the participation of many institutions not in the program, but only Yale has notified the Government of its intention to rejoin.

Although Harvard has indicated that it probably will rejoin the NDEA program, President Pusey must still ascertain the feeling of the University's Faculties and then recommend action to the Corporation.

Princeton, Oberlin Delay Decision

Princeton, one of the first to refuse NDEA funds, reported yesterday that no decision will be made on rejoining the program until the next faculty meeting on November 5. Oberlin College, too, will have no decision on NDEA until its faculty meets on November 6.

Swarthmore College is showing even greater caution and reactivating a special committee of faculty members, students and trustees to study the amended Act. The same committee recommended in 1958 that Swarthmore refuse, on the basis of the disclaimer affidavit, to accept NDEA loans.

A spokesman said yesterday that the committee "objected with deliberation, care, and reason" to the disclaimer affidavit and thus wants to be certain that "the Act, as amended, is acceptable to Swarthmore."

Griswold Praises Amendment

Immediately after Kennedy signed the amended Act on Wednesday, President A. Whitney Griswold announced that Yale would rejoin the program. He called amendment of the original Act "a long sten in the right direction" which "goes far to ensure the full and effective cooperation of individuals and institutions responsible for the success of objectives of the NDEA."

Under the NDEA, no institution can receive more than $250,000 a year in loans from the Government. A bill to raise the borrowing celling to $500,000 passed the Senate last month but died in the House during last week's rapid push toward adjournment.

Most universities generally apply for more money than the legal limit in the hope that the Congress may raise the limit during the academic year, thus making more money available to those institutions that have previously asked for it. But Yale's request for $893,500 is almost three times as great as Harvard's 1962-63 application--for about $350,000.

Yale officials claim that their figure is so high because they determine "the total borrowing demands of their students," and do not include the resources that Yale itslef has available for student loans. Yale admits that the figure is "hypothetical" but argues that if larger amounts of money (more than $250,000) should ever become available, "Yale wants to be prepared."

A Harvard spokesman said yesterday that University originally applied for about $700,000 in 1958, but scaled down the demands in recent years because Harvard did not intend to accept the money while the disclaimer affidavit existed. Thus last spring. Harvard's application for the 1962-63 academic year was only around $350,000.

It is expected that the University will make a more realistic appraisal this spring and ask for well over $500,000 for 1963-64.