SDS Plans Sit-in at Faculty Meeting

One hundred members of Harvard-Radcliffe SDS last night decided to try to attend Thursday's closed Faculty meeting by arriving at the site of the meeting hours early and remaining in the hall for the vote on the ROTC issue.

The final SDS resolution did not call for the disruption of the meeting, however, but stated that students would sit in the rear of the Faculty session, to be held at 3 p.m. in Paine Hall, and try to participate in the discussion.

After a very close vote, SDS also resolved to recommend to the group that does gather before the Faculty debate to try to get into the meeting, even if its location is switched at the last moment. But SDS members emphasized that no definite political tactics could be decided upon because no one knew how many students would turn up on Thursday.

The proposal's supporters argued two main points:

* SDS's most important goal is to get into the meeting.

* If SDS members tried to get into the hall either at the meeting's start or after an adverse vote on ROTC, they would probably either fail or have to use violence to attain their goal.

"It is crucial for us to attend the meeting to raise the issue of ROTC's political legitimacy," one member who supported the final motion said. "Our being there will also show that we're working within the framework of the University's decision-making structure," he added.

The resolution also stated that SDS members should distribute pamphlets arguing the case against ROTC as well as organize students to attend the projected sit-in.

SDS also discussed the possibility of aiming its demonstration directly against the ROTC units in Shannon Hall instead of against the Faculty. One student suggested that the meeting adjourn early and go start a sit-in inside Shannon Hall immediately.

Lawrence R. Berger '70 suggested that in the near future SDS members disrupt ROTC drills and ambush cadets with water pistols. But no decision was made on any direct action to be taken against ROTC headquarters.

SDS members were divided over the wisdom of using force to get into the Faculty meeting. Many were against this kind of tactic because it might lead to their dismissal.

"I'm not afraid of getting expelled, but I don't intend to do it over an issue that isn't very, very important to me--and ROTC simply isn't," one student said