Non-Harvard Group Denounces Lectures In Soc Rel 153 Class

A group of non-Harvard students denounced the lecture system in a Social Relations 153 lecture yesterday.

A student--identified by course instructor Alex Inkeles, professor of Sociology, as "King" Collins--attended the lecture with about five other people. Collins claimed the lecture system "enables professors to talk to us like sheep." He said that professors should carry on a dialogue with students.

"It is a pretty large course, but I'm sure I've never seen any of these people in Class before," Inkeles said. "Apparently Collins told some of the students in the class that he is from Columbia."

Mixed

There was a mixed reaction to Collins' interruption and the consequent discussion on Thursday. Some students voiced concern over outsiders' intrusion, while others said they were very interested in his view of the lecture and the University.

A Radcliffe student said one girl who seemed to be with Collins' group told her they were all from Columbia. The student added, "Collins kept talking about a dialogue, but it was pretty one-sided. I thought the discussion was getting pretty hostile."

Collins also attended the Tuesday meeting of Soc Rel 153, when Inkeles lectured about juvenile delinquency. He asked Inkeles if he thought juvenile delinquency was bad.

He then made a long statement saying that juvenile delinquency is good because it "radicalizes people." Collins was interrupted on Tuesday by hissing and arguments.

Issues

Inkeles turned yesterday's lecture into a discussion period, and opened it by saying that Collins had raised some important issues that should be discussed.

"I talked to Collins briefly after Tuesday's class," Inkeles said last night. "He identified himself to me as a graduate student in Social Psychology, but he did not say at what school." Inkeles added, "I have no idea what will happen on Tuesday.