Radcliffe Paper Attacks Choice Of Oppenheimer

The Radcliffe News, in an editorial in this morning's edition, added its voice to the recent protest registered against the appointment of J. Robert Oppenheimer '26 as William James lecturer.

"Why should a top university," queried the editorial, "place in such high esteem and favor a man regarded by many as an unloyal America." Oppenheimer was barred from access to classified government information by the Atomic Energy Commission in 1954, due to "conduct not in the interests of national security."

The News article, written by Sue Beckenbaugh '59, furthermore questioned Oppenheimer's qualifications for the lectureship. "It also seems that someone other than a natural scientist might be found from the array of talent in philosophy and psychology to lecture on the subject so enriched by William James."

The editorial admitted that "Oppenheimer's knowledge should not be put into a vacuum," but suggested, "why not read them in a book or gain them from seeking the man individually, on one's own?"

"We seriously question," the editorial concluded, "whether Harvard, in its appointment of Oppenheimer as William James lecturer for 1957, is conscientiously serving 'Veritas,' the motto it so strongly desires its students to follow unflinchingly."

Janet Ross '58, co-editor of the News, explained yesterday that the opinions expressed in editorials do not necessarily represent the convictions of the whole staff of the paper, but "are the responsibility of the editors."