B-School Tries to Help War-Worried Students

The Business School administration has encouraged students worried about the Persian Gulf War to take time off from usual activities." but officials at both the College and the Law School say they are not currently planning to make similar offers to their students.

In a letter addressed to the Business School community yesterday, Dean John H. McArthur underscored the difficulty of "keep[ing] going almost as though nothing has happened" in the face of war and encouraged members of the Business School community to "set [their] own priorities" with regards to taking time off.

In his letter, McArthur cited the need for students to "accept and cherish" the "wide range of views about what is going on or should be going on" in the Middle East.

Superhuman Effort

"I truly hope that every one of us can make a superhuman effort to be particularly sensitive, caring and understanding of the needs and concerns of all others in this community," McArthur wrote.

McArthur could not be reached for comment yesterday.

The College, meanwhile, is planing no similar policy advisories or changes, and Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III said yesterday that final exams will continue as originally scheduled.

"We are already half-way through the exam period," Epps said. "Therefore, such a policy would create problems of equity."

Sarah wald, dean of students at the Law School, said she is unaware of any new plans directed at law students concerned about the Middle East situation. However, she said that in the wake of McArthur's letter, "it will be discussed."

"The Law School will try to be supportive for whomever [the gulf crisis] may be a problem," she said.

Epps said the College would try to provide alternate ways of responding to the crisis, one of which will be to provide opportunities for"...students in the houses and the Yard to meet with tutors and faculty" to discuss issues relating to war.

Most houses have already taken steps to deal with the issue, Epps said.

The Bureau of Study Counsel is also offering special sessions for students to come together and discuss the crisis in a group environment. According to the Bureau's associate director, Suzanne Repetto, these meetings are "mostly from the heart, rather than a political thing."