College Campuses Relatively Quiet As International Protest Increases

Most college campuses were relatively quiet this weekend as the focus of student anti-war protest shifted to the mass demonstration in Washington.

However, there were some violent exceptions among the 437 colleges affected by the nation-wide student strike, and anti-war protest increased abroad.

At the University of New Mexico, the National Guard broke up a crowd of 200 demonstrators, bayoneting 11 and arresting 140. A clash between students and state police at the University of Virginia produced over 100 arrests.

Arsonists set fires at the Brooklyn campus of the University of Long Island and at Colorado State University, while crowds of demonstrators started fires at the University of Iowa and the University of Illinois. National Guardsmen and state police gassed the crowds at Iowa and Illinois.

International Protest

There was wide-spread international opposition to American policy as well.

More people assembled in Paris than in Washington to demonstrate against American involvement in Southeast Asia. The Associated Press estimated the crowd at over 200,000.

In West Berlin. demonstrators fire-bombed a German firm called General Leasing, apparently thinking it was American because of its English name. Two hundred and sixty-one policemen were injured in anti-war rioting on Saturday.

In London, several thousand people marched on the United States Embassy. They smashed a few car windows, clashed briefly with the police, and went home singing "We'll Meet Again." According to the New York Times, the trouble "was clearly caused by a few militants. Most remained peaceful."

Saigon schools closed indefinitely last Wednesday. The Los Angeles Times reported although even peaceful demonstrations have been banned, students continue to protest the Thieu regime's "new austerity measures, 30 years of war, and seemingly uncontrollable corruption."

The national student strike affected two important athletic events over the weekend. Both Army and Navy withdrew from the Heptagonal Track Championships because authorities at West Point and Annapolis agreed that a protest statement prepared by the eight other colleges for delivery during the meet would make their participation "inappropriate."

Eight crews decided not to participate at the Eastern Sprints in Worcester on Saturday. The Brown crew competed in the races, but its oarsmen wore peace symbols on their shirts.

According to the Boston JournalAmerican, the strike is spreading through the high schools like "prairie fire." The Old Mole reported that locally at least nine high schools are on strike.

In an attempt to involve students in the "system," students from 15 colleges, including Yale. Princeton, Dartmouth, and Columbia, have formed a group called "Movement for a New Congress." The group's efforts will focus on participation in the electoral process.

At Antioch and M.I.T., anti-war protest took on new forms. Antioch students have offered sanctuary to National Guardsmen who do not want to obey orders. M.I.T. students used brooms to clean up Central Square in hopes of earning support for the anti-war campaign through good will.