University of Virginia Library

Hess Main Speaker

1500 Rally To Protest
Nixon's War 'Deafness'

By Rob Buford
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

Photo By Richard Wright

A noontime rally in support of the
national Vietnam War Moratorium held
yesterday on the north side of the
Rotunda drew an estimated 1,500 participants
and onlookers as the University
witnessed the first major wave of antiwar
protest here this fall.

The major speaker, Karl Hess, a
former Goldwater speech writer and
writer of GOP national platforms,
referred to an "incredible political deafness in
the Nixon Administration - a deafness to what
people are saying all over the world."

Mr. Hess hailed the Moratorium as a
"reassertion of our rights as citizens. It tells
Nixon much more than just the fact that the
war must end. We must become citizens again."

"I once looked upon the war as simply an
exercise in power politics. The only question
was which side you were on." Mr. Hess said
that his ideas have changed. "We are now
talking about human beings surviving in the
only actual community they have - the
world."

'General Strike'

"What you are doing today is possibly
rehearsing for a general strike. This country is
going to experience a change in the dramatic
personae. The new leaders will be those who are
active and involved."

Mr. Hess took issue with President Nixon's
remark that policy should not be determined in
the streets. "Where else should policy be made
but in the streets? If the weather is good, why
not do it there? It's not where you do it, but
whether you do it."

The former Republican asserted, "We
constitute a working majority in the streets. We
are going to have to live together in the world
or we are going to die together in it."

Flag Dispute

At the opening of the rally a dispute
developed as one student, Jeff Kirsch, attempted
to lower the American flag in front of the
Rotunda to half mast. Another student raised
the flag again to full mast, at which point Mr.
Kirsch reportedly asked Dean of Student
Affairs D. Alan Williams if he could re-lower
the flag.

Mr. Kirsch said that Dean Williams replied
"Not a chance," and turned away.

Another dispute arose when several students
asked a workman cutting bricks with a saw to
stop during the speeches. His boss reportedly
told the students that he "supported the boys
in Vietnam" and that he would not tell the man
to stop.

The students then appealed to Dean
Williams to stop the noise, which was
interfering with those trying to hear the speech.
Dean Williams reportedly said the matter did
not fall under his jurisdiction and refused to
act. After a few minutes William Fishback,
Director of the University News Service,
succeeded in halting the sawing operation until
the speakers had concluded their remarks.

The event began with the singing of "We
Shall Overcome," One stanza opened with "No
more Vietnams" and another "We shall walk in
peace." Then there was a song "dedicated to
four-star General Lewis Hershey."

Welcoming remarks were made by Tom
Gardner, a member of Student Council and
founder of the Radical Student Union. He
listed upcoming events in the Moratorium and
announced a rally to be held during next week's
Sesquicentennial ceremonies.

Vietnam Experience

The first speaker was Joseph Rodriguez, a
veteran of the Vietnam conflict now a student
at the University. He related some of his
experiences during his twenty-month tour of
duty there, saying that his opinions had been
changed by what he saw.

"The Vietnamese people have been
corrupted by the U.S. presence there." He
spoke of the effects of U.S. money in Southeast
Asia and told of atrocities committed there by
both sides in the war.

Mr. Rodriguez spoke of the difficulties of
expressing dissent within the army. "A citizen
soldier should not have to go into the army and
lose the rights he is supposedly fighting for."

He concluded calling for the repeal of the
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.

Mr. Israel

Mr. Gardner introduced Associate Professor
John Israel of the History Department as one
who had long been active in the antiwar
movement. Mr. Israel said, "I have the feeling
that we have been through all this before."

A specialist in the fields of Asian and
Chinese history, Mr. Israel gave a brief account
of the Vietnam struggle. Referring to the fact
that the French were predicting their Vietnam
victory in 1950, he said, "President Nixon says
the war may be over in three years. You have
no idea how happy that makes me."

"The exhilarating thing today is that the
American public is finally willing to support the
demand that the U.S. get out of Vietnam.
There is very little to say today that we did not
say five years ago."

Mr. Israel closed his remarks saying, "Our
message today is the one that will force
President Nixon to do the only decent and
ultimately realistic thing he can do to get the
U.S. out of Vietnam."

No 'Isolated Day'

Steve Squire, co-chairman of the Virginia
Moratorium Committee, said, "This day is not
an isolated day. It is the beginning of the largest
peace movement this country has ever seen. It
will escalate until the war is ended."

He concluded, "President Nixon is the one
who can end this war and we are the ones who
can put the pressure on him to do it."

Photo By Richard Wright

Rally Speaker John Israel