Rosovsky Outlines Aid Policy

Dean of the Faculty Henry Rosovsky yesterday publicly confirmed that Harvard will probably assist students who lose federal funds because of recently proposed rules linking draft registration to financial aid.

Speaking to a regularly scheduled meeting of the full Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Rosovsky said that "a consensus is developing" among the University's nine faculties that Harvard would help students replace lost and through a combination of employment opportunities and market rate loans.

Rosovsky stressed, in an interview following the meeting, that after independent discussions of faculties, the matter would probably come up before a University wide meeting of deans Final approval for a comprehensive Harvard plan would then be up to President Bok, in consultation with the governing Corporation, Rosovsky said.

The issue is previous discussion has already been discussed by several administrative committees, including the group of faculty deans.

Bok yesterday refused comment on the issue, saying he wanted to wait until the faculties had addressed the problem. Several colleges and universities have publicly opposed the new regulations recently unveiled by the Reagan Administration to implement a law passed last summer which prohibits non-registrants from receiving direct education aid or guaranteed student loans.

Other schools, including Yale have already enacted policies toward non-registrants similar to those being considered by Harvard. Officials have argued that the regulations pose an unfair administrative burden as well as forcing universities to oversee laws based on highly subjective moral decisions.

During yesterday's meeting, Rosovsky emphasized that under the policy now being considered, non-registrants at Harvard would still incur a burden for their personal stands because they would not receive outright aid.

He pointed out, though, that the proposed policy should enable students to remain at Harvard in the absence of federal and Market rate loans are made at interest rates regularly charged by banks. The Harvard offer provides no additional financial benefits but such loans are guaranteed, while bank loans are not.

In the comment period of the meeting one professor suggested that the policy did not go far enough in helping non-registrants, Professor of History of Science Everett J. Mendelsohn pointed out that the enactment of draft registration in the first place was a political act.

"Asking the University to help police registration attempts to bring the University into the political system," he said. Mendelsohn added that by offering loans at the market rate, rather than cheap loans, Harvard might be driving up the cost of non-registration too high for "all but the most wealthy conscientious objectors."

But Professor of Government Harvey C Mansfield, Jr. '53, taking the floor, opposed Mendelsohn, saying that those failing to register for the draft should not receive federal funds.

"I'm glad to see that the University is not putting itself in the position of subsidizing the untenable position" of non registrants receiving government aid, he said.

During the meeting Rosovsky also raised the consequences of a proposal before Congress that would seek to withdraw all federal funds from schools that approve compensation for losses suffered by non-registrants.

Such a law could prove disastrous for Harvard, which receives federal funds for a broad variety of purposes, including financial aid and research grants.

Harvard's Director of Governmental Relations Parker I. Coddington said yesterday that while he has not been closely tracking the proposal, he tends, "to think of it as not much of an actual threat."

While yesterday's discussion was generally serious, the meeting had a few light moments. Asked by professor of Byzantine History Iher Sevoako about what sorts of jobs Harvard could offer non-registrants, Rosovsky noted a variety and then added, "When I say there are lots of jobs, most of them are not drinking tea in the Ukranian Institute--however arduous it may be," eliciting laughter from the faculty.

In other action, a faculty voice vote approved a new Ph.D. Program in Organizational Behavior, the first degree given by the recently established Standing Committee on Higher Degrees in Business Studies