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Hon. WAYNE MORSE,

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA DEPARTMENT, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, Washington, D.C., March 7, 1966.

Chairman, Senate District Subcommittee of Education and Labor,
U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C.

DEAR SENATOR MORSE: The 14th District Department of the American Federation of Government Employees, an association of AFGE lodges in the District of Columbia area, support the objectives of S. 293 and S. 1612. bills to authorize the establishment of a public community college and a public college of arts and sciences in the District of Columbia.

The 14th District Department endorses the intent of these bills because it feels that before community relations and job opportunities can be improved there must be a better equality of educational opportunities. The best method of helping people help themselves is through education and training.

We also suggest the beneficial effect of a community college will be maximized if professors receive the same salaries paid by the Washington area universities. The payment of comparable salaries by the community college will not only attract the better teacher, but also increases the availability of teachers because it facilitates the movement of teachers between universities. Where community colleges do pay comparable salaries, such as in California, the community colleges are successful for these reasons.

The 14th District Department of the American Federation of Government Employees also strongly recommends that the proposed community college include a department of employee-management relations. Certainly efficient, effective, and economical government requires a greater understanding of employee-management relations than is evident in the present functioning of government, if the Federal Government is to become the model employer. We appreciate the opportunity to express our views to your committee. Sincerely yours,

FRANCIS J. SPEH, President.

CHURCH OF THE COVENANT,
Arlington, Va., March 22, 1966.

Hon. WAYNE MORSE,
Senate Office Building,
Washington, D.O.

DEAR SENATOR: As citizens of northern Virginia, we are affected by the wellbeing of the citizens of the District of Columbia, our neighbors across the Potomac.

We write to urge you to use your influence and vote in the Senate in support of legislation to provide a publicly supported 2-year community (junior) college and a 4-year college of liberal arts and sciences in the District of Columbia.

We respectfully request your support of such legislation for the following

reasons:

(a) The District of Columbia and, indeed, the Nation are deprived of the contribution which could be made by the many able and talented young people in the District of Columbia who, because they are financially limited, cannot obtain a college education in private institutions.

(b) The opportunity should be afforded the youth of the District of Columbia which is provided for the citizens of the several States, where publicly supported institutions of higher learning are available at reduced cost to residents of the particular State; especially in view of the fact that the District of Columbia has more residents than seven of the States in which such publicly supported facilities are provided.

(c) Publicly supported higher education in the District of Columbia should not be limited to the education of teachers, as is currently the case, in the District of Columbia Teachers College.

(d) In Christian and humanitarian concern, we deplore the denial of educational opportunity and possibly, therefore, also of personal and vocational fulfillment, to youth who could have such opportunity through publicly supported higher education.

(e) In self-interest, we are aware that educational opportunity for the citizens of the District of Columbia will, by the benefits it brings to the District, indirectly benefits also the suburban areas which surround it.

For these reasons, the Session of the Church of the Covenant, United Presbyterian, U.S.A., the elected representatives of the 340 members of this congregation, meeting on March 20, 1966, urge you to support the legislation referred to above.

Sincerely yours,

H. BARRY KEEN, Moderator.
JOSEPH A. Sizoo, Clerk of Session.

EASTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH,
Hyattsville, Md., March 23, 1966.

Senator WAYNE MORSE,

Chairman, Senate District Subcommittee on Education and Labor, Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C.

DEAR SENATOR MORSE: As a neighbor of Washington, D.C., I express my strong enthusiasm for a 4-year liberal arts college and a 2-year community college in the District. I believe that this would be a great blessing to the young people of Washington in particular and to everyone in the District and the Greater Washington area in general. I sincerely hope that you will be successful in passing the necessary legislation to establish these two colleges.

May the Lord bless you as you carry out your very important work.
Sincerely yours,

JAMES L. EWALT, Minister.

Senator WAYNE MORSE,
U.S. Senate,

Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON HIGHLANDS CIVIC ASSOCIATION,
Washington, D.C., March 26, 1966.

DEAR MR. MORSE: We hope you will consider Southeast Washington as a site for a college.

It would eliminate much of the competition that the other college may be concerned about.

More of the skilled working people could benefit from our fast growing Congress Heights-Washington Highland area if the college site was near the Bolling Field base.

The disadvantage of placing the college elsewhere is that the low-income people of the largest area of Washington in Southeast will not attend.

With kindest regards,

Truly yours,

PAULINE E. HILL,

Acting President.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

March 24, 1966.

Re Community College.
Senator WAYNE MORSE,

Washington, D.C.

DEAR SIR: About 35 years ago I wrote to District Commissioner Luther H. Reichelderfer that the graduates of the high schools here should have scholarships provided for them since they did not have a college to attend like in the States. He referred the letter to Mr. Ballou, who was Superintendent of Schools. Mr. Ballou wrote me that the high school students here were quite well provided for, since many colleges throughout the country offered scholarships.

Many States-21 States on January 1, 1965-had less bank deposits than the District of Columbia, yet each one of these same States has from one large State University to several State colleges. Some of these States provided a State university for their students when two-thirds of the inhabitants of the State were living in log houses, and drawing water from their wells or fetching the water from their spring.

It seems to me that it would be a good idea to find out why the civic authorities here the District Commissioners, the Board of Education, and the board of trade allowed the two Teachers Colleges to fizzle out. Over their many decades they should have grown into a very capable, as well as highly creditable, institu

tion of collegiate rank and would have, had they been in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, or Portland.

You stated each State has an individual need for some special study. One here in Washington is library science and training, since there are so many large libraries here in Washington.

And, too, in establishing the new liberal arts college, ample funds should be provided to give the new college a large library at the beginning.

As to the site, on general principles, it should be remembered at all times that the Founding Fathers established Washington as the seat of the Federal Government, and not as the site of the Federal poorhouse. The future needs of the Government must be foremost in all planning. A new Archives Building is sorely needed. A city college-a national graduate institution-is sorely needed. A new Agricultural Department Building, a new Patent Office, a new Government Printing Office.

Digressing a bit. In regard to the national graduate institution, all of the facilities for graduate studies now on the campuses at Harvard, at Massachusetts Tech, at Yale, at Columbia, at Cornell, at Princeton, at Chicago, at Michigan, at Berkeley, and at Rice-all combined-do not equal the facilities for graduate study that are now virtually idle here around the Mall in the Nation's Capital. It seems to me a national graduate institution should be made a branch of the Smithsonian Institution. This would give it worldwide prestige the very first year. However, this is not what you are discussing at present.

I think the boys and girls graduating from high school here in Washington need better parents.

Yours truly,

Senator WAYNE MORSE,

ZACK SPRATT.

COLLEGE HEIGHTS ESTATE, Hyattsville, Md., March 19, 1966.

Chairman, Senate Subcommittee on Education and Labor,
Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C.

DEAR SENATOR MORSE: I wish to register approval for your bill to provide a 4-year college and a 2-year community college for the District of Columbia. Surely, residents of the District should have these educational opportunities without the high cost of private colleges, as do the residents of the States. Sincerely,

PEARLE DREW CUSTIS,
Mrs. W. Keith Custis.

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 24, 1966.

Subject: S. 293, District of Columbia colleges.

Hon. WAYNE MORSE,

U.S. Senator,

Old Senate Office Building,
Washington, D.C.

DEAR SENATOR MORSE: It is my understanding that you have invited suggestions as to the method of choosing the new Board of Higher Education which will take jurisdiction over the creation and operation of the new District of Columbia Public Community College and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. This is a subject which has received a great deal of attention and study from concerned citizens over the last 2 years.

In a nutshell, the consensus now seems to me to be, that the Board should be composed of nine members (five residents of the District of Columbia) appointed for 3-year staggered terms so that the terms of three members expire each year; the Board to be chosen as follows: three members appointed by the President of the United States; three by the Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia; and three members appointed by the alumni of the new College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and its predecessor and predecessors (i.e., the District of Columbia Teachers College, Wilson Teachers College, and Miner Teachers College at the outset).

The importance of alumni representation and participation has been stressed by many local citizens who have served on the boards of well-known colleges and universities. We have distinguished graduates of the teachers college to choose from at the outset, and we can expect many more as the years go by and

as the new college attracts young people who become leaders in the community. Remember that we now select Board of Education members under a 1913 statute. One virtue of this division of appointing power is that it will cause, at least once a year, an examination of possible candidates whose names are suggested from three separate sources. In practical effect it will mean a meeting at least once a year of White House, District, and alumni leadership to discuss the colleges and the performance of the various members of the Board of Higher Education. White House participation should offer the best assurance possible that high-caliber candidates are discussed. The participation of the District government should also be productive of likely candidates. Yet if the District government selected the entire Board the selection process might become dependent upon local popularity or other factors not related to ability and performance.

So far as the District judges are concerned, experience has shown that they are out of the mainstream of local affairs and do not have the resources for pressing the right people into service.

We believe that many distinguished local citizens would be willing to accept posts on the Board of Higher Education and perform with dedication under the suggested method of selection. In the estimation of the knowledgeable people with whom I have discussed this matter, it is not clear that either the District judges or the Commissioners can attract the right people. White House involvement would add prestige to the job.

Certainly the first years of the new Board will be difficult, as the Board seeks to revitalize the District of Columbia Teachers College into a school of education. The nominees to the Board must be persons of the highest capabilities and dedication-persons such as the presidents of large foundations and engineering and research corporations in this area.

Among others, I have discussed this matter with Mrs. Gilbert A. Harrison, chairman of the District of Columbia Citizens for Better Public Education's Committee on Selection of Board of Education Members, and with Dr. Arthur A. Hauck, president-emeritus of the University of Maine.

Sincerely yours,

ROBERT M. WESTON.

THE METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON BOARD OF TRADE,
Washington, D.C., March 29, 1966.

Hon. WAYNE MORSE,

Committee for the District of Columbia,
U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C.

DEAR SENATOR MORSE: The Metropolitan Washington Board of Trade has formulated some policy respecting public higher education in the District of Columbia on the basis of our education committee's recommendations.

We have concluded that there is a definite need for a publicly supported "community" or "junior" college. This 2-year college should embody both liberal arts and technical-vocational character with emphasis placed upon skills training. The "Skill Survey of the Washington Metropolitan Area 1962-67," issued by the Department of Labor, has demonstrated that there is currently an unbalanced relationship between the skills required and the skills available in virtually every area of employment in Metropolitan Washington. Projections for the period between 1964 and 1970 reveal a further distension of the present ratio with the District and its envirous becoming an even greater importer of trained personnel from other geographic areas of the Nation. Obviously measures should be taken to reverse this trend and qualify Washington area residents to fill available local jobs.

We endorse the proposal for a new Board of Higher Education separate from the present Board of Education to control and establish policies for this community college.

We believe that there should be an "extremely modest" tuition charge to students to this community college. We do not think that the institution should be entirely free to students attending it. We believe that nonresidents of the District should be permitted to attend this community college but that they should be charged for tuition in an amount which is directly geared to the cost of providing the education.

The Board of Trade believes that those successfully completing the liberal arts program in this community college should be encouraged to continue their college education at local universities and that financial assistance should be provided in some form of "D.C.G.I. law."

Very truly yours,

WILLIAM H. PRESS.

Senator WAYNE MORSE,

ARCHITECTURAL BARRIERS PROJECT,
Washington, D.C., March 14, 1966.

Chairman, Subcommittee on Education, District of Columbia Committee, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C.

DEAR SENATOR MORSE: If you and your committee approve a public junior college and a 4-year liberal arts college for the District of Columbia, we hope you will at the same time consider the needs of students and teachers who are confined to wheelchairs.

For persons with physical limitations it is especially important that they develop their abilities in other areas to the utmost. For a quadriplegic, employment, or lifetime financial dependence on others, is often determined by whether he has a college degree. At present there is no accessible liberal arts college in the Metropolitan Washington area that a young man in a wheelchair may attend unassisted. (The only accessible junior college in the area is the recently opened one in Rockville.) This results in an economic loss for the District.

Most quadriplegics, paraplegics, or their families cannot afford the cost of an attendant to push a would-be student up and down the stairs in local universities, nor can they afford room, board, and transportation to accessible out-of-town universities, even though tuition be paid by vocational rehabilitation. If paid, this tuition is a cost to the District. The income of persons without a college degree is substantially less than that of a college graduate, so the District gets less in taxes than it otherwise might from the paraplegics who are denied a college education due to architectural barriers-it has to support most quadriplegics.

Factual data on the numbers of paraplegics and of spina bifida births is available in England. Extrapolating from that, there are about 4,200 persons with paraplegic or quadriplegia in the Metropolitan Washington area and about 140 born with spina bifida annually. Due to automobile, diving and battlefield injuries the number of paraplegics and quadriplegics is increasing rapidly, the majority being youths in their teens or early twenties. Their best hope for a good future is a college education and degree, especially for those who have a family to support.

We hope that if colleges are to be built in Washington you will include a stipulation that they be accessible to and usable by persons in wheel chairs.

Sincerely yours,

JANET W. FAY,
Mrs. Allan B. Fay,

Chairman.

Senator WAYNE MORSE,

U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 13, 1966.

DEAR SENATOR MORSE: The District of Columbia Association of School Librarians wishes to assure you of its enthusiastic support of your efforts to establish both a 2-year community college and a college of arts and sciences in the District of Columbia.

We have long regretted the denial of public higher education to the able students we have known in the city's schools. We urge that our students have the same opportunities as young people living in the 50 States.

Yours truly,

CAROLINE L. SHUGARS, President, D.C. Association of School Librarians.

60-755-66- -23

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