STOP, LOOK, AND LISTEN

No longer able to keep silent on Russia's invasion of Finland, the Harvard Student Union will make a decision at tonight's meeting which will shape the future of its policy. It can look no longer to the Soviet with dreamy idealism. Red aggression against a tiny Scandinavian country has snapped the last possible tie with America. To dodge this reality is weakness. If the Student Union is to continue its liberal advance, it must realize that America and Russia have nothing more in common.

Within its own ranks the Student Union will find that the presence of an over-articulate Communist bloc makes a mockery of all past pledges against on-aggression. Not only must Russia be condemned, but the influence of its undergraduate allies be limited to the strength of their \numbers. The time when American Communists could cry for a "popular front" against Fascism is history. The myth is exploded.

By limiting the voice of its Communist members to their proportional representation, the Student Union will be neither red-baiting nor crimping the freedom of speech. For their unimportance in numbers -- merely a seventh of the total membership -- the Y.C.I., has had authority within the Student Union far in excess of its democratic privilege. Skilful infiltration into key posts has enabled them to hold their ground although far from representing majority opinion. And yet the blame for Communist leadership cannot be placed on their shoulders. They are only too eager to carry the load of committee chairmanships and organization. With their lack of cohesive force, liberals have drifted in countless directions and allowed the privilege of their majority to fall into disuse. Far from a redpurge is the real solution. Rather it is the reawakening of cream-puff liberals--the formation of a solid front which will assume the rightful leadership of a majority.

No better start can be made towards a new unity than the condemnation of Russian aggression. All future advance along progressive lines can spring only from this sharp severance from Communist ideology. Harvard's Student Union should not allow its growth to be hundred either from within or without. At the National Convention of the American Student Union after Christmas, relations with Russia will again develop into a storm-center. Already a hundred New York chapters have decided to stick by the Party Line. But on a national vote dissension will break out through the Student Union. If the Party Line still holds after the smoke has cleared, no choice remains for Harvard but to cut its strings with the parent organization.