Wallach Will See State Educational Chief on Feeney

Richard W. Wallach '49 1L will talk with State Education Commissioner John J. Desmond, Jr. '09 today, following up his public promise to investigate Father Feeney's right to GI Bill funds.

Wallach contacted the Board of Collegiate Authority of the State Department of Education yesterday and spoke with Daniel Shay, the investigating agent of the board. Shay gave four criteria that an educational institution must meet for certification.

Academic Fitness

Wallach contends that Father Feeney's St. Benedict's Center fails to meet one of these criteria, the academic fitness of the teaching staff. He termed Father Feeney last night "a local religious version of George Sylvester Viereck and Father Coughlin before he saw his errors."

Wallach's other ground for challenging Father Feeney's right to receive GI Bill money is the "avocational" bar of the federal statute. "Tap dancing and ventriloquism have been ruled improper courses of study," he said. "I would argue that anyone who wants to make an avocation of hate should be obliged to pay for it himself."

Several other student organizations, both religious and political, showed interest in joining his campaign yesterday, Wallach asserted. But the groups don't want to be named yet, he added.