Yale Faculty Votes to Screen Speakers for Student Groups

The Yale faculty approved last Thursday a faculty subcommittee proposal giving the university the right to approve speakers for undergraduate organizations. The legislation passed over the objections of Yale President Kingman Brewster.

The sub-committee, headed by historian C. Vann Woodward, cited potential violence and property damage as the reasons for their recommendations.

Formed After Disruption

The sub-committee was formed following a disruption at an appearance by Stanford physicist William Shockley in October 1973.

Brewster disagreed with these recommendations, stating in an addendum to the report that "It would be paternalistic at best and imply an effort at prior censorship at worst to try to talk a group out of making an invitation." He also said there would be difficulties in knowing in advance of a group's intention to invite someone.

Brewster said that he will recommend to the Yale Corporation that any group or individual guilty of "willful and persistent disruption of expression" be subject to the "sanction of suspension for not less than a year." The faculty did not vote on this issue.

An editor of The Yale Daily News said yesterday that the faculty did discuss a similar issue and rejected this procedure at their last meeting.

The faculty has yet to vote on whether disciplinary procedures for alleged disrupters will be handled by the Executive Committee (similar to Harvard's Administrative Board), which has handled such matters in the past, or by the University-Wide Tribunal, which was created after the May Day demonstrations of 1971.

New Disciplinary Procedures

If the tribunal procedure is adopted at next month's faculty meeting, this would result in effect in the creation of a new disciplinary body since the Tribunal has been infrequently activated since its formation.

Twelve students who were suspended after the demonstrations at the October 1973 appearance by Shockley were reinstated this fall.

Loyalty Oath

All 12 wrote letters last spring to the Executive Committee, asking to be reassociated with the University. Editors of The Yale Daily News called this a "loyalty oath"yesterday.

The Executive Committee's decision was made during the summer, after the end of the spring term.