Divinity, Ed Students In Paine Hall Incident Given No Punishment

The Divinity School and the Graduate School of Education have decided not to punish their students who were involved in the Paine Hall sit-in.

The three Divinity School students were requested to attend a panel discussion on the issues raised by the Paine Hall incident. The panel is to be set up by Krister Stendahl, dean of the Faculty of Divinity.

Radcliffe students involved in the sit-in were earlier this week given a choice of probation or the responsibility to "organize, publicize, conduct and demonstably participate in one or more open panel discussions." Divinity School students have apparently only been asked to attend one such discussion.

The four students in the Graduate School of Education who were involved merely received a letter from Theodore R. Sizer, dean of the Faculty of Education, saying that he is "concerned about the inappropriateness" of their "reported actions."

The Divinity School decision was reached at a Faculty meeting last Friday.

The meeting resulted in a resolution stating "that the Faculty expresses its disapproval of the students' action because of its seeming inappropriateness, and that it requests the dean to schedule a meeting between the students involved, other students interested, and Faculty in order to discuss the issues involved in the Paine Hall incident."

The resolution was passed with a "fairly substantial" majority, said John D. Elder, assistant dean of the Divinity School.

The decision in the Ed School was reached by Dean Sizer "after extensive consultation with Faculty and students." His letter, sent yesterday, contained no condemnation of the students in any form.

Sizer's letter said, "Paradoxically, the degree to which a university is strong is directly related to the degree to which it is fragile." He condemned intolerance and self-righteous factions on both sides, and inflexible rules, as hampering progress.

Sizer went on to urge "restraint and fair listening" without eliminating "candor and feeling."

Nonetheless, he said, "The Faculty is clear that any threat to the conduct of free and orderly discussion in the University is inimical to the work of this community."

Neither the Ed School nor the Divinity School has any provision for probation as a punishment.