Speeches Dominate Nuke Awareness Education Week

The third annual "Week of Education," a nuclear arms awareness drive, ends today after a week of activities at Harvard and other schools across the country.

Sponsored by six national anti-nuke groups, the last seven days featured numerous speeches, films, and "teach-ins" at colleges, high schools, and elementary schools.

But at Harvard, the week was relatively quiet. The only activities here were a speech last Sunday by former Massachusetts congressman Father Robert Drinan and Wednesday's "Star Wars" debate between Edward Teller and Nobel laureate Hans Bethe.

"Involvement at Harvard was not as intense as it has been in previous years," said Kathleen Gilroy, who coordinated the nationwide program for the Cambridge-based Union of Concerned Students (UCS). "We had difficulty finding a Harvard representative to coordinate activities," she added.

In contrast, Boston College held five events during the week. MIT had three, highlighted by a panel discussion with former members of the Manhattan Project.

"We have seen a lot of growth in participation," Gilroy said yesterday. "In 1981, approximately 150 college campuses took part in our effort. In 1982, 450 campuses participated. Today we have over 700 campuses holding events."

Elementary and high schools also were enlisted for the week. For example, fourth through sixth graders in Paradise. California, wrote to Soviet schoolchildren, seeking information about life in Russia. One student asked if Russian kids have anything like Johnny Appleseed holiday, which Paradise schools celebrate each fall.

Gilroy yesterday said UCS plans to continue to use the week-long format. In the past three years, the organization had focused its events in one day.

Gilory added that it is program like this that have aroused widespread opposition to nuclear arms.