HUD 3600, £099 ROUVC Agaim? “As Harvard goes so goes the Ar Decne Pall, Harvard ROTC “Administrator In the 1ate "60's, as the Vietnan War revealed the militarism underlying Ameri- can society, a large and effective anti- ROTC movement sprang up across the country. Today, following the demobilization of the student movement, a national effort to reinstate ROTC appears to be underway. ‘This move has been taking place either behind students* backs or in direct defi- ance of student opinion, On the east coast, Princeton and U. Mass, have already returned ROTC and Brown is in the process of negotiating with the military, This summer — while students were avay — Bos- ton University reinstated ROTC without public debate, polling the faculty clan- destinely by mail, CIBOK’S SPEECH On June 13, speaking at the aluant reunion, Harvard President Bok stated: I do not believe ... our conscience can be fully clear unless we man- ifest a willingness to entertain a ROTC program on terms conpatible with our usual institutional standards. Way is Bok pushing a return of ROTC? ‘The reasons he cites are ‘ethical’, argu- ing for "the freedom of a minority of students" against "the moral indignation of the majority", (Bok does not attempt to deny that the overwhelming majority of students opposed ROTC in '69.) He further charges that the Faculty acted "expediently in the face of pressure", Let's examine the facts. TIROTC: 1969 On Feb, 4, 1969, in the wake of an educational campaign by radical students and in line with the recommendations of a uultitude of Harvard conmittees, the Faculty voted 207-125 to deny ROTC course credit, to deny ROTC personnel Faculty status, and to deny ROTC the free use of Harvard facil- ities, The military had already made it clear that they would be unwilling to stay under those conditions. In late February the Harvard Corpor- ation announced its intention to remove ROTC's academic credit, but overruled the Faculty's other decisions. On March 25, President Pusey announced that the Corp- oration had decided "to do everything possible to keep ROTC". (Crimson '3/26/69) Other information soon made it apparent that Harvard was negotiating directly with ‘the Pentagon to bypass the Faculty vote. (over)On April 9, over 300 students occupied University Hall demanding the abolition of ROTC and an end of Harvard's expansion Anto the community, At dawn the following day Harvard called in the police, 200 were arrested and scores injured. Later that week over 3000 students voted to strike. On April 17, by a vote of 385-25, the Faculty reaffirmed its intention that ROTC de reduced to the status of “other ordinary extracurricular activities with no special privilege or facilities granted either by contract or informal agreement", This tine the Corporation complied and the military terminated its programs, Contrary to the denand of radicals, neither resolu- tion even mentioned Vietnam, Debate was always couched in terms of the incompat- Ability of a military science program with the "institutional standards" of a liberal arts university, what they say, they are as valid today as when they were written. EIGOVERNMENT PRESSURE If anyone 4s acting “expediently" it 1s Derek Bok, In the spring of '72 it was revealed that House Armed Services Connit- tee head Edward Hebert was operating an informal blacklist designed to reduce If the resolutions nean Defense Dept. funding to schools which had cut ROTC, Hebert labelled Harvard "the number one target". (Facts on File, 2/22/72) It 4s worth noting that DoD funding for Harvard's Dept. of Engineering & Applied Physics has dropped $3 million since '69, ‘There has no doubt been further pressure from meubers of the Corporation, Faculty and alunni with close ties to the gov- ernment and the military, If Harvard 1s bending to nilitary and governnent pressure, it can only be viewed as a gross act of cowardice, coning at a time when the Indochina debacle and the Watergate revelations have significantly Weakened the Right, We hope the Faculty will not be so easily blackmailed. NAM opposes the return of ROTC under any conditions, The war in Indochina may have wound down, but the role of the mil- itary has not, There are already US ad- visers in the Philippines, The US Navy is off the coast of Chile. The oppressive role of the military will continue as long as there are US corporate interests to protect. A strong student movenent helped remove ROTC from this campus. continue to unite to oppose all forms of university complicity with the Pentagon, We must GUPPDRT The Rertnetousi, DApOSE ROTC, Because ROTC is an issue that most directly affects students, the New American Movenent is demanding that a referendun be held to determine undergraduate opinion on this question, We further urge that the Faculty not undertake any consideration of this issue until such a referendum can be carried out. Please sign the referendun petitio be circulating, information or vant to help, call Don at 354-1962. If you want more -H New American Movement