Students Get Choice Of Lettuce at UMass

Two heads are often better than one, especially when it comes to lettuce.

That's the compromise decision Tuesday by University of Massachusetts chancellor Oswald Tippo to resolve a controversy over the type of lettuce being served in dining halls on the Amherst campus.

Student groups have pressured the university to buy only lettuce picked by the United Farm Workers headed by Cesar Chavez. But university officials said they couldn't because they were committed to making all purchases on bids. Another stumbling block came from a rival student group that said all lettuce should come from Teamsters Union Fields.

So Pippo decided that there would be two bowls of lettuce for students to choose from: one with union-picked lettuce, and one with lettuce bought from the cheapest bid.