The First Hurdle Is Passed...

Though Harvard may not open its heart to women in the college community, the Faculty last week gave its support to the idea of opening its gates and admission processes to more women, adopting the equal access recommendations in the Strauch Report.

With only three of its members casting thumbs-down votes, the Faculty voted Tuesday to adopt the major recommendations of the Strauch Committee in a move that will institute equal access adminissions for the Class of 1980 pending the approval of the Radcliffe Trustees and the Governing Boards.

One of the dissenters to approval of the report, Henry C. Mansfield Jr. '53, professor of Government, said yesterday he was "disappointed with the final vote" adopting the report.

"Equal access is in fact preferred access for women" and will create "manly women" concentrating in the sciences and athletics, he said.

A week before the Faculty meeting, 14 Faculty members doubting that equal access would be implemented adequately, sent a letter to female and male professors calling for an amendment to the report that would guarantee an eventual equality in the number of men and women undergraduates.

The recommendations adopted by the Faculty were not the entire Strauch report, but only a three-part motion setting up equal access admissions for the applicants applying to the Class of 1980; a joint Harvard-Radcliffe Standing Committee on Admissions and Scholarships; and annual and three-year reviews of equal access as specified in the Strauch Report.

President Horner said yesterday she could not predict whether the Radcliffe trustees would decide to adopt the Strauch recommendations. She said the trustees will meet at the end of April for discussion.

The Strauch Report is expected to have no trouble getting the Governing Board's approval.