Faculty Panel Displeased With Law Review Plans

Detlev J. Vagts, professor of Law and chairman of the Law School committee reviewing the Law Review's affirmative action program, said yesterday that his panel is not pleased with the Review's plan.

Abstractions

"We are content with the abstract principle of better representation [for minorities and women], but we do not like the present plan and think there should he more time to think about better ways to accomplish the same objectives," Vagts said.

The committee, formed last month to study the controversial plan to increase the number of women and minorities on the Review, will submit its recommendations to the Law School faculty on Tuesday. The faculty will decide Wednesday whether to approve the Review's plan.

Mark F. Hejm, president of the Review, said yesterday, "If there is no interest in changing selection criteria, then we will be in disagreement with the faculty."

The Review voted last Friday to post-pone implementation of the program if the faculty accepts the general principle of affirmative action.

"We could come out of this year with more than we started if the faculty accepts the principle of affirmative action," Helm said. But he added that "people are generally against the idea of delay."

In February, the Law Review decided to consider race and sex in selecting eight of its 40 members.

Vagts said that faculty members will probably endorse the goal of better representation of women and minorities but may have trouble committing themselves to a specific affirmative action program.

"We may have been more accommodating to the Review in our report than the faculty may have wanted," Vagts added.

Vagts acknowledged the possibility of conflict between the Review and the faculty, emphasizing the Review's dependence on the school.

Occupation

"They get grades from us, individual members of the faculty help them out, and they occupy Harvard space," Vagts said.

Faculty consideration of the Law Review proposal comes one week after a student-faculty committee recommended that the school end its practice of automatically giving the grades of top first-year students to the Review.

"One way the faculty may express its dissatisfaction is by approving the [affirmative action] report and not sending us names and grades," Helm said.