University of Virginia Library

YAF Attacks Moratorium Group,
Calls For 'Personal Decisions'

By Tom Adams
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

The Young Americans for Freedom
issued a statement late yesterday saying
that while they "hope for as speedy an
end to this unfortunate war as is possible,"
they object to the methods of the
Moratorium Committee.

The statement, drafted by YAF president
John Kwapisz, says that "the issue
at stake is not simply ending the war."

The statement goes on to mention
three issues that are involved, according
to YAF, the first of which is "the right
by contract of every student to pursue his
education without arbitrary and questionable
interference; and the right, the freedom, and
the responsibility of every individual student to
make his own political and moral decision
about the nature and the conduct of the war."

High-Handed Act

The statement continues, "The Student
Council has acted very high-handedly and far
beyond its proper and moral authority in
calling for cancellation of classes.

"Council President /Bud/ Ogle has said in
relation to the Moratorium that 'It's very
important that the entire nation realize President
Nixon's efforts are in the right direction
but are not sufficient.' "

Mr. Kwapisz further states, "We believe that,
rather than being told by Bud Ogle, each
student (not to mention the nation) should
make his own decision as to the correctness of
the direction and sufficiency of President
Nixon's efforts.

Students Rights

"If students want voluntarily to refuse to go
to classes," the YAF head continues, "we
respect their right to do so, but we refuse to
stand idly by if others are denied their right to
attend classes."

The YAF statement includes as its second
"issue" an attack on the University and National
Moratorium Committees for "pressuring"
President Nixon into withdrawing U.S. troops,
"thereby incurring an increased slaughter of
South Vietnamese soldiers and civilians and an-ultimate
victory for the fanatic totalitarians of
North Vietnam."

The statement continues, "a conscientious
reading of the 'Moratorium' and 'Mobilization'
literature and the 'New Left' press (or simply, a
little common sense) demonstrates this.

"It must also be realized," Mr. Kwapisz
urges, "that the Moratorium organizers here
(and likewise elsewhere) have discussed the
possibilities of disrupting traffic on Main Street
on October 15, and have stated that the Left
has 'outgrown the non-violence of the Quaker
types-early in the Movement.' It is also important
to know that the shutdowns, strikes, etc.,
are planned to increase in duration by one day
for each successive month."

Third Issue

The third "issue" that is mentioned in the
YAF statement is the group's belief that the
best way to end the war is not through methods
such as the Moratorium. "The war will end
only," the statement reads, "when North Vietnam
becomes convinced that it cannot conquer
South Vietnam by force (after the death of Ho
Chi Minh the CPNV vowed to fight on until
victory is won in the South).

"One can only wonder," says Mr. Kwapisz,
"at the callousness of Bud Ogle when he
casually says of the South Vietnamese, '...it's
about time they took over responsibility for
their own war' - especially when one considers
the fact that the death and casualty totals of
the South Vietnamese forces are about three
times those of the American troops."

The statement ends by asking each student
to make "his own personal decision regarding
the conduct of the war and attendance at
classes, and not to let the Moratorium Committee
(front) and the Student Council sell him a
phoney bill of goods."