Ed School Rejects Recess, Permits Personal Politics

The Faculty of Education voted yesterday by a narrow margin to reverse its earlier decision that would have recessed classes for two weeks at the end of October.

The "Princeton Plan," passed on May 7 and rejected at yesterday's session, called for a free-time period in which students and faculty members could work in fall electoral campaigns without missing any academic work.

"Instead of a two-week recess, arrangements will be made upon an individual basis, and students will be allowed to engage in political action as they were this spring," said Theodore R. Sizer, dean of the Graduate School of Education.

The proposal which passed yesterday called for a policy of "flexibility" in permitting political participation in the forthcoming elections during the academic term. It also asserted that members of the community "should not be penalized for seeking and using this opportunity."

"Most of us felt that a specific recess might not be flexible enough since it insisted that everyone leave at the same time. It there were going to be a recess, though. we felt it ought to be consistent with one endorsed by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, since our programs are so interrelated," Sizer said.

As part of yesterday's resolution, the School of Education recommended adopt-ing the same calendar year as the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, stating however, that they would "welcome an arrangement made within the spirit of our action of May 7."

The Ed School faculty might have been confused because it passed yesterday's resolution an hour before the Arts and Sciences Faculty passed its resolution.

"Many of us thought the Mendelsohn motion for a week-long recess would pass and that we would arrange the Education School schedule accordingly Since there is not going to be a recess, a majority of our Faculty support a policy by which people can go off and work on politics if they have to, and when they have to," Sizer said.