Harvard Political Groups State Views on Vietnam Moratorium

Several campus political organizations have issued statements on the October 15 Moratorium. With the exception of SDS, none oppose the protest, although only YPSL and the Young Dems support its methods and aims completely.

Charles E Schumer 71 of the Young Dems said yesterday, "We hope that no Faculty will teach on October 15, and that no students will attend classes-and they shouldn't just sit on their cans either, but get out and canvass."

The Young People's Socialist League (YPSL) in a statement titled "Support the Moratorium." denounced Nixon's attempts to "buy off the anti-war sentiment in America," and asserted that "the moratorium . . . not only affords us a chance to protest United States policy in Vietnam, but also the chance to examine . . . United States foreign policy in general."

Addressing its statement to "moderates on the Harvard campus." the Harvard Young Republican Club expressed support of the Moratorium "insofar as it expresses discontent with the war," while opposing the official closing of the University on the grounds that "the right to protest implies a right not to protest."

The Young Americans for Freedom (VAF) opposed "Harvard's becoming a political lever and surrendering its intellectual independence by taking official political stands. While supporting the

right to boycott classes, it added that "if a professor cancels his class, the time should be made up." Laslo Pasztur 73. president of YAF, said privately that he would attend classes. "I'm for an end to the war," he commented, "but with honor and victory."

Harvard SDS-whose philosophy is based on that of the Worker-Student Alliance-strongly opposed the Moratorium "for creating illusions about whom we ally, whit" by seeking Faculty and Administrative support. "When you issue statements that appeal to the lowest common denominator you don't advice the struggle," Jay Sergeant, a regional SDS member, explained. "Groups like the have killed the anti-war movement in the past; they see these demonstrations in them sleeves as solutions, and think it's enough to act only once every six months."

The November Action Committee (NAC), a loose coalition of radicals grown out of last year's New Left, will probably abide by the Moratorium, one spokesman said, "but organizationally will ignore it." "This is no way to end the war," he added. "You can get the whole Senate behind it and nothing will happen. You can even get Nixon reading a statement condemning this and all wars and it won't make any difference. This war is about real things going on, we need to positively support the NLF."