Cox Discusses Minorities, Law

Archibald Cox '34, Williston Professor of Law, last night spoke on the issue of minority admissions programs instituted by many American universities before an overflow audience of 100 in the Straus Common Room.

Cox answered questions on the Bakke case, a law suit in which a white applicant to the University of California Medical School at Davis accused the school of discrimination by rejecting him in favor of a black whom he alleges is less qualified.

The Bakke case is of "enormous importance both to educational institutions and to our whole society," he said. "It is very much to the benefit of students, faculty, and institutes of higher education that opportunities for minorities should be expanded," he added.

Cox fielded questions on a wide variety of legal topics after the address.

He said the present Burger Court is stricter than the former Warren court in dealing with pornography violations. "Pornography offends my taste," but the law is "not easy to enforce," he said.

He added he thinks governments should prosecute only those who distribute pornography locally.

Cox also called former President Gerald R. Ford's pardon of his predecessor, Richard M. Nixon, "a great mistake."

Cox added that Nixon's presidency was not open enough to the public. The "White House became isolated like a Tudor or Stuart court with its Rosencrantzes and Guidensterns," he said.

Cox said he was "ambivalent" toward Carter's pardon of alleged draft evaders. He added that he thinks Carter has done a good job in trimming the number of bureaucratic positions in the White House staff.

Cox listed three reasons why people choose law as a profession. Law "involves dealing with people, requires a great deal of intellectual work, and carries with it the capacity to work for the public community," he said.