350 Demonstrate Support for College Threatened by Financial Problems

Three hundred and fifty New England College students rallied yesterday in support of the four year liberal arts college which may be forced to close because of a shortage of funds.

J. Kenneth Cummiskey, president of the Henniker, N.H. college, addressed the rally and called for "confidence in the institution from all people concerned."

Bruce Eliott, assistant to the president, said that the 27-year-old college was experiencing an "acute" short-term financial crisis due to mismanaged fiscal policies. "A variety of circumstances made an unfortunate combination," Eliott said.

The college's financial plight came to light two weeks ago when the school could not cover half of its payroll checks, Eliott said.

He added that the college has issued no paychecks to its faculty and staff of 300 for the current pay period.

Peter Shapiro, a New England College trustee, said yesterday that the checks started bouncing when the college exceeded its legal limit of borrowing from several New Hampshire banks.

Shapiro also said that responsibility for mismanagement cannot be laid to any individual until the immediate problem is under control.

"We cannot conduct a full-scale Watergate investigation until the shortterm problem is solved," he said.

"If we find out that trustees were responsible, they're going to go and if others are responsible then they're going to go," Shapiro said.

Despite the bleak short-term outlook, Eliott termed the long-term situation "excellent."

New England College is now seeking to mortgage its property of about $1.2 million in an effort to relieve the fiscal crisis, he explained.

Eliott said that the long-term mortgage proposal will be made to the banking community on or about October 24 and "the banking community's decision to believe in or not to believe in the college should be made on or about November 4."

"If all goes well," he said, "employees will receive their back-pay checks before Thanksgiving."

Faculty and students are determined to complete the school year regardless of the outcome of the current negotiations with the banking community, Shapiro said.