Herrnstein Feels Threatened, Cancels Princeton Appearance

Richard J. Herrnstein, professor of Psychology, cancelled an appearance at Princeton University scheduled for next Wednesday when a radical group threatened to disrupt the proceedings.

Princeton's University Action Group (UAG) decided to attend the meeting and then question Herrnstein on the I.Q. issue, whish was not on the agenda. If and when he refused to answer questions on the topic, they planned to forcibly block his exit from the lecture room.

"I just won't speak at all under these conditions because I see no reason to subject myself to physical violence," Herrnstein said yesterday.

Just a week ago, Herrnstein refused to speak at the University of Iowa when a hostile crowd of about 400 students led by the SDS prepared to confront him.

Julian Jaynes '41, chairman of the colloquium committee, called Herrnstein on Friday to alert him of the campus situation, and Herrnstein then cancelled the speech.

The Princeton Psychology Colloquium Committee, which invited Herrnstein, schedules weekly speeches and discussions primarily for advanced psychology students. Herrnstein was to talk on the "Visual World of the Pigeon."

Neil Koblitz, a graduate student and leader of the UAG, claimed the group had made Herrnstein unwelcome on the Princeton campus. Before UAG distributed a leaflet terming Herrnstein a racist, "a lot of people at Princeton weren't even aware of the issue," Koblitz said.

Leon J. Kamin '48, chairman of the Princeton psychology department, expressed disappointment yesterday over the cancellation. "The climate in which the decision was made raises serious questions about freedom of speech," he said.

In place of Herrnstein's speech, the Colloquium Committee will devote this week's time to a discussion of free speech as raised by this case, and of a scientist's responsibility to discuss his work.