Dr. Donald Peters points up several issues of concern about the Bermuda College.

Clearly the College, which has built a reputation for high standards and should be a symbol of racial tolerance and integration, is badly divided. It seems likely that the causes of the divisions are not limited to race which Dr. Peters focused on in his memorandum.

The College is going through a transition from a community and college transfer institution to a "university college'' offering some baccalaureate degrees in specialised areas like tourism and insurance and some advanced degrees as well.

At the same time, it needs to maintain its important role as a college transfer institution, an adult and continuing education centre and a place where students can receive vocational training in trades and services.

This requires some changes in the way the College is administered and funds are raised. College chief financial officer Barbara Green proposed taking some authority away from the vice president of academic and student affairs -- Dr.

Peters' job -- and transferring them to a new vice president for development -- a job which she could assume.

Dr. Peters, perhaps correctly, opposed the proposal. Quite wrongly, he chose to use race as the main cause, and politics as a lesser one, for Ms Green's proposed changes. To make matters worse, he undercut his own president and circulated his memo to black senior faculty and staff members and to College chairman Randy Horton.

Mr. Horton is right to launch an invesitigation into the memorandum. That should go ahead, and unless Dr. Peters can demonstrate that Ms Green's proposal was motivated by race, he should resign. But Mr. Horton needs to investigate further the poisonous atmosphere within the College and determine its causes.

Some attention has been placed on the sources of the leaks about the College.

This is akin to looking down the wrong end of the telescope. The fact the leaks are taking place reflects the high level of unhappiness within the College and the breakdown in internal communications. Finding "the mole'' will do nothing to cure the problems, no matter how irritating the leaks may be.

In the end, the College, its staff and supporters -- of whom there are many -- must decide what is best for the College as an educational institution. That means that Mr. Horton, as chairman, and George Cook as president need to send a clear message to the College's staff that they must make a new commitment to teaching and to their students, and put infighting, race allegations and politics aside.

If they do not, then the hard-earned reputation of the College will be damaged beyond repair.