University of Virginia Library

Letters To The Editor

Professor Calls For Moratorium Support

As a participant in three peace
marches on Washington and as one
of the draftsmen of the faculty
statement on the Moratorium, I
wish to explain why I do not plan
to cancel my classes, October 15,
by prior announcement.

Contractual obligations aside,
there are compelling moral and
political reasons why the Moratorium
should be a walk-out rather
than a lock-out. I understand the
depth of commitment which impels
some faculty members to cancel
unilaterally; indeed, my first impulse
was to do precisely that. On
reflection, however, it appears that
such action will compromise the
moral force of the Moratorium. The
larger the number of students who
absent themselves voluntarily, the
more impressive the protest. Our
purpose is to change the course of
American foreign policy any procedure
that stimulates counter productivity
should be eschewed.
Professors who do not believe in
the cause should be asked not to
discriminate against students who
fail to attend class that day, but
more than that we cannot demand.

I share the concern of many of
my colleagues over the politicization
of American universities, a
process which includes, of course,
the use of university facilities for
classified research. Only on issues
of immediate and transcendent
moral importance is a university
community warranted in acting
politically. Many of the activities of
universities during World War II foll
into this category; so, in my
judgment, does the movement for
withdrawal of our troops from
Vietnam. Most of the other issues
of our times, though often infused
with moral content, lack both the
immediacy and transcendence of
Vietnam.

As of today well over 33,000
Americans have been killed in
Vietnam; by the end of this week
150 more will be dead. Far worse, a
million or more Vietnamese, every
one of whom possessed the same
human qualities we Americans
posses, have died in a war they
neither understood nor wanted.
Almost as bad, the villages of their
survivors have been destroyed and
their culture has been subverted.
Meanwhile, as our statement asserts,
the "moral reserves" upon
which the resolution of our own
domestic problems depends continue
to be vitiated. At the same
time the President's persistence in
holding to the Kennedy-Johnson
rationale for our involvement
augers a continued American presence
on the land mass of Asia and
threatens to spread the war to Laos
and Thailand — this in the face of
his pledge that there will be "no
more Vietnams."

Manifestly, when a moral issue
of this magnitude is at stake, we are
obligated to act on a higher rule
than that which normally governs
our daily routine. For these reasons
I hope that the students will
support the Moratorium and that
the faculty will cooperate in ways
consistent with the subtle realities
of the situation.

It is time for somebody to issue
an authoritative response to the
misinformation supplied to the
University community by the YAF.
As co-chairman of the Virginia
Moratorium Committee, I feel it
necessary to speak to their constant
lies. I have felt that in political
opposition in an academic community
a degree of integrity could
be maintained. The YAF: obviously
feels differently.

The YAF states that we "have
discussed the possibilities of disrupting
traffic on Main Street." A total
and absolute lie. We have discussed
the remote possibility of a march
from the campus to City Hall, but
at no time have we discussed the
desirability of such a disruption.
Rather, we have always emphasized
that the Moratorium is a "super liberal"
movement, and such a
disruption would work against this.
Our aim is to educate and convince,
not coerce or force. The leaders of
the YAF have a terrible time
keeping their meetings straight; the
quote "(the Left) has outgrown the
on-violence of the Quaker types . .
." was made at a Radical Student
Union meeting and is not a
statement from the Moratorium.
While the RSU is supporting the
Moratorium, so are various other
groups, including those notorious
radicals, the Quakers and several
Commie ministers. Really, the YAF
is certainly trying a bit too hard.
Ethics? Honor? Truth?

Secondly, in asking President
Shannon to cancel regular classes
on October 15, we are not asking
for a closure of the academic
community. Rather, we are asking
that for at least one day the entire
University dedicate itself to a
thorough search for peace in a
tragic nation. Whether this is done
by individual professional or by the
President, it is more "evil" or
"coercive" that the regular curriculum.
Perhaps it is just a reassertion
of the TRUE nature of an academia.
As Mason Gross, President
of Rutgers, has stated: "We ought
always, as a University community,
to examine and debate among
ourselves in the freest and fullest
way all the great problems . . . I ask
that on October 15, we at Rutgers
positively and dramatically demonstrate
the role of the University as
teacher, as guardian of civilized
values and as the critical and moral
intelligence which compels the
community to ponder its courses of
action . . ."

Thirdly, if the YAF wishes us to
infer from its statement that the
Moratorium will stop individual
students from attending classes if
they so wish, it is ludicrous in the
extreme. The idea deserves no
comment whatsoever.

Mr. Kwapisz states "the issue at
stake is not simply ending the war."
Sorry, sir, but it is. We have
sublimated other political aims and
differences and have joined united
to end this tragic and wasteful
conflict. If you are going to "sock
it to us," at least have some validity
in your bucket.

Finally, I ask all students,
faculty, administration, and members
of the community to actively
support the Moratorium on October
15th. (One way would be to
attend all meetings of the Moratorium
Committee and USA, where
workshops will be organized.) Putting
the war into the context of one
day, a person will have been killed
every four seconds. Is it too much
to ask for one day of true
dedication in the search for peace.
Going to physics or Latin or gym
will not do it. Perhaps this will.
Please, work for peace.