University of Virginia Library

Moratorium Planning
Reaches Final Stages

By Bill Fryer
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

Plans by members of the academic
community for Wednesday's Moratorium
on the Vietnam war are reaching their
final stages. As part of the overall protest
against the war most academic departments
have left the decision to hold
classes to the individual professor.

One hundred and sixty-three members
of the faculty have signed a petition in
support of the Moratorium. The response
was widespread, with signatures from
almost every department. There are still
petitions circulating among the faculty.

Moratorium Petition'

Tom Steele, a member of the Moratorium
Committee, presented President
Shannon a petition supporting the committee's
activities. Although there are still
petitions to be collected, the petitions
presented contained thirteen hundred
signatures.

Mr. Steele hoped that President
Shannon would re-examine his previous
response in light of the large student
response. He "strongly urged" Mr. Shannon
to issue a reply before Wednesday,
October 15.

On Wednesday John Israel, professor of
Chinese and Southeast Asian history, will speak
at Mary Baldwin College at Staunton on
"Vietnam: A Historical Morass." Bud Ogle,
President of the Student Council, will also
speak on "Vietnam: Our Way Out."

In the College of Arts and Sciences most
classes are being held but attendance, according
to most instructors contacted Monday, is
optional. Students and faculty are to "follow
their own consciences" according to the
Department of Biology.

Class Discussions

In some classes discussions will center on the
war in Vietnam and the problems in American
society that it has generated. Charles Vandersee
has scheduled a discussion on Thoreau's essay
on civil disobedience in English 25 and a review
of six poems' written about the war in Vietnam
fr his English 5 class.

Biological warfare will be the object of
study in Howard Hamilton's Biology class,
and Mr. Yusuf's International Relations' class
will learn about the Vietnam war in reference
to American Foreign policy. Even one section
of first year physical education will participate
in a discussion of the war with members of the
Law School.

Army, Air Force, and Navy ROTC classes
will be held as usual in keeping with President
Shannon's directive on University policy
concerning the moratorium.

As usual classes in the Law School will be
optional, but students noted that there
probably would not be any particularly large
assignments for that day. A Moratorium
Committee in the Law School is coordinating
all of the activities for students and faculty.

In general participation in the Moratorium
in the academic community has been left to the
individual student or faculty member's own
conscience.