Laslett Supports Cambridge's Use Of Old Customs

"British universities have changed more than any other single institution as a result of the social revolution in England since the war," according to Peter Laslett, Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge . He spoke last night on "British Universities in the Welfare State" at Winthrop House.

At present 80 per cent of the students at Oxford and Cambridge rely on financial aid from government grants, while the figure ten years ago was only 30 per cent, Laslett stated. In addition, he noted, universities are equally dependent on support from the government's University Grants Commission to the extent that "Cambridge is virtually a state institution."

Cambridge Meeting Challenge

Laslett maintained, however, that "although the facts are undeniable and the old situation cannot be restored," Cambridge is meeting the challenge posed to it by "retaining the image of a past which has never died."

Defending such traditions as the high table and the wearing of academic robes to all classes, Laslett called these customs "the key to the strength of the English university system." By behaving "as if the social order hasn't changed, the British have kept the Welfare State from extinguishing the English university."

In addition, Laslett termed English universities "woefully behind in the problem of expansion" and called for the outlay of $20 million for the construction of new colleges at Cambridge. He added that this expansion had already started with the construction of Churchill College and a college for women.