3500 at B.U. Sign Petition, Asking Free Newspaper

More than 3500 students at Boston University have signed a petition demanding student control of the university's weekly, the B.U. News.

The demand comes in the wake of a recent student-administration dispute over the university's alleged right to edit the paper.

According to the petition's author, Thomas B. Harris, three out of four students so far approached have signed; he expects to have total of 8000 signatures by the beginning of next week. There are 12,000 students at B.U.

The petition stipulates, however, that editorial policy remain in the hands of he paper's editors. The paper is now written by students but financed and published by the BU administration.

Authors of the petition claim that B.U. President Case, who met with News editors last Monday, was only stalling for time when he promised not to use his prerogative to edit the paper and agreed to refer the question of student control to the Trustees, who will meet March 19. By circulating the petition now, Harris feels, the students may be able to force Case's hand before the March 19 Trustees' meeting, by which time student opinion may have subsided.

But student opinion does not appear to be entirely behind the petition. The Student Congress seems to be sharply split over the issue.