'Riot' Course Instructor 'Erred', Doebele Charges

The text of the statement acting dean Doebele issued yesterday is on page 6.

The acting dean of the Design School has circulated a memorandum which states that the instructor of the "riot control" course "erred" in circulating a course syllabus which had not been approved by the Design School, it was learned yesterday.

The memorandum reports that the dean, William A. Doebele Jr., believes the instructor, Siegfried M. Breuning, committed an unintentional mistake by releasing a syllabus containing material which, if taken out of context, might be considered inflammatory.

Breuning, visiting lecturer in Transportation had issued a syllabus describing his course, Planning 11-3b: "An End to Urban Violence," as aiming at the creation of a program to eliminate urban riots. Breuning called off Planning 11-3b when 100 black students arrived at the course's first meeting Feb. 7, saying they could not allow the course to be given at Harvard.

The instructor called a meeting of all interested students for the afternoon of Feb. 7. At that time he announced that he would give a seminar on how to develop an urban studies program at Harvard.

The memorandum which Doebele circulated recently, however, stated that the original course had not been dropped but only modified. In a statement issued yesterday, Doebele said only that the course "will concern itself with wider issues."

In the memorandum Doebele also stated that, although the blacks' disruption of the class was inexcusable, blacks and other demonstrators behaved rationally during the actual confrontation. He reiterated this view in another statement yesterday.