UNWARRANTED JUXTAPOSITION

To the Editors of The Crimson:

I note that in your News Analysis of Monday April 14, you quote me as having said vis-a-vis the petition on re-hiring of radical professors: "It seems to me that if 1400 students signed that petition and got no response from the University, the Commission should take it over." I fear you have, and not for the first time, juxtaposed two statements of mine in such a way as to convey a false impression. I do indeed feel that if 1400 students sign a petition, then the appropriate University office should entertain it and respond to it, and if that office will not do so, or if the appropriate office cannot be determined, the Commission should accept the petition. It does not, however, follow automatically that the Commission will "take over" the case in the sense of holding hearings, issuing opinions and so forth. I believe my position on this is no different from that of Professor Carrier, although you chose in your Analysis to contrast the two. William Paul   Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Physics