Cornell Students Fear Petition 'Red-Inspired'

Rumors that the college administration looked upon a student petition as "Communist inspired" caused Cornell undergraduates to hurriedly remove their names from petition lists this week.

The petitions requested the University to strike houses known to discriminate on grounds of race or religion from its list of rooms available to students.

Deane W. Malotte, president of Cornell, last March had turned down a Student Council request asking the University to take such action. Student political groups subsequently demanded that Malotte reconsider his stand, which he had taken on the ground that the University should not interfere with homeowners' right to discriminate.

The flurry on the part of students to remove signatures began when the treasurer-elect of the Student Council alleged that Lucille Allen, Dean of Women, said the University's official attitude would be that the petition was Communist inspired.