Council Supports NSA, Rejects NDEA Findings

A surprisingly harmonious Student Council last night voted, with only one dissent, to urge the student body to rejoin the National Student Association. The recommendation will be submitted to a College-wide referendum, which will determine the fate of this much discussed issue.

Debate on the 16-page report of the NSA committee was restrained and brief, and somewhat anticlimatic after the two-hour diatribe on NDEA. Most Council members seemed to feel that the issue should be dispatched with as much speed as possible.

Council Debates Referendum

David M. Balabanian '60, summed up this attitude when he chided the Council for "imposing on the community this dead horse issue of NSA." He said that the issue had been "created from what was essentially a personal feud and then blown out of proportion."

Debate thus centered more on the question of a referendum, than on NSA itself. Abraham F. Lowenthal '61 argued that there was no need for a referendum "on a question which the students find quite dull," while Edward A. Segal '60 asserted that the Council, being more aware of NSA's activities, should act as a representative body and make its own decision.

College-Wide Vote Urged

Supporters of a referendum claimed that last year's action had set a precedent and that "we owe the students a referendum." Eugene H. Zagat '61 also stressed the need for arousing student interest by means of a College-wide vote.

The decision to come out for rejoining NSA was based on "the intangible benefits and institutional imperatives" of the situation. Lawrence B. Ekpebu '60 stressed the fact that "both in the founding and growth of the organization, Harvard has played a unique role." He emphasized the College's important position in the country and added "we cannot afford not to be members of the nation's only student organization."

Others noted the reforms in NSA's procedure during the past year, and stressed the potential value which could result from increased participation by the College.