10/31/1972, Burlington Free Press
TUITION INCREASE DEBATED AT GODDARD
By Frederick Stetson
PLAINFIELD - About 150 Goddard College students jammed into the hallways
of the college's administration building Monday morning, protesting a $402
tuition increase approved by Goddard trustees last Saturday.
The students sat or stood in the halls for nearly four hours, discussing
the tuition increase and the college's fiscal and educational priorities
with President Gerald S. Witherspoon and other Goddard administrators.
About 80 or more students signed a petition, stating they would not pay
the $402 increase, which brings the cost for a year's tuition contract
at Goddard from $4,600 to $5,002.
Although the discussion was sometimes heated and emotional, it was a generally
rational dialogue, and no incidents occured.
Occasionally disparaging personal remarks were made about Witherspoon, but
these were usually immediately shouted down by other students intent upon
dealing with the college's fiscal difficulties.
Bejamin Collins, Goddard's director of administration, said the tuition increase
is necessary to partially offset an anticipated $600,000 fiscal 1974 budget
deficit.
He said the increase was also needed to maintain the level of Goddard's
present educational programs.
Goddard is forecasting revenues of $4,683,180 in fiscal 1974 and expenditures
of $5,295,733, Collins said. These figures would leave a deficit of
$612,553.
In their discussion with Witherspoon Monday morning, the students asked the
president to commit himself to a six-week moratorium, or postponement, of the tuition
increase while they investigated the college finances and prepared alternative
methods of realizing the needed revenue.
When asked if he would personally support this request before Goddard
trustees, Witherspoon told the students, "I will report your position,
but do not concur with it."
Later, however, Witherspoon did agree to permit a student and a member
of the faculty to review specifically budget figures for the college's
Third World Studies Program.
This action followed a long denunciation of the program's lack of
accountability by Otis McRaie, a member of the Goddard faculty.
Charles Thomson, who was a member of the Third World faculty until he was given
a six-month contract with no presumption of renewal, called the program
a "complete runaway show by Mr. Hicks."
He was referring to the program director, Calvin Hicks, who has been authorized
an unspecified amount of money to explore the possibility of moving the program
to Mississippi.
The students wanted Witherspoon to commit himself to a moratorium on spending
to explore this move, but he would not make such a commitment.
However, at the request of students, Witherspoon did agree to present
financial data on these expenditures.
"I could work up figures that would indicate the likelihood of expenditures
from between now and Jan. 1 and give them to you in 24 hours," Witherspoon
said.
He insisted, though, that these figures "remain flexible" in order "not to violate"
any understandings made with the trustees.
Witherspoon indicated he did not wish to constrain planning for the proposed
move to Mississippi, because he felt this location would be suitable for
Third World Studies, as well as the Goddard campus.
"My judgment is that Goddard can serve two different nonwhite groups,"
he said, adding this would be the "politically sensible thing to do."
Witherspoon said there would be "little or no expenditures"
for the Third World Program "until after Jan. 1".
Some students asked Witherspoon to call a "moratorium" on all programs
that have no accountability, but they emphasized the Third World program
Monday morning.
"If the justice is not there for one part of the community then it is not there
for the rest of the community," one student said.
In the meantime, other students consulted with staff members in an afternoon
meeting, asking them to agree to open the financial books for investigation.
And, in another department, the Goddard faculty called an emergency meeting
Monday night, presumably to discuss some of the issues raised on the campus here
in the past few days.
GODDARD STUDENTS jammed the corridors of the administration building Monday moring to discuss the college's fiscal policies with President Gerald S. Witherspoon, standing left.
