CRR

Several faculty representatives on the Committee on Rights and Responsibilities (CRR) reacted favorably yesterday to the decision of the freshman class to elect four of its members to the committee.

A panel of 15 freshmen voted Tuesday to nominate four of its members to the CRR, ending the student boycott of the CRR, which began in the spring of 1970.

"I am impressed with the amount of consideration they were giving the decision," Roy M. Hofheinz, professor of Government, said yesterday. "It shows a sign of mature independence," he added.

The Faculty established the CRR in response to student demand at the end of the 1960s, Hofheinz said. Students wanted to have their opinions represented in University discipline of undergraduates involved in the student demonstrations during the period, he added.

Jerome H. Buckley, Gurney Professor of English Literature, said yesterday students could make valuable contributions to the CRR.

He added that the freshmen see their rights protected, and that the committee was designed for student representation.

"I feel the committee should be abolished," George W. Mackey, professor of Mathematics, said. He added that he did not think any disciplinary responsibility should be vested in students.

In the past, students have objected to the unequal number of students and faculty members on the CRR, the committee's denial to students of the legal right to counsel, the allowance of bringing hearsay evidence against students, and the lack of a separate appeals board separate from the CRR.

Hofheinz said reforming the CRR was not an important University issue at the present time, since "the effectiveness of dealing with student riots is now a moot point."

He said he felt the CRR's functions should be reviewed from time to time, adding "My mind is always open for other ways of doing things."

Students have desired avoiding conflicts between loyalty to other students and the CRR's disciplinary role.

For this reason students boycotted the committee in the years since the student demonstrations, Hofheinz said.