Panel Drafts Reform Proposals For CRR; Plans Referendum

The ad hoc student committee to reform the Committee on Rights and Responsibilities Tuesday night approved a series of draft proposals to change the CRR's charter and procedures, and is planning an undergraduate referendum on the proposals later this month.

The CRR is a student-Faculty University body that disciplines students involved in political protests. The Faculty established the CRR after the student occupation of University Hall in 1969, but students have boycotted the CRR since 1971.

The proposals recommend 17 changes in the Faculty's description of the CRR's procedures. Under the proposed revisions, the CRR could not deny defendants the right to legal counsel, and could not admit hearsay evidence, as it now can.

The ad hoc committee is also working on proposals to change the composition and appeal procedures of the CRR, but is has yet to agree on any specific changes.

A proposal from a subcommittee considering changes in the CRR's composition will suggest that is include five Faculty members, two senior tutors, two graduate students, and four undergraduates, Bruce W. Ferguson '76, a member of the subcommittee, said last night.

The CRR now is composed of seven Faculty members, one senior tutor, two graduate students, and four undergraduates.

The ad hoc committee is also considering two proposals that would allow students to appeal CRR decisions to either the Commission of Inquiry or the Committee on Houses and Undergraduate Life, but they have not yet made a final decision between them.

Under its current charter, the CRR serves as the appeal board for its own decisions.

Referendum

The ad hoc committee will hold a referendum on its final proposals on April 28 and 29, and will then submit the proposals and the results of the referendum to the Faculty.

Stuart Peskoe '76 said Tuesday nigh that Dean Whitlock told him the Faculty Council would not take nay action on the CRR reform proposals until next fall, but encouraged the committee to hold the student referendum this spring.