Seniors From Graduation Protest Plan

A group of seniors, calling itself the Ad Hoc Committee on Commencement, is organizing a protest movement for commencement which could include a walkout from graduation exercises, withholding class gifts, and withholding contributions from the College.

Committee member Alexander Keyssar estimated the group's potential strength to be "in the hundreds" and announced a mass meeting for seniors interested in the protest for tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Kirkland House Junior Common Room.

General Discontent

In a statement yesterday the committee said that any action at commencement would be taken in support of the demands voted at the Soldiers' Field meeting of April 14. "But the movement is part of a general discontent with the College," Phillip T. Aranow '69, a committee member said. "We are aiming at a broad-based action by hundreds. Certainly from indications of discontent it is quite plausible that hundreds will participate."

The committee was formed last week and plans to coordinate its activity with similar groups at Radcliffe and in the GSAS. "The main design is to keep tactics flexible," Keysser said, "in order to allow for a variety of alternative plans." The committee's statement proposed five possible actions:

* Educational panels for parents and alumni;

* handing out armbands a d emblems of fists to be worn by seniors;

* A walk-out form exercises;

* Withholding of class gifts;

* withholding of contributions to the College.

What Are We

The committee says it is not affiliated with SDS although several SDS members are on it. "We are not an SDS group and we are not a non-SDS group," Keyssar said. Most SDS members do not come to commencement and SDS itself does not plan any formal action for commencement, the group said