College Rules Out Telstar Debate Between Harvard, Cambridge Clubs

If it hadn't been for a University rule, the Harvard Debate Council might have appeared on Trans-Atlantic television this spring.

Representatives from both the Columbia Broadcasting System and the British Broadcasting Company were in Cambridge last week to talk to the Harvard debaters about the possibility of a televised confrontation between the Council and the Cambridge University Debating Club via telestar satellite. The proposed topic was "The Decline of Western Civilization."

Paul J. Mundie Jr. '66, president of the Harvard Debate Council, said yesterday that his group responded enthusiastically to the idea. But when their faculty advisor, Harry P. Kerr, associate professor of public speaking, talked about the plan with Dean Monro, he learned that there is a strict Harvard policy against extracurricullar organizations participating in activities during exam period.

Although the idea was dropped for this year, there is still some chance of the debate being held next fall, but Mundie said it appears unlikely. Transmission by satellite during its experimental period is free, but next year it will be quite expensive.