New Athletic Committee Talks Policy; Director Will Not Be Appointed Now

A thoroughly reorganized Overseers' Committee on Athletics converged on Cambridge this weekend for two sessions on football policy. From these emerged the unexpected news that Henry W. Clark '23 will continue as chairman but that George Whitney '07 will remain the group's key figure.

In addition it was understood that the committee, meeting with President Conant and Provost Buck, voiced its support for the current Administration football policy, characterized as "a two-fisted; strictly amateur policy which will enable Harvard to compete with its natural rivals on equal terms," but without any lowering of academic standards.

But at the same time, another group inside the committee is said to have asked for more scholarships and a downward adjustment of admissions requirements as a direct move to attract more would-be athletes to the College. Nevertheless, it was reliably understood that the weekend meetings had not changed the previous feelings of a majority of the committee.

Younger, More Compact Group

Under the reorganization, the committee's membership has been sliced from 23 to 17, with the emphasis on younger men. Except for Whitney, all the new members have graduated since 1919, and all but two live cast of the Alleghenies. Of the 17, eight served on the old committee, and six of the new men are graduates of the thirties.

In early January Whitney was slated to become actual chairman of the reorganized committee, subject to approval by the Board of Overseers. The announcement that Clark would continue as official chairman came as a surprise; but as vice-chairman, Whitney will take much of the responsibility, since Clark lives in San Francisco and his term as Overseer expires next year.

Both Whitney and Clark were present at the weekend meetings here, despite reports that Whitney was in the west.

Committee's Role

Chief job of the committee is merely to advise the Administration on athletic policy, but as reorganized, the group will have a big hand in co-ordinating all alumni and undergraduate programs aimed at spreading information about Harvard to schoolboys across the nation.

One source close to the committee explained that the problem is not one of subsidizing athletics but rather one of explaining to schools that Harvard is not a place "full of millionaires with Phi Beta Kappa keys."