A Look Back, Feb. 10

50 Years Ago

■A number of professors at the University of Massachusetts are convinced that doctoral (Ed.D.) degrees have been given out too easily and in too great a number in recent years at the School of Education. Graduate students and faculty are actively debating whether a diploma mill has been operating within the school.

■Members of the First Church of Christ and the Edwards Church yesterday voted down by a narrow margin a proposal to reunite the two congregations. It marked the second time in 25 years that a proposal to reunite has been rejected.

25 Years Ago

■A Hampshire Superior Court judge has sided with the Amherst Board of Health in a lawsuit brought by bar owners who challenged the townwide ban on smoking in public places. The court ruled that the Board of Health’s smoking regulations are “valid and enforceable.”

■It appears the controversy over the prospect of nude entertainment at The Grotto, a night club on West Street, may be over. Steven Bandarra, co-owner of the club that bills itself as a “lesbian, gay, bisexual, and straight-friendly bar” is expected to announce in a press conference today that he is withdrawing his request to host entertainment involving some nudity once a month.

10 Years Ago

■The RadioShack store at the Hampshire Mall in Hadley could be a victim of the electronics retailer’s filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week. The store is on a “Potential Store Close List,” according to the corporate website. The RadioShack on King Street in Northampton is not on that list.

■The Supreme Court on Monday gave its strongest signal yet that advocates seeking the legalization of gay marriage nationwide have won even before April’s arguments. The justices, with only two dissents, turned down a plea to delay same-sex marriages in Alabama by the state’s attorney general.