Harvard Grad Protests Policy Excluding Alumni From Hilles

A recent Harvard graduate complained yesterday that he was not allowed to use Hilles Library, although Radcliffe alumnae can use Lamont.

Gregory F. Lawless '76 was denied entrance to Hilles last Saturday when he went to the library to research a jazz article for The Bay State Banner, a local black community newspaper.

He was victim of a little-noticed discrepancy in the Harvard-Radcliffe merger agreement by which past and present Harvard students are not entitled to the privileges of their Radcliffe counterparts--a legal quirk that the head of the Radcliffe Board of Trustees said yesterday should be changed.

Mary Vise, a librarian at Hilles, said yesterday that Harvard alumni cannot use Hilles, which is located at the Radcliffe Quad. Under the 1971 Harvard-Radcliffe merger agreement, Radcliffe students are considered part of Harvard, but Harvard students are not considered part of Radcliffe, Vise said.

Burton Wolfman, administrative dean of Radcliffe, said yesterday the Radcliffe Board of Trustees allows alumnae to use Hilles as a special privilege.

"Radcliffe also runs an alumnae career service, and that, too, has no Harvard counterpart," Wolfman said. "Hilles was built with funds out of the Radcliffe endowment and its regulations are set by Radcliffe."

"I'm in favor of a separate Radcliffe identity, but not to the extent of discriminatory library privileges," Lawless said yesterday.

"Hilles has a tremendous record collection that I can't find anywhere else," he added. "I plan to pursue the matter until I get access to it."

Susan Lyman, chairwoman of the Radcliffe Board of Trustees, said yesterday, "Harvard alumni should certainly allowed to use Hilles. I wasn't aware they hadn't been admitted."

Lyman said that since Hilles is owned by Radcliffe but managed by Harvard, Dean Rosovsky would be responsible for changing the rule.

Rosovsky said yesterday that he had not heard any other complaints and was not acquainted with the disputed regulation, but he said he would look into the matter.