Plans for Poll

If the Student Council acted hastily last week in speaking for the entire undergraduate body, the proposed Council poll to determine student opinion scarcely seems better-planned. The poll, two questions to determine whether professors are indoctrinating their brood to Communism, was designed to serve a double purpose. Actually, however, the poll serves neither. Representing only ten percent of the College, the results will be too inconclusive for an effective answer to McCarthy's charges. And the nature of the poll is too general and vague to be of use to the faculty. The important aspect of the poll then, is the threat its mishandling could be to the College.

Polling experts have warned the Council to expect a small percentage of irresponsible answers, the result of warped humor or outlook. Since the very people the Council hopes to disprove can balloon even a small percentage into a major issue, extreme care must be taken in publicizing any results.

The Council is depending on its second question, asking for the methods used by accused professors, to separate the sincere answers from the groundless chaff. But since poll replies are anonymous, there is no chance for a further questioning. Any accusations made against a professor by nameless students can be denied but not debated.

Members also intend to share the results of their poll with the faculty to help the administration gauge student opinion. Apart from the fact that such a sketchy survey can be of little worth or even misleading, the Council's intended procedure could be detrimental. Planning to examine all the answers before passing them on to the faculty, the Council would remove any charges which seem blatantly false. To do this is to set up an undergraduate jury, passing on any professor who, erroneously or not, might be mentioned as suspect. Any value that the poll might have to the faculty depends on studying all the answers, including the overstated and the inane. Surely a Faculty Committee is at least as qualified as a student group to judge the worth of poll replies.

Before beginning plans for a poll, the Council could perhaps have spent more time assessing the real worth of such a project. If they are going to continue with the poll, Council members must foresee the various possible consequences. Chances that the poll will benefit the College are slight; but the danger of bungling is great enough to warrant thoughtful preparation now.