NEWS IN BRIEF

OPEC Expert Cites Oil as Cause of Crisis

While acknowledging that several historical factors shaped the current crisis in the Middle East, a visiting scholar and OPEC expert yesterday cited the region's longstanding oil rivalry as a primary cause of today's tensions.

Abbas Alnawrawi, a professor of economics at the University of Vermont, said at a forum sponsored by the Center for Middle Eastern Studies that Iraq's August 2 invasion of Kuwait resulted largely from OPEC's failure to compel member nations to adhere to its oil production quotas.

"OPEC lacked the power to enforce its decisions, so countries were free to produce as much as they wished," Alnawrawi said.

He said the cartel's recent failure to control Kuwait's oil production led to lower oil prices and reduced the profits reaped by Iraq and other nations which followed OPEC guidelines.

"From the Iraqi point of view, the overproduction of Kuwait was part of a larger plot to undermine Iraq's economy," Alnawrawi said.

In addition, two major developments of the 1970s--the 1973 OPEC embargo and the 1978 Camp David accord--paved the way for the recent crisis by shifting the bulk of power in the region away from Egypt to less developed states in the Persian Gulf region, Alnawrawi said.

"The removal of Egypt as the leading economic, political, and cultural power in the Arab world as a result of the Camp David accord created a political vacuum which allowed Saddam Hussein to come to power," Alnawrawi said.

Harvard Students Gain Free MFA Admission

No longer will Harvard students have to race to the Museum of Fine Arts on Saturday mornings to dodge the admission fee.

Harvard has enrolled in the MFA's University Membership Program, which provides free museum admission to full-time students with valid identification.

"We were concerned that our students have the same access to the MFA that other colleges and universities in the area have," said Deanna Dalrymple, the administrator of the Fine Arts Department.

Harvard joins MIT, Boston University, Tufts, Brandeis and other area schools by buying student membership through this 15-year-old program.

"There is no real significance that we got it now," said Robert A. Rotner, the administrative dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. "One professor in the Fine Arts Department pointed out that Harvard is not a member and it would be nice for students if the university were."

The new affiliation not only entitles undergraduate and graduate students to enter free, but also to a 10 percent discount on films, lectures, classes, concerts and purchases at the museum store.

When notified of Harvard's new access to the MFA, Professor of History Simon M. Schama said, "Oh good! It's about time."

Schama, who teaches several art history classes that require students to visit the MFA, noted that the admission fee has been waived in the past when his classes arrived en masse. He added, however, that individual "Harvard students were the only ones in the area who had to pay the five dollars."

Philosophy Magazines May Soon Make Debut

Two student magazines dedicated to philosophy may publish their first issues this year, organizers say.

"There is not and has never been a review dedicated to philosophy as far as I know," said Harvard Review of Philosophy President Josh Harlan '93 said.

The Review aims to address topics of wide interest, like abortion or the death penalty, and examine them from a rigorous philosophical perspective, Harlan said.

Assistant Professor of Philosophy Frederick Neuhouser and Porter Professor of Philosophy Robert Nozick will serve as the Review's faculty advisers.

Harlan, a philosophy concentrator from North House, said that the Review will solicit submissions from students and will also seek brief commentaries from professionals. He said that the journal staff plan to distribute around 2500 free copies in March to most of the campus.

The other potential philosophy magazine is still in its early planning stages, said organizer Andy Chao '92.

The organization has not yet been approved by the College, he said. He said the magazine's aim, its faculty advisor and information on how it will differ from the Review will be announced next week.

Local Phone Rates To Rise This Month

Telephone rates will go up for all Harvard students as of October 15 because of a New England Telephone rate restructuring, according to the Harvard telephone office.

For students with measured service, the rates will increase almost a dollar a month, and students will have to pay for every off-campus local call, as opposed to the Harvard phone company's previous offer of 30 free message units.

For students with contiguous service, the rate will increase from $10.93 a month to $13.06. The metropolitan service monthly charge will rise by almost four dollars.

"[New England Telephone] (NET) has raised its rates," a Harvard telephone representative said. "We charge what NET charges, so our rates our going up, too. We get our local services from NET."

NET officials said they were raising their basic phone rates to provide lower rates for premium services, such as operator-assisted and third party billing calls.

The toll charge for calls out of the toll-free area is going down within the state. But the out-of-state service deal that Harvard has with MCI will remain intact, with a basic per-minute charge of 11 cents for all evening, night and weekend calls to anywhere in the U.S.

Police Arrest Youths For Stealing Wallet

Harvard University Police officers arrested two teenagers in Massachusetts Hall yesterday while the two were allegedly trying to steal a wallet from a University office.

Police followed the female youths after receiving numerous reports of suspicious behavior from Harvard officials, a department spokesperson said yesterday.

Immediately after the arrest, police discovered that the suspects were carrying two additional wallets--one of which had been reported stolen from Boylston Hall earlier that day. One of the suspects was also in possession of a buck knife, the spokesperson said.

The two suspects, both juveniles, were charged with larceny over $250, receiving stolen property, trespassing and possession of a dangerous weapon.

"This was a good arrest," a police representative said, adding that prompt and thorough reporting of the suspicious individuals' behavior helped police track the suspects' activities prior to the arrest. Police said minor theft runs rampant at Harvard, and that successful arrests--such as the one yesterday--are rare.

Hope Solicits Candidates For Honorary Degrees

The committee that selects honorary degree recipients is soliciting suggestions from the Harvard community. The slate for 1991 is almost entirely filled, and recommendations for 1992 should be made as soon as possible, the committee said.

Nominations may be sent to Corporation member Judith Richards Hope, who chairs the advisory committee on honorary degrees, or Robert Shenton, secretary to the Corporation, at 17 Quincy St.

BayBanks to Sponsor Head of the Charles

BayBanks has become the first-ever corporate sponsor of the Head of the Charles Regatta, which is to take place October 20th.

The BayBanks funding comes at a time when security and clean-up for the regatta have been trown into question by the state's fiscal crisis, which is slicing into the Metropolitan District Commission's budget (MDC).

Details on the MDC's budget will not be complete until the end of the week, officials said.

"Obviously, in the time of tight budget...our first priority is not the Head of the Charles," said Micheal F. Fleming, spokesperson for the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, which oversees the MDC.

Fleming said that the office will stress the preservation of zoos, parks and hockey rinks during the budget talks.