A Winding Path

The tortuous path leading to the possible creation of a foundation to improve race relations at Harvard took another turn early this week, with President Bok publicly supporting the proposal for the first time.

But while both the undergraduate Third World Center Organization and Bok agreed in principle to the long term goal of the Gomes Committee recommendation--better race relations--disagreements over the short-term criteria of success remain.

The student representatives of the organization maintain that the foundation must address the particular needs of the University's minorities. Bok, by contrast, said that if he thinks the foundation becomes open "de facto to only certain racial groups," he would not hesitate to withdraw University financial backing.

The sticking point is whether Bok and the organization can find through the foundation a way to reconcile the two goals to the satisfaction of both parties.

According to one source at Monday's hour-and-a-half meeting, Bok warned organization representatives he would not change his views about the objectives of the foundation, which he will likely make explicit in his upcoming open letter.