2200 Participate In Harvard Fast To Protest War HMC Lauds Turnout; Calls Fast Successful

Dining halls at Harvard and Radcliffe were noticeably unfilled yesterday as the four-meal fast, sponsored by the Harvard Moratorium Committee, began.

More than 2200 undergraduates are participating in the fast, which will end after lunch today. An estimated $3500 rebate will be sent to the American Friends Service Committee for medical aid in Vietnam.

'Cliffe Jobs Off

Several Radcliffe students were told not to report to their jobs in the kitchen yesterday, according to Mrs. Ann Sicari, an assistant dietician. They will not be paid, although some plan to discuss the matter with their supervisor on Monday.

Richard Zorza, coordinator for the fast, said he was extremely happy with the fast's widespread success. He said that he doubted if there would be any additional protests in January, but felt that the focus in the spring, would be on working in the primaries to elect peace candidates.

Memorial Church Service

The fast for peace began at 1 p.m. with a dedication service at Memorial Church. Socialist Michael Harrington, author of The Other America, was the principal speaker. He said that a majority of people actually support President Nixon's policies, and that to counter this they should be educated about the government's true actions.

Other speakers included I.A. Richards, University professor emeritus, Charles Price, preacher to the University, and Everett I. Mendelsohn, associate professor of History and Science.

'Very Significant Group'

Referring to the 2200 fasters Mendelsohn said, "I was very pleased to see these numbers participating. This is a very significant group when one looks at the total student body."

The principal theme in many of the speeches at Memorial Church was the personal experience of fasting, rather than political action. "This is not potent political action in that context," Mendelshon said. "We are people getting together to strengthen our commitment to what will be a long and hard struggle to end the war."

Sneaking

Although most students who signed up for the fast observed it, there were a few isolated cases of students sneaking into the dining halls to obtain food.

Of course those who did not sign up to fast had no problem getting fed. Some said dinner was so "unpalatable" that they envied those who were eating elsewhere, if at all. Other eaters were proud of their decision to feed on.

An intellectual senior in Eliot House called the fast "just another manifestation of the basic immature tokenism which you find around here these days."