 | The Cavalier daily Wednesday, February 25, 1970 |  |
Laborers To Speak
On Cuban Life Tonight
Two members of the
Venceremos Brigade, who are
recently returned from the Cuban
cane fields, will speak of their
experience at the Prism tonight.
Larry Yates, a student in
Washington, and William Bater, a
veteran of the Vietnam war, joined
a group of students who were
concerned over Cuban shortage of
labor for the sugar cane harvest.
The group named themselves the
Venceremos, we shall conquer, and
hired buses to carry them to New
Brunswick, Canada.
From St. Johns the students
sailed to Cuba, where for six weeks
they cut sugar cane alongside Fidel
Castro himself, in order to help the
Cubans realize their goal of 10
million tons of raw cane this
winter.
The harvest is essential to Cuba
in that the fields must be cleaned
and replowed to start replanting
this spring. Premier Castro
postponed Christmas until early
summer so that the workers could
stay in the fields.
The Brigade offered American
students an opportunity to observe
the results of the Cuban Revolution
first hand and to actively
contribute to some of its goals.
The two members of the Brigade
who will speak at the Prism should
be able to give the University an
unprecedented view of the closest
neighboring Communist country,
which has been sealed by border
guards from all but occasional
reporters and unexpected air
travelers.
Also speaking tonight will be
Gary Kohlweller, a graduate
student at the University. He will
give a resume of recent Cuban
history up to the Revolution in
1959. The talks will begin at 7:30
at the Coffeehouse.
| The Cavalier daily Wednesday, February 25, 1970 | |