University of Virginia Library

SDS Extremism

Some of the SDS
were well-founded. was -
ing by the
of the NROTC in early
that the Students. a
Society was very
-
were made by a
were never
to and file
SDS was a group
in was also an extra -
tion, which did not seem to
employing more methods
when
failed. Not was
facts or
some of its members when
the debate began to tem against
them.

At least part of these excesses
had to be ascribed to the
personality of the student who joined
SDS, rather than to SDS policy.
To be sure, some of SDS' members
were rational, intelligent students,
who had formulated their radical
philosophy in quite a respectable
manner. Their views therefore
commanded the utmost respect,
if not agreement. Other students
could appreciate the lack of repressive
administration action,
when talking to these classmates
and enjoying the interchange. Unfortunately,
not all the students
in SDS were as composed and logical.
One could not escape the feeling
that some had projected their
psychological inadequacies onto
the individual cause they were
favoring at the time. They identified
so closely with each issue it
became a personal crusade. Another
student, who did not agree
with the point of view the SDS
member proposed, thus became
an "enemy" who was not only
attacking the cause he was attacking
the SDS member.