Hastie Revises Original Invitation to Use P.B.H.

Brooks House graduate secretary Cornelius deW. Hastie '52 yesterday withdrew his formal invitation to Catholic, Jewish, and Protestant groups to use office space at PBH.

In a letter received yesterday morning by leaders of the three groups, Hastie substituted a "tentative offer" for his original bid. This invitation will be subject to the approval of the Phillips Brooks House Committee, made up of several University professors and deans.

One member of the Brooks House Association, who refused to be named, last night asserted that Hastie has been pressured by the University administration to withdraw his offers--at least until the arrival in Cambridge of the newly elected Chairman of the Board of Preachers, George A. Buttrick, pastor of the Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City.

Hastie formerly had offered to the church groups both office space and endowment funds. The funds were rejected by the church organizations themselves after complaints by the PBH Association that such use of House resources would cripple the Association program.

The B'nai B'rith Hillel Foundation had already formally accepted Hastie's previous offer. In a letter to Hastie last Tuesday, Martin W. Brownstein '56, Millel president, accepted the office space--presumably to be on the third floor of PBH--but declined the endowment funds "at this time."

He said, "We feel that this action is in the best interests of both the Harvard Hillel Society and the Phillips Brooks House."