Hughes Seeks to Form Faculty Protest Group

Three Harvard professors are attempting to create an informal, continuing Faculty group to oppose U.S. foreign policy in Vietnam and elsewhere.

John T. Edsall '23, professor of Biological Chemistry, H. Stuart Hughes, professor of History, and Henry A. Murray '15, professor of Psychology, Emeritus, have sent letters to over 150 faculty members who are associated with liberal causes or known for non-conformist political views, inviting them to attend an organizational meeting Tuesday.

"It is clear that many of us now believe that American policy in Vietnam is politically and morally indefensible," the letter states. "But opposition within this community is so diffuse as to be almost invisible," it continues, "making us appear more isolated than we are."

Resist Tempation

The professors, acting on the sugestion of "some younger members of the teaching staff," are organizing the group to counter what they call "the temptation to throw up one's hands in despair and futility."

The faculty must recognize its "responsibilities as intellectuals and as citizens," they say. "Unless a convincing critique of our country's present course of action in Southeast Asia can be offered and made politically relevant, we shall continue to face the threat of general war in that area and wherever revolution and American conventional wisdom on social change confront each other."

Oppose The Line

"It is time for those of us who oppose the official line," the letter concludes, "to get together to explore the possibilities for reasoned protest."

Tuesday's meeting, to be held at 3 p.m. in the Faculty Club, will be chaired by Hughes and will be addressed by Mark DeWolfe Howe '23, professor of Law, Benjamin I. Schwarts '23, professor of History and Government, and Stephan A. Thernstrom, Instructor in History and Literature.

Activists All

Hughes ran for the U.S. Senate in 1962 on a peace platform. and Howe has been known for his support of civil rights groups. In last Wednesday's "teach-in" at Sanders Theatre, Schwartz was critical of the Johnson administration's policy in Vietnam.