Privacy Committee to Seek Faculty Vote on Files Law

The Standing Committee on Privacy, Accessibility and Security of Records recommended Thursday that the Faculty petition Congress to halt implementation of a law that gives students the right to see their school files.

Larry D. Benson, professor of English and a member of the committee, said yesterday that the committee will recommend that the Faculty ask Congress to allow time for more study and more Congressional hearings on the new law.

"The University needs more time to see the effect of this law," he said today. "That's why we must delay its implementation."

Benson said he does not know if Harvard will refuse to comply with the law if it is implemented. He said the University needs more time to examine the effects of non-compliance.

Schools in defiance of the law lose their eligibility to receive funds from the Federal Education Program.

Amendment

Sen. James L. Buckley (Con.-N.Y.) has proposed an amendment that would exempt from the law all files considered confidential before September 1974. The Buckley amendment would also allow students to waive the right of access to their files.

The Senate has not yet scheduled floor debate time for the Buckley amendment but one of Buckley's aides, John Kwapisz, said this week he thinks the amendment will pass before Christmas. Buckley proposed the original files bill.

No Hearings

Benson said the Senate had passed the entire education bill without having ever had hearings on the privacy of files bill. Daniel Steiner '54 general counsel to the University, said Tuesday he thought "very serious mistakes had been made without the people affected being heard."

Many universities across the country question the law because they felt it will destroy the confidentiality of faculty records and recommendations, Benson said. The universities fear this will ultimately jeopardize graduate school admissions, he added.