Stanford U. Up in Arms Over Nukes

Students at Stanford University are seething over a proposal advanced earlier this year by the federal government to involve the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (SSRL) in research on the production of nuclear weapons and X-ray lasers.

Last month, the student government Senate passed, by a 14-3 vote, a resolution opposing the research. The vote was unusual, because the Senate bypassed the usual preliminary committee hearings.

This is a "moral statement by the senators about where they stand with regard to the proposal [at SSRL,]," said Jon Adelstein, after the vote.

"The senators realized the dangers of the proposal and being associated with Lawrence Livermore Laboratory and Los Alamos [two weapons laboratories involved in similar research]. This sends a message to Livermore that Stanford students won't sit idly by," he added.

Adelstein is a leader of opposition to the research.

1572 Signatures

During March. Adelstein collected the signatures of 1572 students, 45 faculty and 75 staff members on a more strongly worded petition that opposed all nuclear weapons research on campus.

Adcistein said "about 80 percent" of the people who saw the petition signed it.

Two weeks ago, anti-nuclear activist Daniel Ellsberg '62 addressed a forum of about 300 students, and called for non-violent action against the proposal.

Students at Stanford should help people like [University President Donald Kennedy] to wake up to the realities of the nuclear age. Ellsberg said, in reference to Kennedy's announcement that he would not interfere with the research proposal.

150 Demonstrate

A few days later, about 150 people marched from a rain soaked rally on the university's White Plaza to Kennedy's office. The protestors presented Kennedy with two letters, both opposing the SSRL, proposal.

One of the letters, signed by eight members of the university community, asked Kennedy to delay a decision on the proposal until he has had a chance to meet in an "open forum" with representatives opposing the project.

The other letter, signed by a number of staff and faculty members at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) and SSRI., asked Kennedy to "meet with the SLAC SSRI, community to exchange information and concerns."