The Cavalier daily :: Wednesday, October 8, 1969 :: University of Virginia Library

Vietnam Moratorium, Committee Co-Chairman
Steve Squire issued a statement
yesterday afternoon calling President
Shannon's refusal to cancel classes on
October 15 "a callousness in the face of a
war which is the most serious issue in
America today."

President Shannon, in a letter Monday
to Student Council President Bud Ogle
turned down the request of Student
Council to call off classes on October 15.

Mr. Shannon, in his letter, said "The
University has an obligation to maintain
an atmosphere in which all views can be
expressed, in which individuals can oppose the
war or defend it, or advocate various means of
ending it, as a matter of academic and
intellectual freedom."

Anti-War Movement

The statement by Mr. Squire states that
"The Moratorium is not a sectarian political
movement. It is an anti-war movement and
what, if not the University, should support this
cause?

"We should all be aware that the University
in many of its policies is shaped by political
pressures. Thus the question is really whether in
the face of such pressures one of which is to
keep quiet the University will take a moral
stand on an issue when our Governor has
indicated no stand is to be taken."

Virginia Governor Mills E. Godwin, in a
press conference last Friday, said that presidents
of Virginia state-supported institutions
are familiar with his view that there would be
"no interruption of normal academic schedules
(on Oct. 15)...I would certainly expect this
policy to be adhered to..."

The statement by Mr. Squire states that the
September 20 lead editorial of the New
Republic best answers President Shannon. The
New Republic editorial states, in part. "The
University is not normally organized and in
our opinion should not normally be organized
to function as a political institution. But the
times are abnormal. It is the principal
custodians of the public interest the
politicians who are most responsible for that,
not the custodians of enlightenment.

No Choice

"The academy has been left no choice but
to engage itself in the democratic process, to
demonstrate the power of knowledge, to
provide a model of rational discourse and
persuasion."

The statement by Mr. Squire finishes with
"We intend to observe this day and sorrow that
the million lives civilian and military lost in
this conflict receive no better memorial from
the University of Virginia than 'business as
usual.' "

Other student groups have issued statements
and plans for the October 15 Moratorium. The
Sociology-Anthropology Club of the University
issued a statement yesterday concerning their
participation in the Moratorium.

Suspension Urged

Their statement "urges all faculty, students
and staff to suspend 'business as usual' on that
day and neither hold nor attend regular
classes..."

In lieu of classes for that day, the Club
invites both faculty and students in the
Department of Sociology and Anthropology to
participate in a seminar entitled "Revolution
and Counter-Revolution: The Role of the
American Sociologist and Anthropologist."

The Club's actions follow an announcement
by the department chairman. Richard J.
Coughlin, urging everyone to participate in the
Moratorium activities. The seminar will be held
at 10 a.m. on October 15 in the informal
lounge of Newcomb Hall.

At their meeting Monday, the Inter-Fraternity
Council approved a statement
supporting October 15 "as a day on which the
members of the University community should
discuss America's involvement in the war in
Vietnam."

Open Panel Discussion

On October 14, there will be an open panel
discussion on the aspects of the Moratorium at
Randolph-Macon Women's College. The discussion
is designed to enlighten the audience as
to what exactly the Moratorium entails.

Randolph-Macon has cancelled classes for
October 15. University students are invited to
attend. Transportation will be provided. All
interested students should contact Blair Price or
Judy Tompkins at the graduate school of
Foreign Affairs.

The University chapter of the Young
Americans for Freedom had threatened to bring
legal suit against the University if it closed
classes on October 15 for failure to fulfill its
contract.