Third World Center Group Calls for Concrete Action

Undergraduates trying to set up a campus Third World center last night called on a Faculty committee to complete its preliminary review and start taking concrete steps toward establishing the center.

The Faculty committee on the Third World Center, formed by President Bok last spring in the wake of student proposals for the center, met six times over the summer but concentrated on "underlying philosophical issues rather than development of the center itself," Lydia A. Jackson '82, president of the Black Students Association and summer student representative to the committee, said last night.

"The question the committee is asking is, 'How can we improve what's already here?' The fact is, what's here has been here forever. We need a means of addressing what's here--a Third World center," Jackson said, adding that the committee "seems to be wallowing in mud."

The Third World Center Organization, a student coalition, convened last night to discuss possible tactics "if the committee tries to railroad through nonsense," LeRoy Collins '81, a student representative to the committee, said.

The Rev. Peter J. Gomes, Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and chairman of the committee, has prepared a progress report which the committee--composed of four other Faculty members and three student representatives--will discuss at its first fall meeting tomorrow.

Over the summer, the committee interviewed several University administrators, including L. Fred Jewett '57, dean of admissions and financial aid, and Henry C. Moses, dean of freshmen. "The summer was supposed to flush out broader issues--the committee must start addressing tangible details," Jackson said.

Gomes was unavailable for comment.

While Jackson and Jane Bock '81, president of the Asian American Students Association and a summer representative to the committee, agreed that the committee took too indirect an approach this summer, Skip Stern '81, a member of the Committee on Houses and Undergraduate Life and the third summer student representative, said yesterday he found the committee's progress "reasonable."

Stern, however, added that he thought there should be more non-Third World students on the committee, saying, "It certainly would not hamper the committee to be larger."

"I think establishment of a Third World center should be the focus of the committee. So far that hasn't been the case," Jackson said.

Kiyo Morimoto, associate director of the Bureau of Study Counsel and a member of the committee, said earlier this week that so far all the committee had done was gather information on the attitudes of University officials concerning the need for a center, adding that he had "no idea when we will get down to speScifics."

Bock said she "was extremely disappointed in the level of knowledge administrators on the committee have on minority student issues."

The committee will make its recommendations to Bok by January 1.

Third World Center Organization spokesmen said last night the group will try to mobilize student support for the center and will stress that the center would benefit "the entire community, not just minority students."