Brown Students Renew Demand For Say in President Search

Brown University's student council Friday requested permission to present its demand that the university accept student input into the presidential selection process at a meeting of the Brown corporation's executive committee this week.

The request that the committee and Brown Chancellor Charles C. Tillinghast hear the presentation follows a week of student protest against the chancellor's decision to grant control of the presidential search to a selection committee composed entirely of corporation members.

A committee composed of alumni, students, faculty and corporation members had been charged with selecting the candidate for the post prior to Tillinghast's decision.

More than 1500 Brown students demonstrated against the chancellor's decision last weekend on the university green while student council members met with Tillinghast. The council members presented proposals for structuring the selection committee to include students, and a 2500-signature student petition supporting the council's position.

But Tillinghast rejected the council's proposals, citing the university's need to choose a new president quickly. The resignation of Brown's current president, Donald F. Hornig '40, takes effect in June.

Brown corporation member Augustus A. White, a member of both the selection committees, said yesterday that students in the original committee "placed too much emphasis on the quality of personal contacts of students with the president when considering candidates." White says he feels the president's ability to administrate, to raise and manage funds, and attract a good faculty should be the selection committee's first priority.

'Emotional Issue'

He added the "emotional" nature of the presidential search, as well as the urgency of making the selection, "makes this a less than ideal time to resolve" the issue of student input in university decisions.

Richard D. Peppers, a student council coordinator, said yesterday the council wants to be represented at the corporation committee meeting Friday because it has adopted more moderate proposals for student input which it wants the committee to hear.

If the corporation refuses to allow council members to attend the meeting, Peppers said it would not encourage more mass student demonstrations. "The corporation's reaction to last week's mass protest shows that such actions won't have any effect on the corporation in this matter," he said.

Instead, he said, the council would probably set up a committee to "continue to remind the corporation that we think the entire selection process is illegitimate."

Members of the corporation executive committee last night refused to comment