MOUNTED POLICE AT UMASS - The Boston Globe (Boston, MA)

A horse is a horse is a horse, of course, except if it's carryinga stern-looking campus security officer on the sylvan campus of theUniversity of Massachusetts at Amherst.

That's right, UMass-Amherst has revived its mounted-patrolprogram, which was disbanded in 1974. Officers on horses donated bythe Springfield Police Department started patrolling the 1,200-acrecampus two weeks ago.

Arthur Hilson, director of public safety at the university,said officers on horses can go where cars can't, and, because ofthe height of being on horseback, can see more of what's going on,'especially when patrolling acres of parked cars.'

Despite initial concern that the horse-mounted patrols wouldbe seen as a quasi-military response to recent student protests oncampus, Hilson said the response by most students has been'overwhelmingly supportive. Students are much more likely to pet ahorse than a campus police car,' he said. 'It's been like bees tohoney.'

WESTFIELD SETS UP TASK FORCE TO FOCUS ON SUICIDE INTERVENTION

On the other side of the Connecticut River, Westfield StateCollege is grappling with the very serious issue of campus suicide.Two students took their lives, and 18 others attempted suicide lastyear.

Acting president Randolph W. Bromery said the college issetting up a special task force, the primary focus of which will beintervention.

Westfield public safety director Paul Ominsky, who will bechairman of the task force, said that the death by suicide of onestudent each semester last year was 'traumatic for the collegecommunity.'

Dr. Ronald Davidoff, a child psychiatrist at Baystate MedicalCenter in Springfield, said some suicides are 'almost inevitable'at college campuses, 'especially if there is alcohol.'

FINN AGAINST PRICE FIXING

Could it be that Chester E. Finn Jr., the former US EducationDepartment aide who enthusiastically joined the dogpile on the20-odd colleges being investigated by the Justice Department forpossible price fixing, is really acting out an old grudge?

Finn has been widely quoted supporting the probe into whetherthese elite institutions -- Harvard, Williams, Amherst, etc. --violate antitrust laws when they exchange information on tuitionand financial-aid packages. Some in higher education circles sayhe's particularly zealous because he was rejected for a position atHarvard several years ago.

'Balderdash,' says Finn, now a professor at Vanderbilt.'Anybody who wants to make this into a personal sour-grapes issueis reaching hard for a diversionary tactic and blind to what isobviously a very large problem.'

Finn says he would speak out 'no matter what group ofhigh-priced, elite institutions were involved.' Besides, he says,someone else put his name up for nomination at Harvard: 'It was nota very energetic quest on my part.'

AT BUNKER HILL, 29 PERCENT OF FRESHMEN TEST AS ILLITERATESCORED IN THE ILLITERATE RANGE ON A NEW ENTRANCE TEST GIVEN ATTHE STATE-RUN CHARLESTOWN SCHOOL. BUNKER HILL PRESIDENT PIEDADROBERTSON, WHO CALLED THE RESULTS 'HORRIFYING,' SAID THOSESTUDENTS WERE SENT TO REMEDIAL COURSES. THE STATE BOARD OFREGENTS WANTS TO INSTITUTE A SIMILAR TEST SYSTEMWIDE. ODDS & ENDS

Harvard University's new treasurer is D. Ronald Daniel, 59, asenior management consultant at McKinsey & Co. in New York. Daniel,chairman emeritus of Wesleyan University's board of trustees, willoversee Harvard's $4.2 billion endowment. . . Simmons CollegE willopen its $10 millIon, 60,000-squaRe-foot sporTs center FridaY withwater-polo, volleyball and dancing. . . . Who says the budgetcrunch has taken all the diversity out of public higher education?Berkshire Community College is offering an all-women workshop infirearms use on Sept. 26, and a six-week wine-tasting course atMiddlesex Community College begins0 Sept. 21. FLINT ;08/28 LDRISC;09/21,22:20 ONCAMP17