Council Disapproves Phillips' Political Acts In modified Resolution

The Student Council voted 16-6 last night against a move to censure President Howard J. Phillips '62 for allowing the prestige of his office to be used in support of ideological causes.

It then passed the identical resolution 25-0 with the words "strongly disapprove" inserted in place of censure.

In the same motion, the Council reaffirmed its role as an apolitical organization and instructed its officers to avoid having their ideological views interpreted as representative of those of the Harvard student body.

Marc J. Roberts '64, sponsor of the censure move, cited an instance at the National Conference on Youth Service Abroad where Phillips' name and Council office appeared on the letterhead of the Committee for an Effective Peace Corps, a group with extreme conservative leanings.

Roberts argues that this was a "breach of faith" with the Council, and therefore merited action. He disclaimed any intention of "impunging" Phillips' motives.

In speaking against the censure resolution, former council treasurer Abraham F. Lowenthal '61 admitted a Phillips did in a speech to the meeting, that mistakes had been made. But Lowenthal doubted that the gravity of the act warranted a censure vote in view of Phillips' service to the Council.

The motion expressing "strong disapproval" amounted to only a minor setback for Phillips, who two weeks ago won the chairmanship of the Massachusetts Young Republicans.

At the Council meeting last week, Phillips supporters defeated a motion to prohibit officers from holding positions of leadership or spokesmanship in partisan organizations.

If approved, the resolution would have forced Phillips into resigning either his council office or his other outside jobs