Summer School Discontinues 'Summer News'

The Summer School has discontinued its policy of providing a free, twice-weekly newspaper for its students.

In the past, the Summer School purchased several thousand copies of the Harvard Summer News, published by the CRIMSON, for free distribution to Summer School students, faculty, and staff.

In return for the guaranteed subscriptions (costing about $6000 last year), the CRIMSON agreed to print official notices for the Summer School.

Last month a representative of the Harvard Independent, a weekly University newspaper, contacted Thomas E. Crooks, director of the Summer School, and asked that the University agree to contract with the Independent for a summer newspaper.

In letters to the two papers, Crooks proposed a system of sealed bids- giving

the CRIMSON a $500 handicap advantage because of satisfactory past business relations with the Summer School.

Neither paper found Crooks suggestion satisfactory. The Independent claimed that the handicap was exorbitantly high: the CRIMSON criticized the proposed system for allegedly encouraging destructive competition among undergraduate groups.

In a letter to the two papers this week, Crooks said he saw "no fair or decent way to make an agreement with either the CRIMSON or the Independent."

Crooks said the Summer School has "increasingly tight resources" and indicated that he is considering an alternative, less expensive method of "providing a relevant flow of information to our students and faculty."