Overlap Trial Continues in Penn.

AT the MIT antitrust trial in Philadelphia last week, witnesses for the defense testified to the importance of working with other colleges to determine financial aid awards in order to preserve the socioeconomic diversity of student bodies.

The U.S. government rested its case last Tuesday, charging that MIT had violated antitrust regulations at the so-called overlap meeting with the eight schools of the Ivy League by mutually determining financial aid awards to students, thus fixing tuition prices.

The Ivy league schools settled out of court with the justice department and voluntarily ended their annual overlap meetings--which were used to determine aid awards to commonly accepted students--in May 1991.

According to Harvard President Neil L. Rudenstine, the justice department allowed MIT to litigate only the issue of financial aid, but would have forced the Ivy League schools to also defend themselves against charge of tuition and salary fixing.

Paul E. Gray, the former president and current board chair of MIT, testified last Wednesday that if overlap does not continue, universities will begin to awards aid in excess of some students' actual need. Gray said other needy students' aid packages will suffer, according to transcript of the hearing released by MIT.

"They will eventually fund [scholarship in excess of need] by reducing the...aid that they provide to other needy students..."Gray said. "I think that will reduce the socioeconomic diversity of the undergraduate level, there will be fewer youngsters from low income situations. I think in the end the MIT will suffer. the class will be of lower quality."

The end of overlap would also impair the fairness of the financial aid distribution the witnesses said. "If you're going to distribute [financial aid] on a fair and equitable basis...You ought to be doing it much. the same way, because if you don't if you leaveit on a solely bargaining basis with a givenindividual...[then the price of [an individual's]doing better is that another individual who alsohas need may not get any" because of limitedfunds, Robben Fleming, president emeritus of theUniversity of Michigan said.

Witnesses also said that the MIT overlapmeetings do not constitute a violation of theSherman Anti-Trust Act as the U.S. Governmentcontends, because universities are non-profit,charitable institutions.

Financial Aid and Admissions officers from MITand Brown University are expected to testify onbehalf of MIT later this week.

`Key' Witness to Testify

MIT said it would conclude with the testimonyof its "key" witness, Dennis W. Carlton, aneconomic consultant and professor of businesseconomics at the University of Chicago. Carlton isexpected to testify that MIT and other overlapschools did not financially benefit from theoverlap meetings.

Carlton is also expected to testify on thedifferences between non-profit organizations suchas MIT and profit-maximizing corporations.

Closing arguments are expected to take placethis Thursday, Kenneth D. Campbell, a spokespersonfor MIT said

Witnesses also said that the MIT overlapmeetings do not constitute a violation of theSherman Anti-Trust Act as the U.S. Governmentcontends, because universities are non-profit,charitable institutions.

Financial Aid and Admissions officers from MITand Brown University are expected to testify onbehalf of MIT later this week.

`Key' Witness to Testify

MIT said it would conclude with the testimonyof its "key" witness, Dennis W. Carlton, aneconomic consultant and professor of businesseconomics at the University of Chicago. Carlton isexpected to testify that MIT and other overlapschools did not financially benefit from theoverlap meetings.

Carlton is also expected to testify on thedifferences between non-profit organizations suchas MIT and profit-maximizing corporations.

Closing arguments are expected to take placethis Thursday, Kenneth D. Campbell, a spokespersonfor MIT said